Lament

A passionate expression of grief or sorrow.

Psalm 13:1–2

¹ How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? ² How long must I bear pain in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all day long? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

A Pebble in the Pond

I think of lament as a pebble that drops into a pond. The first circles, for me, were personal lament, being invited to say, just [between] me and God, “This is stupid. I hate this. I don’t like what you’re doing. I don’t know why you aren’t fixing this. I don’t know what’s wrong, but I know you could fix it if you wanted to, and you’re not doing that.” That is in the Bible all over the place—people saying those things to God—and it’s still faithful prayer. Lament is a faithful way to pray to God. So, if you start by saying, “I can be honest with God,” then you can move into “Maybe I could also be honest with my community.”  You’ll figure out pretty quickly whether or not a community is comfortable with lament. They’ll let you know, either by ignoring it, or moving on, or telling you how grateful you should be or how it’s not that bad. If you have a bunch of people who have personally worked with God on lament, then they are going to be better with each other. That practice within community allows you to see the things that are not from God in this world and to communally call them out as a form of public worship.

– Abby Norman, Author of You Can Talk to God Like That: The Surprising Power of Lament to Save Your Faith (Broadleaf Books, 2021)

Reflection & Prayer

What do you need to honestly express to God? Speak it aloud.