Prayers of lament are central to Scripture, and especially the book of Psalms. More than a third of the Psalms are laments. These Psalms of lament focus on deep regret and sorrow for the sins and travails of a nation, and as a cry for God's intervention. The people address these laments to God. They describe the lamentable situation. They confess their sin and complicity and sorrow. They call God to intervene, and to change the situation. And they offer thanksgiving and praise to God, in trust that God can and will bring change. These Psalms provide a model for contemporary lament.

Lament is an expression of deep regret and sorrow. It is a personal and corporate response to many things: evil, sin, death, harm, discrimination, inequality, racism, sexism, colonization, oppression, and injustice. Lament is about mourning the painful, shameful, or sorrowful situation. It's about confessing sin and complicity and sorrow. It's about calling God to intervene, and to change the situation. And lament is about offering thanksgiving and praise to God, knowing that God will intervene, and bring change, hope, and restoration.

The series draws upon the book by Graham Joseph Hill and Grace Ji-Sun Lim called "Healing Our Broken Humanity: Practices for Revitalizing the Church and Renewing the World."

Buy the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Healing-Our-Broken-Humanity-Revitalizing/dp/0830845410

Series 1: Ten Practices that Heal a Broken Humanity (Practice Two - Renew Lament)