Writing a Lament:
A pattern for crying out to God in trouble
A lament is a form of a prayer used when people who are in trouble cry out to God for his help. It provides a good pattern for expressing our need as well as our trust in God.
Example Lament Psalms
- Psalm 3, 22, 31, 39, 42, 57, 71, 88, 120, 139, 142
Typical lament structure
- Address (we are speaking to God)
- Complaint (what isn’t right)
- Statement of Trust (our confidence in God’s goodness and power)
- Petition (what we need God to do)
- Poetic exclamations (optional ways to ask for God’s help)
- Certainty / Anticipation of Praise
Example
Psalm 3
A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.
Address
1 Lord,
Complaint
how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.”
Statement of Trust
3 But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
4 I call out to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.
5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.
6 I will not fear though tens of thousands
assail me on every side.
Petition
7 Arise, Lord!
Deliver me, my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.
Certainty / Anticipation of Praise
8 From the Lord comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people.
Using the Pattern
A psalm of __________. When she/he…
[use this pattern, whether you will write a poem or a song, paint a picture, create a physical object, dance, make a movie, …]Address
Complaint
Statement of Trust
Petition
Certainty / Anticipation of Praise