Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Psalm 43

This Psalm is a lament. A lament is a complaint towards God. The Psalmist is expressing exactly how he feels. He feels abandoned and rejected by God. He wants God to act on his behalf but nothing is happening. However, at the conclusion of the Psalm he writes that he still has hope in God.

Laments are models of prayer for us. They teach us it is appropriate to share all of our feelings with God. God already knows our feelings, so what we say is not a surprise to God. What is important about laments is they conclude with a word of faith. In a lament I might express my frustration/dissatisfaction with God but before I finish I express that I do have hope in God. That is why I am praying.

1 comment:

  1. I thought about this all day as to how I pray - especially when I'm discouraged. I guess we all have prayers of "lamentations" at times. This passage is a reminder of the fact that our hope is always in the Lord - no matter what!

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