Today is the fifth Sunday of Lent, so I’m going to talk about the fifth part of a Lament – Sureness of Help.
I’ve been praying example laments each week of Lent, trying to demonstrate that we can use the form of a Lament found in Psalms to pray our own prayers and bring our own requests before God.
This year, I’ve mostly been praying about current events, because I’m upset about the way things in our country are going. But this week, I finished up three months of my firstborn living with me after almost twenty years living on her own. She’s been out of work for years, pretty much since she came out as transgender, and is doing a reset, alternating time between her dad and me. I’m super hopeful that the reset time so far has been helpful and that she’s going to be able to land a job and save money to get out on her own again. I’m super hopeful, but she’s also very much on my heart.
To review, the parts of a Lament are:
- Address to God
- Complaint
- Confession of Trust
- Entreaty
- Sureness of Help
- Subsequent Praise
The “Sureness of Help” section is my attempt at an “S” name for the section where the psalmist expresses confidence that God is going to answer. Here are some examples from Psalms:
Psalm 54:7—
You have delivered me from all my troubles,
and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.
Psalm 85:12—
The Lord will indeed give what is good,
and our land will yield its harvest.
Psalm 59:17—
But I will sing of your strength,
in the morning I will sing of your love;
for you are my fortress,
my refuge in times of trouble.
Psalm 3:8—
From the Lord comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people.
Sometimes, I’m not sure that God will actually answer my prayer precisely the way I want God to – so I try to focus on what I am sure about – at the very least, I’m sure that God hears my prayer and God cares. When I’m talking about big justice issues, I do believe that the arc of the universe tends toward justice – eventually. When it comes to my kid – well, you’ll see.
So here’s a Prayer for My Daughter
Lord, hear my prayer;
Shepherd, listen to my heart.
I come before you on behalf of my child,
whom you love even more than I do.
She’s been out of work for many years,
and you know the obstacles she’s faced.
You know the challenges
that get bigger with every month “empty” on a resume.
You know how our society isn’t kind
to anyone out of work for any length of time.
You know how we heap shame on the unemployed
in a way that makes it that much harder to change anything.
But Creator and Sustainer,
from birth she was a joy and delight.
Such a sunny spirit! A unique person
walking to the beat of her own drum,
brilliant, gifted, opinionated.
It was easy to remember how lovable
and clever and kind she is.
And how much joy to get to be around her again!
And I know and believe that You love her even more than I do
and crafted her with those unique gifts.
Now, Father and Mother of all,
I ask that you would make her way smooth.
She’s got a list of places she’s going to look for work
while staying with her dad.
My prayer is that the obstacles in her way would be softened,
that you would send your angels to lead her
to a job that’s right for her at this time.
I pray that you would encourage her heart
and help her efforts to bear fruit.
What am I sure of, Lord?
That you love her more than I do.
That you hear my prayer.
That you created her a masterpiece.
And that you will guide her in her next steps.
And some day, when I go to visit her in Portland,
in a place she’s paying for with her own earnings.
we will rejoice together.
And thank you for how far she’s come.
***
Do you have someone you want to pray for? Try writing a lament. If you paste your own example into the comments, I promise to pray with you.