The Gifts Of The Spirit for the work of the Kingdom, Pt. 3: Lament
Leader Note: During the Practice for Tonight section, Psalm 80 will be read aloud. Plan ahead to have a Bible available for you or someone else in your Community to read from.
Take Communion
Leader Note: Begin your time together by taking communion, whether as a full meal or some version of the bread and the cup before or after your meal. If you don’t already have a Communion liturgy, have someone read from the book of Acts 1v8 as you welcome the presence of the Holy Spirit.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my
witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Review the Last Practice
Leader Note: As you review the last Practice, it may be helpful to remind everyone that this is a space to simply notice how it went, not to be hyper critical or judgmental of self or others.
Before we jump into tonight’s practice on Lament, let’s take a few minutes to hear from one another how last week went, discerning God’s voice through the Prayer of the Examen.
Last week, we practiced the Examen. How did that go?
In the moments you felt nearest to God, do you notice any particular themes emerging?
In the moments you felt furthest from God, were there any specific feelings you noticed surfacing? (i.e. anxiety, apathy, confusion, joy, loneliness, etc.) What did it look like to name and bring those emotions to God?
What is one way you want to include the Examen into your practice of Prayer going forward?
Read This Overview Aloud Together
Life can be painful, even tragic. It can feel full of unfixable problems. People we love die. Our bodies fail us. Our children make choices that pain us. We grieve singleness, or grieve how a relationship has changed. Sorrow can show up at a moment’s notice. Jesus himself told us, in this life, you’ll have trouble (John 16v33). Did you notice what he didn’t say? In this life you’ll have trouble, and your job is to pretend it’s not that bad, or get over it.
Whether we grew up in church contexts or not, many of us came up in environments where we were learned to bottle these things up, “find the bright side,” or move on from painful experiences or emotions. As a result, so many of us find it difficult to know how to face hard things with God, or how to pray in the midst of them. Learning what to do with our pain, grief, or even uncertainty is a large part of the journey following Jesus.
When we are in the midst of pain or grief, we have good company in Jesus, a man of many sorrows who called those who weep and mourn blessed. (Matthew 5v4). We read on the pages of Scripture that when we are grieved and have no words to pray, the Spirit prays and intercedes for us with wordless groans (Romans 8v26).
The Bible has a word for these kinds of pained prayers: Lament. Sometimes the most healthy response to the brokenness of this world and our own life is a mixture of tears and prayers, leading us to partnership with the Spirit in God’s transforming work. Tears and prayers of Lament were never intended to solve the problem of suffering, but they can suspend the raw nerve of pain by placing us right into the loving presence of God. Lament is a cry of belief in a good God, who does not abandon us but rather has the ability to hold all of us. One day God will wipe every tear away and every sorrow will be behind us. But until that day, we get to take our pain into prayer to the one who is acquainted with our grief.
Do This Practice Tonight
Tonight, we are going to spend time discussing what it means for us to pray prayers of Lament and then do that together. In our western American context, we know very little about Lament so our aim tonight is to view grieving as a form of love through prayer. Over two-thirds of the psalms hone in on Lament: taking our frustrations, sufferings, and heartaches to God, from a posture of worship. We will read a Psalm and pray aloud with one another in response to a few prompts.
So, let’s begin by settling in by putting away any distractions and get comfortable.
Leader Note: Once everyone has settled in, open in prayer.
Silently to yourself, draw to mind an unanswered prayer in your life or a point of grief or pain that you are carrying tonight. With that unanswered prayer or place of pain in your mind, let’s have someone read Psalm 80. As you hear this passage read, do your best to hear it through the lens as your own prayer.
Read Psalm 80.
Let’s sit in silence for a few minutes, just letting the words of the psalm give you space to think and feel the weight of lament in your own life, Community, or world. It can be lament over unanswered prayer or a point of pain.
Next, let’s go around the room and pray your own lament prayer to God. We want everyone to have the opportunity to pray, but there’s no pressure. Push past wanting to censor yourself. Give yourself permission to be honest. This can be a short prayer: bringing the sadness, pain, frustration to Jesus and asking him to help you carry this load. This might sound like “God, I am grieving the dysfunction within my family and the pain addiction brings” or “God, I feel powerless in the mystery of whatever is going wrong in my health” or “God, I feel really lost and I’m hurting.”
Lastly, let’s have a few of us who might be feeling particularly faith-filled in God, even in the face of all of that’s been shared tonight, close this portion of our night with prayers of gratitude. We get to thank Jesus that he went through unanswered prayer and emotional pain in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross. He will be present with us in the midst of our pain, and lead and guide us through whatever may come.
Leader Note: If your Community is a newly formed Community, it could be helpful to take 30 seconds or so before moving on to offer a reminder that while there will be many opportunities to encourage and pray for one another during Community nights, be aware of opportunities to pray for one another throughout the week as well.
Read The Practice for the Week Ahead
This week, you’re invited to pick out a lament psalm, and use it to give voice to your own prayers of Lament. Some great examples are Psalm 10, 13, 60, 79, or 80. Similar to how we read the passage tonight, allow the psalm to be your prayer. Don’t just read it and move on. Maybe it will involve sitting in the discomfort and letting God comfort you.
The next time we meet, we’ll take time to hear about how these prayers of Lament helped us remain honest with God, rather than shouldering our burdens alone.
End in Prayer
Leader note: Close your time together in prayer, asking that God would continue to grow the Community with a renewed sense of the Holy Spirit’s power and presence.