Last week, the Southeastern part of United States experienced tremendous devastation from Hurricane Helene.  As I view the photos and hear the stories, my heart breaks…
Entire cities are underwater. Homes and people are washed away. Entire families are still missing. 

For those of us who follow The Way of Jesus, we know He is Lord. Sometimes we search for hope in the words of Jesus. Sometimes we rush to share those words with the hurting… or we aren’t sure how to reconcile the hope with so much devastation.

It can be overwhelming. So we pray for restoration and healing and comfort. We send financial-aid and donations. We open our homes and offer help to neighbors… Well done, friends!

And you know what else we can do?

We can take a moment to weep, with others and with Jesus.

Don’t rush through it. Don’t try to pray it away.

Sit with it, even though it’s uncomfortable. Jesus does. In fact, he’s waiting there for you.

What if we turned off our phones and turned on our voices, together?

What if we turn the constant scrolling and consuming of media into prayer points – and not just any prayer. Prayers of lament. Prayers that express sorrow, directed at the Only One who can truly do something about it.

You see, Jesus welcomes our raw hearts. He is a Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief. He longs to hear our tears speak, when words won’t come. In fact, your tears are so precious, that he collects them and bottles them.

I often encourage my kids to invite Jesus into their feelings and ask Him to be with them. After all, Jesus came in the form of a human – so he felt all the feelings we do. If anyone gets us, He does! The prayer goes a little like this, “Jesus I feel _____. Can you come be here with me? Can you show me how you feel about this?” Sometimes, we see Jesus sitting, with tears in his eyes, right beside us. He is the most compassionate person I’ve ever met.

In fact, some of my darkest moments have been spent listening to David lament in Psalms. I listened to an audio Bible with a tear-streaked face because I couldn’t muster the strength to read them for myself. The suffering was bitter, but the fellowship in the suffering was sweet.

We do not weep alone. He weeps with us. He is near the brokenhearted. Receive His presence.

Let’s invite Him into the pain to sit with us a while.

And yes – there is a time for hope. But this? This is the time for weeping…

“We are filled with fear, for we are trapped, devastated, and ruined. Tears stream from my eyes because of the destruction of my people. My tears flow endlessly; they will not stop until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees. My heart is breaking…
(Lamentations 3:45-51 Paraphrased)

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This summer at the Vineyard USA national conference Clay Harrington presented a stunning message on prayers of lament. You can view it here. – (Scroll down to Main Session 4 in Cincinnati – Confession + Lament.)