Reflection: Ways: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

Reflection Questions:

                1. What images do the words "no escape," "chains," and "blocked ways" evoke? 

                2. What walls have barricaded you in?"

                3. What walls have you built up against yourself? Against others?

Share: How has the Lord released you from them?

Ways: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

Reading: Lamentations 3:7-9: ".... Even when I cry out for help, He shuts out my prayer. He has blocked my ways with hewn stone; ...".

Ways

It often can take a long time, Lord, for each of us to even begin to understand these words and others like them. Especially when Your words also invite us to come directly to You in prayer.

In all circumstances and situations.

But then maybe we are still like toddlers crying and asking for things that are not safe. Or will lead us into temptations and destruction. Because we have not grown enough to recognize the imitation lures.

So You over-ride our cries to keep us safe and turn instead to seek Your truth.

Please help us to accept closed prayers and closed doors with as much thankfulness as we respond to open ones.

Keep us only on Your road. The one not even a fool can fall off.

And show us how to recognize  and respond to any words Your Spirit speaks into us.

Please keep us listening--Your way.

Your thoughts, 

Distress: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

                           Distress

                        Walls breached

                        streets empty

                        silent distress

                        wails throughout.

                        Shadows creep

                        living dead

                        linger as corpses in

                        stricken city.

                        Lamentation

                        weaves darkness

                        wounded stagger

                        left to mourn.

Psalm 37:11: "But the meek shall inherit the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity."

                         

Reflections: Walls: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

 Reflection Questions:

                1. Have you had a season of bitterness, either within yourself or from another?

                2. In what ways did it taint all aspects of your days?

                3. How did you find your light in that situation?

 Share: How does that experience guide you now in times of darkness?

Walls: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

 Reading: Lamentations: 3:4-6: "... He has besieged and encompassed me with bitterness and hardship. In dark places he has made me dwell....".

Walls

Sometimes in difficult situations, and sometimes in our thoughts alone, we think we have been abandoned. But He is always with us.

It has taken many years for some of us to recognize why these pulls into dark places, but now we hope to turn to You immediately, or not wait too long to seek Your guidance.

We have not always understood and still may not fully grasp why. But maybe even without being able to identify the reason of the darkness we can truly understand there will come the power and the blessing of Your light in Your time.

And maybe instead of building a cold heart to others we can begin to understand and act with compassion?

Lord, please keep us in Your silence in all situations.

Your thoughts,

Driven: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

                         Driven

                        The light has left.

                        Alone now in

                        darkness, cut off

                        from wisdom

                        driven into affliction

                        by wrath

                        day to day

                        His words

                        disappear in emptiness

                        alone now barren.

                        The light has left.

Psalm 37:10: "Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there."

Reflection: Walk: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

Reflection Questions 

    1. When did you feel driven into darkness--into affliction--into a sense of "against me alone"?

    2. Did you believe that God purposely sent you? Why? Why not?

    3. How do our reactions to darkness affect us when we believe that God is making us walk alone, or is walking by our side throughout?

Share: What promise from the Lord helps you cling to His light?

Walk: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

 Reading: Lamentations 3:1-3: "... He has driven me and made me walk In darkness and not in light.  ...".

Walk

In all our times of darkness, Lord, You have been with each one of us. Especially in times when we remain so angry at You that we would not listen, or accept Your truths.

And the darkness still comes.

But now we know that You are always present. And we need to keep on walking daily, sometimes one step at a time.

Holding on to Your hand. Holding on to Your words in our hearts and soul every moment.

Thank you for holding on to each one of us--to being with each of us--in all circumstances.

May we focus on Your living light even in the darkest places.

Your thoughts,

Stands: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

                Stands

                She stands now

                before each watch

                pouring out her heart

                for her dying children

                faint from hunger

                perishing under famine

                of body and soul

                separated from God

                their protector by

                her actions.

                She stands now

                pleading His mercy

                upon their future

                upon His promises.

                Hands raised high in prayer.

                She stands before each watch.

Psalm 37:9:"For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land."

Reflection: Wail: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

Reflections Questions

                1. What can happen to our grief when we bury it?

                2. Have you ever hidden your emotions from yourself? What did it do to your prayers, your heart?

                3. In what ways can our suffering numb us to other's suffering, instead of exercising compassion? 

Share: Do you believe that God will redeem your "soul" in peace from the battle which is against me" if you ask? (Psalm 55:18)

Wail: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

Reading: Lamentations 2:19-22: "... Pour out your heart like water Before the presence of the Lord; Lift up your hands to Him For the life of your little ones Who are faint because of hunger...". 

Wail

Lord, there is so much hunger today in our hearts and souls as so many lies are distorting and blocking Your words. And twisting Your truths and Your mercy.

Please protect each one of us from believing in the false deceptions, especially our younger generations who may not yet have experienced real danger and consequences.

May Your Spirit speak into their hearts with Your heart to shatter the fabrications.

Show each one of us how to truly walk in prayer lifting us to You by Your Spirit. To live the life You choose for us and be Your children even in sorrow and grief.

Your thoughts,

Ruin: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

                Ruin

                She did not heed

                warnings given in

                abundance.

                Chose instead oracles

                filled with false

                blessings

                deceptive visions

                misled promises of

                fortune.

                Vast now the ruin

                exposed iniquity

                bountiful

                with fruit from

                forbidden tree.

Psalm 37:8: "Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret--it leads only to evil."

Reflections: Word: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

Reflection Questions 

                1. Have you ever been caught by false advice, or false vision, which led you into wrong decisions?

              2. What voices of truth do you usually heed?

              3. Looking back, what warnings did you not heed? Why?

Share: How did the Lord break through your personal captivity and allow tears to dissolve your deception?

Word: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

Reading: Lamentations 2:13-18: "How shall I admonish you? To what shall I compare you? ... For your ruin is as vast as the sea; ... The Lord has done what He purposed; He has accomplished His word which He commanded from days of old."

Word

Forgive us Lord, for the many, many times we only see tumult and ruin and refuse, or fall apart, as we forget Your promises and Your words--both of warnings and restoration.

Your purpose is to restore each one of us and that may first cause total destruction as our lies are exposed.

In this current pandemic we have seen it happen so much as false responses and excuses mix and twist the true words building up more confusion and misunderstandings.

Our personal fears and weaknesses come into the light for each one of us.

We pray to be able to let go of the surrounding tumult and still take steps into You presence and Your purpose. To live into each day on Your road with You.

Please continue to give us Your strength into our hearts and words and prayers.

Your thoughts,

Sorrow: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

                 Sorrow 

                Soul light is gone

                prophets cannot see

                vision to guide

                all removed.

                Sorrow engulfs

                tears, stand in

                despair as children

                faint from lack of

                nourishment.

                Spent with weeping

                she wanders over

                broken walls

                unprotected.

Psalm 37:7: "Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices."

Reflections: Woe: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

Reflection Questions:

                1. How do you give access to unholy forces in your own life?

                2. Have you been able to hold onto your vision of the Lord in time of great sorrow? How?

                3. If you too found your vision blinded in grief, what restored you?

Share: How does either insight help you comfort or pray for another who is in distress?

Woe: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

Reading: Lamentations 2:7-12: "..... My eyes fail because of tears, My spirit is greatly troubled; My heart is poured out on the earth, Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, When little ones and infants faint In the streets of the city."

Woe

It is often so hard to see the depth of our sins, and false desires, and recognize how far we have walked away from the Lord.  

And yet if we cannot recognize the truth we cannot return.

In our country--in our world--we each need to remember His truth. To keep each of us from shouting blame at others.

And begin to kneel before the Lord one by one to seek His forgiveness, His mercy, His light, and His path.

Lord, please show us how to pause whenever we need to, so that we don't forget or stray or let weakness take hold of us--no matter in what situation we find ourselves.

Please hold all our tears and restoration in Your hands.

Your thoughts,

Destroyed: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

               Destroyed

               Did she think her protector 

               immune from righteous anger

               decide him too gentle, too loving

               unaffected by her flirtations.

               Did she not recognize his pain 

               at her betrayal.

               Destruction the wake of rage

               uncontrolled fury

               demolishing all he had built

               with such tenderness, such labor

               devoted commitment;

               tabernacle removed, relationship severed

               desolations remains.

Psalm 37:6: "And He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, And Your judgement as the noon day."

     

Reflection: Wrath: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

 Reflection Questions:

                1. Have you ever experienced completer silence from God in the wake of personal destruction whether of your own making or not?

                2. How did you react to the silence? Did it feel like more betrayal? Or punishment? Or confusion?

                3. Why is silence more difficult to handle than outright accusations?

                4. What does God's wrath over Jerusalem's actions tell us about His love?

Share: When did you personally remember God's forgiveness?

Wrath: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

Reading: Lamentations: 2:1-6: "How the Lord has covered...With a cloud in His anger!...The Lord has swallowed up; He  has not spared All the habitants of Jacob...In fierce anger he has cut off All the strength of Israel; ...The Lord has become like an enemy."

Wrath

Lord, too often we forget that, like our earthly parents did, we still cross the line. And then experience anger and consequences in our rebellion.

We cannot ignore our sins and actions and try to blame others.

But even in Your anger You remain present to turn us back to Your love. To guide us to recognize our vulnerability is a reminder to stay on Your path only.

Without Your presence Lord, we sin.

Show us, we pray, how to be honest before You in all our thoughts and actions.

So that we will walk in faith on whatever path You choose for us.

Your thoughts,

Alone: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

                 Alone

                She stands alone

                at the center of her city

                empty now of tears

                dried up. Loves deceived,

                friends disappeared,

                elders and priests

                perish for sustenance

                empty now of solace

                refused human compassion

                she stands alone/

Psalm 37:5: "Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it."

  

Reflection: Wrongs: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

 Reflections Questions:

                1. In what way has an act of rebellion on your part broken a loving relationship?

                2. Did the ramifications affect others around you? How?

                3. How has that experience affected decisions you make now?

Share: Do you believe God has been in your situation?  Have you accepted the Lord's forgiveness?

Wrongs: Lamentations: Prayer and Poetry

 Reading: Lamentations: 1:18-22: "The Lord is righteous; For I have rebelled against His command; .... My Spirit is greatly troubled; My heart is overturned within me; ... For all my transgressions; For my groans are many, and my heart is faint."

Wrongs

Sometimes we often see the Lord's light only as bringing hope and healing, which it does, through Him. But sometimes light is also needed to bring us out of our wrongs as well.

So that we can recognize them as the danger they are. So that we can seek to repent and be made clean and whole despite our brokenness.

Any relationship needs total honesty. And the Lord already knows all of us from the inside out.

And He is the only one who can fully restore our hearts and our lives--no matter how shattered.

Lord, please help us to see what we are still hiding from ourselves, or refusing to acknowledge as sin. Then bring us to fully seek Your word and choose Your forgiveness. And then become Your lights when You send us.

Your thoughts, 

Consumed: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

                Consumed

                Fires swept her streets

                hot dragon's breath

                consuming any obstacle

                rushing over buildings

                searing trees

                unstoppable

                survivors left too weak to stand

                shackled into yokes

                chattel

                cries frozen in shock

                song silenced in

                captivity.

Psalm 37: 4: "Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart."

                

                

                

Reflection: Weakened: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

 Reflection Questions

                1. Have you experienced a time when you felt utterly consumed and helpless physically, emotionally, or spiritually?

                2. Did you ever feel that the Lord Himself has crushed you? Why?

                3. How did that experience change your faith, or your attitude towards the Lord?

Share: What is your response now when you are completely unable to stand?

Weakened: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

Reading: Lamentations 1:13-17: ..."For these things I weep; My eyes run down with water; Because far from me is a comforter,  One who restores my soul; My children are desolate Because the enemy has prevailed.' ...".

Weakened

There are so many areas where we see or experience the attacks of the enemy: through our own sins, or from others, or caught up in the battleground around us.

And through our losses and tears we do think that the enemy has prevailed.

But not really.

Yes the grief and the loss are very real, but our Lord is always present to be with us throughout the danger and throughout the chaos. He protects us and guides us to turn away from anything false so that we can see and return to His truth.

To protection. To healing. To restoration. To hope.

He protects each of us not only from attack without but also from our own sins hiding within.

Please teach us Lord, to truly know You and walk Your paths as You lead--especially when our tears flow in grief.

Please restore our souls.

Your thoughts,

Forlorn: Prayers and Poetry

                  Forlorn

               With no thought

                for tomorrow she followed

                whims chasing treasure

                fickle as a child

                watching butterflies.

                Forlorn stands before sanctuary

                weeping at destruction

                fouled by graffiti

                willful desecration

                filled with debris.

                Wanders searching

                food for strength to

                withstand another day

                fervently praying sorrow be

                wiped away, sin

                forgiven, restore broken

                faith.

Psalm 37:3: "Trust in the Lord, and do, good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness."

                

                

Reflection: Wandered: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

 Reflection Questions

                1. What sin in your past (or present) would make you feel naked if exposed, even though you know the Lord has forgiven you?

                2. Do you still try to make amends to earn forgiveness?

                3. In what ways do you attempt to restore yourself before seeking God's grace?

Share: Why is it difficult? Or why is it not?

Wandered: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

Reading: Lamentations 1:8-12: "...She did not consider her future; Therefore she has fallen astonishingly; She has no comforter. 'See, O Lord, my affliction, For the enemy has magnified himself!' The adversary has stretched out his hand Over all her precious things, For she has seen the nations enter her sanctuary, The ones whomThou didst command That they should not enter into Thy congregation. ...".

Wandered

Forgive all of us Lord for seeking our days and our futures through our own ideas of ownership instead of seeking Your will.

Thank You for still waiting for us to see Your words, Your truth, and Your open doors inviting each of us to return.

We pray for all our precious ones to follow Your light and ask You to break any chains that still keep anyone from a relationship with You. For You to be each one's heart center.

Please guide all our prayers as You remind us and lead us to dissolve all that is error. We pray Lord, that as Lent has reminded us, to recognize Your truth. And that all Your children from all ages, all countries, and all heritages be restored to You.

Your thoughts,

Empty: Lamentations: Prayers and Poetry

                 Empty

                She wanders through

                familiar streets

                empty.

                Children's laughter

                once vibrant

                echoes hollow

                in the silence.

                Her hands trace

                shells of

                past pleasure

                as she walks

                by

                homes, shops

                now shapeless haunts.

                Turns quickly

                at sudden noise

                only wind blown debris

                clanging.

                Resumes penance

                walk

                hungry for days of old

                remembering precious

                things,

                lost

                captured by

                her transgressions.

Psalm 37:2: "for they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb."