June 11, 2020

A Prayer of Lament

Brady Robinson

Brady Robinson

Brady Robinson

brobinson@newalbanypresbyterian.org

How long, O Lord, will we carry on like this?
I do not know how much more we can take,
Through riots, curfews, protests, a virus, injustice, and quarantine,
The fragility of the world is clear,
O Lord, do you hear?
Do you hear the cries of your people?
In the Lord’s Prayer we pray for your kingdom to come and your will to be done,
And at times it seems like that is not there,
Remind us, O Lord, that we are not merely crying out to the empty air,
But that when we pray and cry out,
That the holy and righteous Creator of the universe is bending His ear,
But our hearts ache because sometimes we do not feel you listening,
We do not see you,
Help us, O Lord, to trust you,
While we feel like we are drowning in the midst of the politics,
In the midst of the brokenness,
In the midst of the division,
In the midst of cancer,
In the midst of anguish,
In the midst of death,
Help us to know that the only place to find the rest we so desperately need, is in you,
O Lord, our hearts are aching,
How long will you allow this to continue?
O Lord, our hearts cry out,
How long will you go without wiping our tears?
O Lord, our hope is fading,
How long until you revive us?

A prayer of lament is common throughout Scripture and it is used to cry out to God and ask Him to help in times of distress. May this prayer of lament help give you some language to cry out to God in these times

O Lord, you are the God of healing,
We pray now that you heal,
Will you heal our world?
People are sick and are without work because of a virus,
And we need healing from the only one who knows how to heal this,
Will you heal our country?
We are so divided because of our sin,
And far too often people are judged and killed because of the color of their skin,
We need reconciliation from the only one who can bring true unity,
Will you heal our church?
There are people we love with cancer,
People we love who have lost their jobs,
And people we love that are bearing pain that we cannot imagine,
We need comfort and strength from the only one who can satisfy,
O Lord, we believe, help our unbelief
In the mighty name that is above all names,
The only one who can heal, unify, bring hope, peace, and salvation,
Our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ
Amen

In Him,
Pastor Brady Robinson