Authentic Prayer: Lamenting
Psalm 22
Let’s start with a question: what does Jesus want us to do at those times when we feel frustrated, sad, or hopeless? What does He want us to do? I just recently had something happen in my extended family that caused me to feel sad and sorrowful. So what does Jesus want me to do about my sadness and sorrow?
Some of us pretend before Jesus. We think Christians aren’t supposed to feel frustrated or sad, so we try to ignore the feelings; we stuff the feelings. And when we do talk to Jesus we pretend that everything is fine. But that’s not what Jesus wants us to do.
Others of us separate from Jesus. We don’t turn to Jesus. We just hunker down in our frustration or sadness. We don’t talk to Jesus about it, we don’t seek Jesus about it, we just carry it ourselves. That’s also not what Jesus wants us to do.
What Jesus wants us to do is lament to Jesus. When we feel frustrated or sorrowful, Jesus calls us to lament. Lamenting is when you feel frustrated, sad, or hopeless, and you pour out your feelings to Jesus in prayer, and ask Him to help you, deliver you, save you.
That’s what I want us to think about this morning. And one of the most powerful psalms of lament is written by David in Psalm 22. So let’s turn there. If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand, and we’ll bring a Bible to you. Psalm 22 is on page 457 in the Bibles we are passing out.
Here’s the setting of this psalm. When David prays this prayer, he’s at a very low point: he’s surrounded by men who want to kill him (v.20), and he’s being publicly mocked (v.43). As a result he’s so fearful that his heart has melted like wax (v.14). And he feels like God has forsaken him, as you can see in v.1 –
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Now where have you heard that before? That’s what Jesus prayed when he was on the Cross. In Matthew 27:46 Jesus cries out “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani,” which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
So when Jesus is in agony on the Cross, He cries out the first verse of Psalm 22. Now why? It’s because Psalm 22 has two different functions. First of all, it contains prophecies about Jesus’ death written by David 1,000 years before Jesus was crucified. Notice the parallels between this psalm and what happens at the Crucifixion:
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Psalm 22 |
Matthew 27 |
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Psa 22:18 -- They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. |
Matt 27:35 -- And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. |
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Psa 22:7 -- All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads. |
Matt 27:39 -- And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads. |
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Psa 22:8 -- “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!” |
Matt 27:43 -- He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, “I am the Son of God.” |
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Psa 22:1 -- My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? |
Matt 27:46 -- And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” |
So Psalm 22 contains prophecies about Jesus’ death.
But that’s not all this psalm is. Psalm 22 is also a prayer of lament written by David to be prayed by godly men and women throughout church history whenever we feel frustrated, or sad, or hopeless. When Jesus is on the Cross, along with trust in the Father, he’s also feeling abandoned and forsaken by the Father as he is punished by the Father for our sin. And so Jesus Himself prays the lament of Psalm 22 as he is on the Cross.
So Psalm 22 is a prayer of lament that David wrote for us to pray, and we can learn crucial lessons from it about how to lament. As I studied this psalm, I saw that it broke down into six sections.
First, David expresses his feelings to God. You can see this in vv.1-2 --
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.
David expressed his feelings to God. And we should also express our feelings to God. So don’t pretend before Jesus. Don’t think: Christian’s shouldn’t feel sad or discouraged, so I’m just going to pretend I’m fine. No. Jesus knows you’re not fine. And if you stuff your feelings, they’ll just grow and come out in other ways.
But also – don’t separate from Jesus. Don’t turn away from Jesus, and hunker down in your sadness and sorrow. Jesus wants you to come to Him – talk with Him – about your sadness and sorrow.
What Jesus calls you to do is lament – to express your feelings to Him, whatever they are.
But what if you are angry at God – should you express that to Him? I’ve heard people say that there’s nothing wrong with being angry at God. But think about it. When you are angry against God, you are saying that God has done something that is not loving or good.
But for those who trust Jesus, everything God does is loving and good, even if we can’t see it. So it’s wrong to be angry against God.
So what should we do when we feel anger against God? Don’t pretend you aren’t angry. That just adds the sin of hypocrisy to the sin of anger against God. What we should do is bring our anger to God – confess it to Him, ask Him to free us, ask Him to change us. And He will.
So be like David – express your feelings to God.
Then second, David talks to God about God’s perfect faithfulness to His people. This is powerful. Notice that in vv.1-2 David feels that God has forsaken him, that God has not answered him, that God is not helping him. But look at what he says in vv.3-5 -- 3 Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
That is, you are perfect in your faithfulness. You have been so faithful that all your people praise you – so it’s like your throne is built on the foundation of their praise
4 In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
So what’s going on? In vv.1-2 David feels that God has forsaken Him and is not helping him. But in vv.3-5 David says that God never forsakes His people – that God has always been faithful to help His people.
Here’s what’s happening: even though David feels like God has forsaken him, yet he knows that is not true. He knows his feelings are wrong. So after telling God how he feels, he talks to God about the truth of who God is.
This is a crucial part of lamenting – and all prayer. How often do you talk to God about the truth of who He is? A crucial part of lamenting is fellowshipping with God in the truth of who He is, because God will use this to encourage and strengthen us.
Then third, David explains his problem to God. You can see that in vv.6-8 –
6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
8 "He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!"
Notice that David goes into great detail in explaining his problem to God. We’ll see that even more in vv.12-18. So how many of you do that? How many of you, when you have a problem, explain your problem to God?
This is crucial, not because He needs you to inform Him, but because you need to connect with Him about the details of your problems. So follow David’s example and explain your problems to God.
But now there’s a danger here. There have been times when I was lamenting to God, and explaining my problem, and I got so focused on my explanation that I ended up feeling even more hopeless.
But David does not do that. In vv.6-8 David explains his problem, but then in vv.9-10 he talks to God about God’s past faithfulness to him --
9 Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother's breasts.
10 On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother's womb you have been my God.
David looks back on his life, and sees that from his mother’s womb, God has been His God – which means that God has been faithful to David. So notice what David is doing: in vv.6-8 he says “I’ve got problems”; but then in vv.9-10- he says “but You are faithful.”
Think of how powerful this would be to pray:
I’m unemployed in a very tough job marker -- yet You are faithful.
I don’t know what to do and have to make a decision now – yet You are faithful.
I face a problem that looks hopeless -- yet You are faithful.
Then fifth, David asks for God’s help. You can see that in vv.11-21. Notice that in vv.11 and 19-21 David asks for God’s help, and in-between he gives more details about his problem –
11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.
12 Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13 they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast;
15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.
16 For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet—
17 I can count all my bones-- they stare and gloat over me;
18 they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.
19 But you, O LORD, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
20 Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog!
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!
So David asks for God’s help:
V.11 – be not far from me!
V.19 – be not far off! Come quickly to my aid!
V.20 – Deliver my soul from the sword!
V.21 – Save me!
Now at this point in the psalm something amazing happens. Remember what David was feeling in v.1 – “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!” But now in vv.22-31 – David is absolutely confident that God will deliver him – and everyone else who trusts him. Look at these verses --
22 I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23 You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.
25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD! May your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.
28 For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.
29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive.
30 Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.
Something amazing has happened. In v.1 David was feeling absolutely forsaken and abandoned by God. But now –
in v.22 he’s praising God;
in v.23 he’s calling everyone else to praise him;
in v.24 he says God does not despise anyone who calls on him;
in v.27 David says God’s faithfulness will be praised by all the nations;
in v.31 David says that future generations will hear of God’s righteousness.
In other words, David has gone from feeling absolutely forsaken and abandoned by God, to being absolutely certain that God would deliver him. David has gone from having no confidence in God, to having complete confidence in God.
What happened? The same thing that will happen to each of us – if we learn from David how to lament. If we will
express our feelings to God;
talk to God about His past rescues;
explain to God our problem;
talk to God about His faithfulness;
and ask for God’s help –
God will come to us and change our hearts. He will fill us with all joy and peace in believing so we abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Here’s how my grandfather experienced this.
In the 1930’s, during the depth of the depression, my grandfather was pastoring a church in Southern California. But his 6 year old son (my dad) had become very sick with bronchitis, which then turned into pneumonia. This was in the days before antibiotics, so there was nothing the doctors could do. So day by day his father and mother watched him get weaker and weaker, and his pulse getting slower and slower, as his lungs gave him less and less oxygen.
On January 8, 1932, his father was at an appointment when he got a phone call from his wife, telling him that the pneumonia had clogged up my dad’s lungs, he was coughing terribly, and that he was going to die. So my grandfather rushed out of his appointment to drive the 28 miles back home. No cell phones. Alone with God.
And on the way he felt rebellion rising up in his heart towards God, and this is what he prayed:
Oh, Lord, I have tried to serve you, but if you take our little boy, I’m through! This is the one thing I just can’t endure. I can’t go on if you take him.
He didn’t pretend before Jesus. He didn’t separate from Jesus. He lamented before Jesus.
But then, as he tells the story, after a few more miles his heart began to change and he said:
Yes, Lord. Your ways are best – I yield to You and want Your will done.
And then he found himself singing a hymn that was popular at the time:
I will say “Yes” to Jesus, “Yes,” Lord, forever “Yes”;
I’ll welcome all your blessed will, and sweetly answer “Yes.”
By lamenting, by pouring out his feelings to God, by reflecting on God’s faithfulness and goodness, by explaining his problem to God, by asking God for help – his heart was transformed.
And when he got home, the doctor said they needed to rush my father to the hospital because of the blockage. But when they got to the hospital, the X-rays showed that the blockage had dissolved. My dad was fine. (Give the Winds a Mighty Voice, p.93)
Don’t pretend before Jesus. Don’t ignore Jesus. Instead, lament to Jesus.