Psalms of Lament and Thanksgiving

A Psalm of Lament

My spirit is broken, on life support. My faith breathes for me because I can no longer breathe for myself. As I lay still on my bed, lifeless, I can no longer distinguish the night from the day. The seasons change, but every day I feel the winter cold. When will my season change? How long will I feel this way? I cry out to God desperately in anguish and instead of a response I hear the echoes of an empty room. I know you are real; you have manifested your power before for me and for others. I have read about how you delivered Joseph, how you made a woman whole after 12 years, how you have spoken to a man with an infirmity and he began to walk. But I yet remain in the pit, I still deal with my issue, and I am still on my bed of affliction. My faith for the deliverance of others is abundant, as I proclaim your power, I see you working on their behalf, but personal disappointment has left my personal faith account depleted. I have gripped the life of my dreams only to have it dropped and broken. Now I wonder if you will give me blessings that are exceedingly abundantly above all I can ask or think, or if I will compromise my dreams and settle for mediocrity. I consider death as an option and my lifeless spirit responds with a faint pulse, a stubborn resolve that refuses to die. Your word reminds me so gently that faith the size of mustard scene can move mountains. My purpose reminds me that you can’t die until I am revealed. My vision begins to emanate from the dark clouds. God deliver me for your names’ sake. When I am delivered I will not forget that it was your hand that has made me to rejoice. I will boldly declare your majesty and power to all.

A Psalm of Thanksgiving

I long for and remember the days when life simple, when innocence and purity were present in every area of life. I remember when my connection with you was so natural and uninhibited. I was an empty vessel, ready to be filled with your word, power and glory. But I didn't know that experience produces power and glory. What was once pure and organic has become contaminated. I wish I remembered the day when things started to change, when the erosion occurred, when the slow fade began. Like the calm before the storm, my life has undergone destruction, and devastation, what I once known is no more. Now I wonder displaced, dejected, and with questions. My prayers have become questions, often questions without answers. Day by day I began to feel distant. Distant from you, distant from myself, because without you there is no me. There were times when I know I walked away from you, and also times when I felt like you weren’t close to me. As I currently pray, you remind me of my original prayer, to be used by you totally, I made a vow to you on the night I received your Spirit that if you fill me with your power, I will never walk away from you. I thought I desired purpose and power, but was unaware of the process that yields those results. You have birthed and commitment and resilience in my Spirit that can’t be broken, and part of me hates to admit, that the process you allowed was the process necessary. What I have believed has changed, but who I believe will never change.

I am taking an Old Testament course this semester, and here was a brief assignment, and these were the instructions given by the Professor. So I am passing them to you, write a Psalm of your own, either a Psalm of Lament or Thanksgiving and then post in on the blog, and lets be blessed by each others Psalms!

Lament Instructions:
Decide who are the people in need that you are praying for: your church, your city, your people, another person our yourself. Remind yourself and God of key facts about who God is or things God has done in the past. Tell God straight about the need (about the facts, the feelings, the fears) Tell God you still trust - or tell him you can no longer trust. Tell God what you want, in one line. Listen for God’s answer, and/or imagine you have heard God’s answer. Respond to the answer.

Thanksgiving Instructions:
Decide who are the people you are testifying for.
Tell the story of how things were: (when you were doing fine, how things collapsed, how you prayed, the way God answered, the difference God’s answer made. Express how you now feel. Say what your attitude towards God will be in the future. Tell other people what difference this should make to them. Talk more about God than about you.

For any kind of Psalm, remember:
You don’t have to include all the above aspects or keep to that order.
Decide what needs to be said in the light of these possibilities. Express yourself in images. Don’t blame yourself unless you’ve got special reason. Reflect your own experiences but do so indirectly, so other people can identify with them. Say things more than once, in different words.