Write Your Own Lament
"Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us." - Psalm 62:8 ESV
this lament writing exercise is drawn from this article
"Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us." - Psalm 62:8 ESV
this lament writing exercise is drawn from this article
ARTICLE: The Need For A Lament
What Is A Lament?
The Loss Of Lament
A lament is a heartfelt cry of grief or sorrow, born from the depths of personal pain or the suffering we see in the world. It’s a courageous act of honesty before God, where we bring our deepest questions, doubts, and protests into His presence without holding back. In lament, we abandon vague or polite wonderings and instead speak boldly: “How long, O Lord?”
Unlike mere complaints, which accuse and dishonor God, lament is an appeal rooted in trust. It is prayer infused with faith, grounded in the belief that God is good, sovereign, and deeply attentive to our pain. Lament bridges the gap between our hard realities and our hope in God’s promises. It doesn’t deny the darkness but speaks to God in it, clinging to Him as the ultimate Caregiver. It’s proof of a relationship—a child crying out to a loving Father.
Lament is not just sorrow; it has a purpose. It moves the soul through pain toward trust, transforming fear into faith and mourning into hope. It is the language of those who live in the tension between the brokenness of the world and the assurance of God’s ultimate restoration. It’s the prayer of waiting, longing for the day when all tears will cease and Jesus will make everything right.
For Christians, lament is not just an emotional outpouring; it is a declaration of faith. It acknowledges both the reality of suffering and the truth of God’s promises. It takes courage and biblical conviction to bring the messiness of our hearts before God, trusting that He hears us and will act. In lament, we don’t simply cry; we hope, knowing that the empty tomb and the risen Christ are proof that God’s power to deliver is real.
In the end, lament is a journey of the soul—a movement from sorrow to joy, from despair to trust. It’s a prayer of defiance against the brokenness of the world and a testimony of confidence in God’s character and care. Only through the Spirit’s work within us can our cries become a holy intercession, aligning our hearts with God’s and longing for His kingdom to come.
In the book of Psalms, there are more psalms of lament than any other type of psalm. The Psalms can be divided into two major categories: Individual & Communal. Most of the Psalms of lament are personal in nature (individual) but a handful are laments for a whole people (communal).
Individual Psalms of Lament: Psalm 6, Psalm 13, Psalm 22, Psalm 25, Psalm 31, Psalm 38, Psalm 42, Psalm 43, Psalm 77, Psalm 130, Psalm 86 (Other Individual Psalms of Lament: 3, 28, 44, 56, 57, 71, 77, 142)
Communal Psalms of Lament: Psalm 10, Psalm 12, Psalm 44, Psalms 60, Psalm 74, Psalm 79, Psalm 80, Psalm 85, Psalm 90
PROTEST - Express the complaint to God. Share your grief, sorrow, frustration or anger in your painful circumstances, current troubles or perceived injustice.
PETITION - Tell God what you want Him to do about it. It is the plea or request for God's intervention and help.
PRAISE - Express your trust in God's faithfulness and sovereignty today, based on His character and His action in the past, in the midst of your struggles even if you can’t yet forsee a positive outcome.
DESCRIPTION: Psalmic laments can have up to seven parts, although not all parts are present in every lament, and the ordering of the parts is often unique to each Psalm. Use this basic structure to create your own lament. You don’t need to labor over this for a long time. One or two simple, clear lines per category below is all it takes.
1. Address God Directly
“O Lord”, “Mighty King”, “Lover of Justice”, etc
Q: What role does God play in this situation? What name do you ascribe to Him?
2. Review God's Faithfulness In The Past
“For He divided the sea and led them through, making the water stand up like walls”. - Psalm 78
Q: How has God been faithful to you in the past? How has He shown up?
3. Express The Complaint
“I am forgotten, cut off from Your care. You have thrown me into the lowest pit and the darkest depths.” - Psalm 88
Q: What is the source of your grief, sorrow or anger? What painful situation is before you?
Feel free to be specific here and include more than just a couple of sentences if it helps.
4. Confess A Sin Or Defend A Claim Of Innocence (Optional)
“Because of Your great compassion blot out the stain of my sin.” - Psalm 51 | “O Lord my God I have done wrong.” - Psalm 7 | “I have kept the ways of the Lord; I have not turned from my God to follow evil. I am blameless before God.” - Psalm 18
Q: Is there anything within you that aches for forgiveness? How have you failed to trust and obey God, or conversely, in what ways have you been faithful?
5. Ask Boldly For Help
“Listen to my prayer O God, do not ignore my cry for help! Please listen and answer me, for I am overwhelmed by my troubles.” - Psalm 55
Q: What specific thing are you asking God to do? In what ways do you long to see Him move?
6. Respond In Faith/Declare The Character Of God
“But You have been our King from the beginning, O God; You have saved us many times.” - Psalm 74
Q: Recount the ways in which God has responded to your suffering in the past. What evidence do you have that He will show up again? Who do you know God to be based on your experiences with Him?
7. Choose To Praise And Trust In God
“The Lord has heard my plea; The Lord will answer my prayer.” - Psalm 6 | “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again, my Savior and my God. Now I am deeply discouraged but I will remember You.” - Psalm 42 | “I love the Lord because He hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen I will pray as long as I have breath!” - Psalm 116
Q: Looking beyond your current circumstances, what are the reasons God is nevertheless worthy of praise and trust? (Articulate these as clearly and honestly as you can)
O Lord, we turn to You on this hard and painful day. We look to You, the author of life and the giver of grace, because our hearts are broken with grief. A young man, so full of life and joy, is gone.
We grieve the loss of Tyler.
How long, O Lord, must cancer steal our loved ones away? This evil disease doesn’t fit with your goodness. It mars, destroys, and kills. We hate its presence in the world.
Lord, we prayed for healing. And Your answer is hard to accept. We watched our friend and brother persevere. Twenty years doesn’t seem long enough for Tyler. We long for the day when osteosarcoma is no longer a part of our vocabulary — or our prayers. We’d rather have a different ending to this story.
Yet we know that You have purposes beyond what we can see.
We witnessed glimpses of your plan in the meteoric rise of Tyler’s story. We marveled at the favor and the kindness showered upon him through his journey. We rejoiced at the platform You gave him to share his faith in Jesus.
Lord, we ask You to bring comfort to Tyler’s family. They’ve walked beside him through this journey. They need your grace both now and in the months and years to come.
We pray for wisdom and creativity for those researching the treatment for Tyler’s cancer. We ask that his donated tumor and the money raised might yield life-saving options for future cancer patients. Would You heal many from Tyler’s death?
But even more, Jesus, we ask for Your name to be lifted high through Tyler’s life.
You were the bedrock of his strength. You were the one who captivated his heart and gave him hope as his physical strength declined. We pray that thousands — even millions — of people will be led to the kind of relationship that Tyler shared with You.
On this hard day, O Lord, we choose to trust You. We believe You have ordained eternal purposes that we can’t see right now. We believe You gave Tyler every grace he needed to persevere.
We believe Jesus rose from the dead so that one day our tears will be wiped away once and for all. Through our pain and questions, we rest our hope in the One who said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11:25). We know this was the strength that made Tyler strong. We saw it. Tyler lived it.
In Jesus’s name, Amen
Almighty God, Creator of all, things are getting really bad here. Are you paying attention?
When Hagar cried out to you in pain, she called you El Roi—the God who sees. Are you seeing what is happening to your children?
Our neighbors are suffering from fear and anxiety.
They don’t know if they will get sick. They don’t know how they will pay their rent. They have no idea when this will end.
We are no longer able to pretend that we have any control over this thing called life, and we grieve that loss.
Our comforting rituals of gathering–from church services to theater performances to sporting events–have been taken from us.
Our medical professionals are besieged by this virus and lack the equipment and personnel they need to fight this unseen enemy.
Our parents are weary from juggling too many roles from the confines of their homes—teacher, parent, employee, mediator and coach.
Our elders are feeling isolated and alienated.
Our unsheltered neighbors cannot stay at home, as they have no homes. Our prisoners (and those who work with them) are especially vulnerable because of their close quarters.
Our loved ones are dying alone.
God, protect those on the front lines who provide medical care, food and medicine. Protect our truckers, the ones who pick up our garbage and those who keep public transportation moving.
Infuse in us the peace that surpasses all understanding, so that our fear of the virus doesn’t become worse that the virus itself.
Give our leaders a spirit of cooperation, and the courage to do what’s right for the people they serve.
Make the minds of our researchers and the hands of our government move swiftly to develop and distribute more testing materials.
Grant a sense of urgency to those who are mobilizing to make more masks, more ventilators and more of the tools we need in the fight against this growing epidemic.
Deliver us from this invasion that has upended us.
Our trust is in you, O God—even though it may waiver from time to time.
All blessing and honor, glory and might to You, Magnificent God.
We know that You are, indeed, the God who sees.
You are our rock, our peace and our salvation.
We know that we are held in the palm of Your hand. Selah
You say You're near to the broken
You say Your peace passes understanding
You say You're hope for the hurting
Where are You now
Come close, I'm on the verge of breaking
Come close, I'm desperate for Your presence
Come close, the weight of pain is crushing
Come close
She touched Your hem and You healed her
You opened eyes with the dirt we walk on
When will I wake from this nightmare
Where are You now? Where are You now?
You are good, You are good, I believe You are good
You are good, You are good, I still believe You are good
You are good, You are good, I believe You are good
You are good, You are good, I still believe that You are good
So come close, I'm on the verge of breaking
Come close, I'm desperate for Your presence
Come close, the weight of pain is crushing
Come close, if You're not scared of my questions
Where are You now?
I cry aloud to God
aloud to God and He will hear me
In the day of my troubled soul
I reach out and seek You, Lord
but I can't feel You
In the night of my pain
darkness falls, questions rage
Have You forsaken?
O God, have You left me all alone?
You keep my eyes from sleep
so troubled I cannot speak a word
I consider the days of old
when I felt Your love and held Your hope
Where have they gone?
In the night of my pain
faith has fled, doubts remain
Have you forsaken?
O God, have You left me all alone?
Your ways, O God, Your ways, O God, are holy, holy