Hello Antioch Family & Facebook Friends, Pastor Darrius Hubbard here.
How is your lamenting prayer life?
Psalm 102:1-2 says “Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come to you! Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress! Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call!”
Some believe that David wrote this psalm at the time of his son Absalom’s rebellion. Like us he had to shelter in place, in caves because he was on the run. If you continue to read the entire psalm we find a person who has gone through some things, tired, weak and possibly depressed and they pour out their heart before the Lord.
A few things I see in this psalm:
1. No one is without affliction in this world even the best and wealthiest among us can be almost overwhelmed with their afflictions, and may be weighed and ready to faint under the pressure of them.
2. This entire psalm is full of difficult words, pain and hurt, but also hope and encouragement that we are not alone. All of the word of God is useful for our lives, but here we find the pain of life written into words for us to connect and sympathize with.
3. When we find ourselves afflicted, and our spirits are overwhelmed, we must and God wants us to pour out our complaints before him in prayer.
There are over 20 different words for lamenting in the Bible such as ʼânâh or çâphad meaning to mourn or grieve. Yet there are words for lament like tânâh meaning to recount, tell again or celebrate grief suggesting the grief won’t last forever
Grieving the loss of something or pain isn’t bad we just must not get lost in the pains of the current season, we must comfort ourselves with the truth of God’s eternal promises of a day of prosperity and unending security. So I encourage you cry out to the Lord about your pains, but do end there look forward with an expected hope, to a time when you will be able to celebrate how God was working before, during and after your lamenting.
God Bless!
Tags: Devotional