3 Prayers of lament


(Photo: Irene Bom)
 

To complement the many psalms of lament and your own ‘wordless sighs’ and ‘aching groans’ (Romans 8:26, MSG), here are three short prayers of lament to try on for size … to pray for yourself, or on behalf of someone else.

 

#1

Heart of my shattered heart,
who will soothe the buried lament?
Who will pour oil on the biting pang
that never dies
Christ, do you hear the words held back?
You are there, a love most healing.
 
~ written by Brother Roger of Taize,
from The Book of a Thousand Prayers by Angela Ashwin, #223
 

#2

Lord Jesus,
many of us are waiting for you:
the war-torn are waiting for peace,
the hungry are waiting for bread.
the refugees are waiting for a homeland,
the sick are waiting for healers.
Have you forgotten us?
O Lord, come quickly, we pray.
Amen.
 
~ written by Bruce Prewer, posted on bruceprewer.com
 

#3

Lord of my darkest place:
Let in your light.

Lord of my greatest fear:
Let in your peace.

Lord of my most bitter shame:
Let in your word of grace.

Lord of my oldest grudge:
Let in your forgiveness.

Lord of my deepest anger:
Let it out.

Lord of my loneliest moment:
Let in your presence.

Lord of my truest self – my all:
Let in your wholeness.
 
~ written by Alison Pepper,
from The Book of a Thousand Prayers by Angela Ashwin, #283
 

 
Prayer poem for Lent 4B : Talk about it
 
This prayer poem is inspired by Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22, in particular verse 2a: “Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story …”
 

From the blog
3 Prayers for Lent
3 Prayers while waiting
3 Prayers for refugees
 

Lament


Always speak the truth even if your voice shakes  (Photo: Irene Bom)

 

To introduce this month’s theme of SORROW, an excerpt from the Foreward by Eugene Peterson published in Michael Card’s book, A Sacred Sorrow.

And if you want to try writing your own psalm of lament, check out the links below.
 

On weeping

Eugene Peterson writes,

It’s an odd thing. Jesus wept. Job wept. David wept. Jeremiah wept. They did it openly. Their weeping became a matter of public record. Their weeping, sanctioned by inclusion in our Holy Scriptures, a continuing and reliable witness that weeping has an honored place in the life of faith.

But just try it yourself. Even, maybe especially, in church where these tear soaked Scriptures are provided to shape our souls and form our behaviour. Before you know it, a half dozen men and women surround you with handkerchiefs, murmuring reassurances, telling you that it is going to be alright, intent on helping you to “get over it.”

Why are Christians, of all people, embarrassed by tears, uneasy in the presence of sorrow, unpracticed in the language of lament? It certainly is not a biblical heritage, for virtually all our ancestors in the faith were thoroughly “acquainted with grief.” And our Savior was, as everyone knows, “a Man of Sorrows.”

 
source: A Sacred Sorrow by Michael Card, p.11
 

Compose your own Psalm of Lament

During a recent episode of The Habit Podcast, David O. Taylor describes how we might write our own psalm of lament.

To find out more, go to thehabit.co and/or listen to the podcast episode.
 

 
Prayer poem for Lent 3B : Sweet words
 
This prayer poem is inspired by Psalm 19, in particular verse 14: “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
 

Broken spirit sacrifice


Bridge railings reflected  (Photo: Irene Bom)

 
Psalm 51:16-17 invites us to pray, to sigh, to sing:

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
      you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
      a broken and contrite heart
      you, God, will not despise.

 
Add to this prayer your prayers for the broken of this world, inspired by this litany written by John Birch.
 

A litany

For those whose lives are broken by distress
May the God of healing restore you

For those whose lives are broken by fear
May the God of healing restore you

For those whose lives are broken by anger
May the God of healing restore you

For those whose lives are broken by pain
May the God of healing restore you

For those whose lives are broken by illness
May the God of healing restore you

For those whose lives are broken by sin
May the God of healing restore you

God of healing
gently touch these lives
with your Spirit
Bring warmth and comfort
life and wholeness
restoration
into fractured lives
and souls

 
~ written by John Birch, and posted on www.faithandworship.com
 

 
Prayer poem for Lent 2B : Not forsaken
 
This prayer poem is inspired by Psalm 22:23-31, in particular verse 24:
“For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.”
 

Yield as sacrifice


Frosty winter morning  (Photo: Irene Bom)
 

Prayer of Confession

God, penetrate those murky corners where we hide memories,
and tendencies on which we do not care to look,
but which we will not yield freely to you,
that you might purify and transmute them.
The persistent buried grudge,
the half-acknowledged enmity which is still smouldering;
the bitterness of that loss we have not turned into sacrifice,
the private comfort we cling to,
the secret fear of failure which saps our initiative
     and is really inverted pride;
the pessimism which is an insult to your joy.

Lord, we bring all these to you,
and we review them with shame and penitence
in your steadfast light.

Through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen!

 
written by Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941), posted on re:worship
 

 
More Evelyn Underhill

 

 
EXTRA EXTRA
 
Prayer poem for Lent 1B : Not unless
I wrote this prayer poem last Saturday during an online creative retreat hosted by United Adoration. It is inspired by the psalm set for the first Sunday in Lent, Year B: Psalm 25:1-10.

Invitation
I will try and write a prayer poem each week as part of my Lenten practice this year and include a link in the blog post. Let me know it you would like to join me and write prayer poems too. Writing prayer poems in community is such a treat.
 
More on writing prayer poems
 

Work as an offering

A prayer

God of work and rest and pleasure,
grant that what I do today may be for me
an offering rather than a burden;
and for those I serve, may it be the help they need.
 
A New Zealand Prayer Book (adapted)
from The Book of a Thousand Prayers by Angela Ashwin, #53
 

Original version
 
God of work and rest and pleasure,
grant that what we do this week may be for us
an offering rather than a burden;
and for those we serve, may it be the help they need.
 

 
From the blog
The work of our hands
Within the ranks of caring angels
In the school of prayer with Brother Lawrence
 

Sacrifice of praise


 

Lent is almost upon us, but not quite yet, so I’ve opted for a call to worship featuring sacrifice with a twist: a sacrifice of praise for our matchless God.

Call to Worship

based on Psalm 113

King of all the earth,
Creator of the universe,
Holy Triune God,
From everlasting to everlasting, you are Lord.

We will give thanks to you, O Lord, with our whole hearts,
for your glory is above the heavens;
From the rising of the sun to it setting,
we will praise the name of the Lord!

You raise the poor from the dust and lift the needy from the ash heap,
transforming them with glory and honor;
From the rising of the sun to it setting,
we will praise the name of the Lord!

You bring fruitfulness from barrenness
and give homes to the solitary;
From the rising of the sun to it setting,
we will praise the name of the Lord!

Who is like our God, the One
who looks down from the heights on the heavens on the earth?
From the rising of the sun to it setting,
we will praise the name of the Lord!

This is our God, the Holy One.
Come before him with thanksgiving
and offer him the sacrifice of praise.
 

~ excerpted from a longer prayer posted on Oratio Contemplativa.
 

 
From the blog
To dance with God
Mightier than the crashing waves
Theme: Rejoice in the Lord always  [prayer sheet]
 

The First and Last

 

I wrote this song in 1999, but it really came into its own last year, more than 20 years later – sung in church as an encouragement to my congregation during lockdown, and accompanied on the ukelele at the bedside of someone who was dying. Now it’s my privilege to share a recording of this song with you, with my friend, Margriet, singing harmony.

 

THESE ARE THE WORDS
by Irene Bom

These are the words of the First and Last
The one who came, who died, who rose again
These are the words and the words are true
These are the words of Jesus to you.

I know, I know what you’re going through
I know, I know ’cause I’ve been there too
And be sure my love will carry you
all the way, all the way through.

These are the words of the First and Last
The one who came, who died, who rose again
These are the words and the words are true
These are the words of Jesus to you.

Fear not, fear not, there’s no need to fear
Fear not, fear not because I am here
And be sure My love will keep you strong
every day, all the day long.
 
—

Vocals: Irene Bom and Margriet van Overbeeke

Inspiration

This song is inspired by Jesus’ words to the church in Smyrna, as recorded in Revelation 2:8-10.

These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know … Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. … Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.

 

First love


‘You yourself know what you need’  (Photo: Irene Bom)

 
In his letter to the church in Ephesus, Jesus said:

“I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.”

Revelation 2:3-4 (ESV)

 
Here is a prayer written by Scotty Smith that helps us prayerfully consider if and how Jesus’ words might apply to us.
 

A Prayer for Keeping Our First Love First

Dear Lord Jesus,

Even as we first needed grace to respond to your love (Eph. 2:8-10), so we need grace to stay alive to your love, and to grow even deeper in our affection for you. Your love for us is the one constant in our lives—for you love us with everlasting, unwavering, unabated affection. Everything else changes—everything else is subject to whim and fancy. But, unfortunately, our love for you does ebb and flow.

Jesus, give us fresh grace to love you with an undying love. May the cooling of our affections for you bother us more than the fragile economy, our broken relationships, political upheaval in the world, concerns about our health, getting older, or anything else. Jesus, don’t let us get used to status quo, middle-class, business-as-usual love for you.

If, by the Holy Spirit, we hear you saying to us this morning, “I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first” (Rev. 2:4), may we welcome it as a great gift, and respond with humility, gratitude and repentance.

For it means you are pursuing us, and that you delight in us; it means your banner over us is love and your jealousy is current. That you are jealous for our love, Lord Jesus, is the greatest compliment you could possibly pay us. So very Amen we pray, in your glorious and grace-full name.

 
~ written by Scotty Smith, posted on thegospelcoalition.org (excerpt)
 

 
From the blog
Seed
In the school of prayer with Ignatius of Loyola
Forget not
 

The last may be first


Rotterdam shop window  (Photo: Irene Bom)
 

Opening Invocation

(inspired by Luke 14: 7-14)

Hospitable God, you invite us to a banquet
where the last may be first,
and the humble and the mighty trade places.
Let us share your abundance with no fear of scarcity;
let us greet strangers as angels you have sent!
Send your Spirit now
so that we may find a place at your table
and welcome others with radical hospitality.
In the name of Jesus, Guest at all our tables, we pray.
Amen.

 
written by Rev. Christopher Ney
Posted on www.uccfiles.com (download)
 

 
From the blog
Grace upon grace
Small talk
We are a body
 

First things first


Spotted outside Rotterdam Central Station  (Photo: Irene Bom)

 
Living alone during a pandemic, working from home since March 2020, one of the ways I stay alive is to be creative and share my work online. Through this blog, for example. Thank you.

Another creative outlet in 2020 was the 12 Song Challenge, hosted by resoundworship.org, with monthly assignments, attracting Christian songwriters from far and wide.

Our final challenge was to write a “family” song, and a number of people opted to build their song on Joshua’s words in Joshua 24:15: “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

I’ve found a short prayer of dedication anchored in this self-same verse for this first post in 2021. May you, like Joshua, find the support and inspiration you need to serve the Lord in faithful and creative ways this coming year.
 

Prayer of Dedication

(inspired by Joshua 24: 1-3, 14-25)

Creating God, guide us to put first things first in our lives.
As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.
Christ our Lord, enable us to follow your example.
As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.
Spirit Alive, shine your light that our choices may be a reflection.
As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

 
~ by Katherine Hawker, posted on her Liturgies Outside the Box website.
 

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