Grieving and Protesting the World’s Suffering
in the Hope of Jesus Christ

Lament is a vital Christian form of prayer that brings to God our pain, grief, and outrage at the world’s evil, suffering, and injustice.  Lament is a painful protest, a cry to God to hear and to deliver, and a profession of praise and trust in God’s presence and power to save.  A large percentage of the prayers of the Bible (especially in the book of Psalms) include lament, which teaches us not to flee from suffering but rather to face it and bring it to God and thus to find the comfort and hope that only he can give.

Articles

“Worship in the Wilderness” by Michael Card, singer/songwriter and author

“Identifying with Christ: Why We’re Called to Lament for Our Suffering World”
from Reformed Worship (December 2010)
by Stacey Gleddiesmith, staff writer for Regent College in Vancouver

“The Hidden Hope of Lament”
by Dan Allender, author and professor of counseling psychology, Seattle School of Theology and Psychology

“My God, My God, Why?: Understanding the Lament Psalms”
from Reformed Worship (June 2010)
by Stacey Gleddiesmith, staff writer for Regent College in Vancouver

“Why We Lament When We’re Not Lamenting”
by John Starke, pastor of Apostles Upper West Side Church in New York City
Reasons why churches should regularly lament to God in corporate worship and why Christians should participate even when they are not personally experiencing a season of intense suffering and sorrow.

“Bringing Our Pain to God: Michael Card and Calvin Seerveld on Biblical Lament in Worship”

Video

“Lamenting Is Worship” by Michael Card
part 1
part 2
part 3
part 4
part 5
part 6
part 7

Books

Michael Card, A Sacred Sorrow: Reaching Out to God in the Lost Language of Lament (NavPress, 2005).

Michael Card, The Hidden Face of God: Finding the Missing Door to the Father through Lament (NavPress, 2007).

Jonalyn Fincher and Aubrie Hills, Invitation to Tears: A Guide to Grieving Well (Soulation Press, 2014).

Nancy Guthrie, Be Still, My Soul: Embracing God’s Purpose and Provision in Suffering (Crossway Books, 2010)
25 short readings on the problem of pain from classic and contemporary theologians and Bible teachers

Tim Keller, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering (Dutton, 2013).

J. Todd Billings, Rejoicing in Lament: Wrestling with Incurable Cancer and Life in Christ (Baker, 2015).
The reflections and lament of a theology professor who was diagnosed with a rare, incurable form of cancer at age 39.

Nicholas Wolterstorff, Lament for a Son (Eerdmans, 1987).
The reflections and lament of a philosopher whose son died in a mountain climbing accident at age 25.

Sally A. Brown and Patrick D. Miller, Lament: Reclaiming Practices in Pulpit, Pew, and Public Square (Westminster John Knox Press, 2005).