The book of Psalms is divided into five books of prayers and praises.

Book 1 (Ps. 1-41)

Book 2 (Ps. 42-72)

Book 3 (Ps. 73-89)

Book 4 (Ps. 90-106)

Book 5 (Ps. 107-150)

It is also broken down into three categories.

Lament- complaints, petitions, and expressions of passionate grief or sorrow

Praises- recognizing the attributes and characteristics of God, and thanking Him for what he has done

Wisdom- how to live in the world by obeying God and having a God centered life

Psalms was written to cover every possible circumstance that life could throw at us. It is written to give us the words to communicate with God the different seasons of life. Today, I wanted to focus on prayers of lament. I wanted to lean into how lament prayers can help us pour our hardships and disappointments onto God.

Sometimes, we can ignore an opportunity to be intimate with God because we refuse to confess our disappointments or sorrows to Him. Life is not full of rainbows and sunshine. Life is hard, people disappoint us, and things don’t always turn out the way we expected. Life is filled with so many twists and turns, and Psalms gives us prayers that can help us walk through that. So many Christians have the idea that we must always be strong or positive before God; this mindset can lead to a toxic and unhealthy relationship with Him. However, Psalms shows me that we can express anything and everything to God.

I believe in the joy of the Lord, and as believers we have joy because we have the Spirit of God living on the inside of us. However, let’s not be naïve and dismiss the reality of what life is. Ecclesiastes reveals that adversity and frustration are unavoidable and apart of life. There is a time to rejoice and show gratitude to God, but what Father doesn’t want to hear His children’s sorrows or complaints? Even Jesus had a moment of sorrow when His friend Lazarus died (John 11). Jesus, the Son of God, had to experience grief from the death of his good friend (who he eventually raised from the dead). If Jesus experienced grief, what makes us think we won’t. Life hits us in so many different ways, maybe it’s a death in your family, a broken relationship, or even a personal failure. I want to encourage you that the book of Psalms has prayers for you that can help put into words what you are feeling.

We serve a personal God. He wants to walk through every season with you. Psalms has prayers that can help uplift your soul and relieve your Spirit.

A few verses from Psalms that you can study:
Psalms 51- Prayer for Restoration
Psalms 55- Betrayal by a Friend
Psalms 60- Prayer in difficult times
Psalms 77- Confidence in times of crisis
Psalms 79- Faith amid confusion
Psalms 86- Lament and petition