Lament: Crying Out to God

For everyone · Tell us where you are

1. Is it okay to complain to God?

   Scripture honestly records believers who asked to die: Elijah (1 Kgs 19:4), Job (Job 3), Jeremiah (Jer 20:14-18), and Jonah in his anger (Jonah 4:3, 8-9). God granted none of these requests. He answered with care, questions, presence, and a future: food and rest for Elijah, His own voice to Job, continued ministry for Jeremiah, and patient reasoning with Jonah. These passages are not permission to end a life and are never a sign to do so. If you feel this way, God has not finished with you. Please call or text 988 now, or call 911 if you are in danger, and tell someone near you today.

   • Ps 13

     ¹For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? ²How long must I wrestle in my soul, with sorrow in my heart each day? How long will my enemy dominate me? Keep reading

   • Ps 88

     ¹A song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choirmaster. According to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite. O Lord, the God of my salvation, day and night I cry out before You. ²May my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry. Keep reading

   • Hab 1:2–4

     ²How long, O Lord, must I call for help but You do not hear, or cry out to You, “Violence!” but You do not save? ³Why do You make me see iniquity? Why do You tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me. Strife is ongoing, and conflict abounds. ⁴Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.

2. How do I pray when I'm angry at God?

   Scripture honestly records believers who asked to die: Elijah (1 Kgs 19:4), Job (Job 3), Jeremiah (Jer 20:14-18), and Jonah in his anger (Jonah 4:3, 8-9). God granted none of these requests. He answered with care, questions, presence, and a future: food and rest for Elijah, His own voice to Job, continued ministry for Jeremiah, and patient reasoning with Jonah. These passages are not permission to end a life and are never a sign to do so. If you feel this way, God has not finished with you. Please call or text 988 now, or call 911 if you are in danger, and tell someone near you today.

   • Ps 42

     ¹For the choirmaster. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs after You, O God. ²My soul thirsts for God, the living God. When shall I come and appear in God’s presence? Keep reading

   • Lam 3:1–33

     ¹I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath. ²He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness instead of light. ³Indeed, He keeps turning His hand against me all day long. Keep reading

   • Jer 20:7–18

     ⁷You have deceived me, O Lord, and I was deceived. You have overcome me and prevailed. I am a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me. ⁸For whenever I speak, I cry out; I proclaim violence and destruction. For the word of the Lord has become to me a reproach and derision all day long. ⁹If I say, “I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,” His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones, and I become weary of holding it in, and I cannot prevail. Keep reading

3. Did Jesus lament?

   • Matt 26:36–39

     ³⁶Then Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and He told them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. ³⁸Then He said to them, “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me.” Keep reading

   • Mark 15:34

     ³⁴At the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

   • Heb 5:7

     ⁷During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.

4. What if I want to die?

   Scripture honestly records believers who asked to die: Elijah (1 Kgs 19:4), Job (Job 3), Jeremiah (Jer 20:14-18), and Jonah in his anger (Jonah 4:3, 8-9). God granted none of these requests. He answered with care, questions, presence, and a future: food and rest for Elijah, His own voice to Job, continued ministry for Jeremiah, and patient reasoning with Jonah. These passages are not permission to end a life and are never a sign to do so. If you feel this way, God has not finished with you. Please call or text 988 now, or call 911 if you are in danger, and tell someone near you today.

   • 1 Kgs 19:1–8

     ¹Now Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. ²So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I have not made your life like the lives of those you killed!” ³And Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, Keep reading

   • Ps 88

     ¹A song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choirmaster. According to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite. O Lord, the God of my salvation, day and night I cry out before You. ²May my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry. Keep reading

   • Ps 34:18

     ¹⁸The Lord is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit.

   • Matt 11:28–30

     ²⁸Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”