The Book of Psalms (0:00)
- The Book of Psalms teaches us how to pray and gives pride of place to our emotions in prayer.
- It is a learned skill, and Psalms help us cultivate the habit of prayer and daily connection with God.
Psalm 22 (4:00)
- Psalm 22 is one of the more well-known Psalms because the
first line is a prayer that Jesus took on his lips as he hung on the cross. - While the first line is familiar, the rest of the Psalm is not as well understood.
- Psalm 22 is a prayer that teaches us how to pray through our
pain and grief.
The Great Contradiction (8:56)
- The great contradiction is a formidable challenge to belief in God and Jesus.
- The contradiction is that we believe God is good, real, present, and loves the world and everyone in it
- However, we also experience pain, grief, and suffering, which seem to contradict our belief in a good and loving God
Praying through Our Emotions (10:43)
- Psalms take a middle way that is not overtaken by emotions but also does not stuff or deny our emotions.
- Praying through our emotions is about an intentional, thoughtful, reflective, and discovering the sources of what we’re feeling.
- It is also about reminding ourselves of God’s character and who we are and pouring out the whole mess in God’s presence.
Psalm 22 and Praying through Our Pain
(12:14)
- Exploring Psalm 22 teaches us how to pray through our pain and grief.
- David’s prayer in Psalm 22 shows us how to pour out our pain while still acknowledging God’s goodness and faithfulness.
- Praying through our pain means being honest with God about our feelings, even when they contradict our beliefs.
- We can trust God with our pain because he is present, good, faithful, and loves us.
Conclusion (25:28)
- Praying through our pain is a learned skill that requires intentionality and practice.
- Psalms teach us how to pray through our emotions and pour out our pain in God’s presence.
- Praying through our pain means acknowledging the great contradiction and trusting God with our pain, even when it seems to contradict our beliefs.
Praying through the great contradiction
09:20
- The Book of Psalms provides language for how to pray through the contradiction of experiencing pain and suffering in a world created by a good God.
- Many people struggle with holding onto the belief in God’s goodness when hardship and tragedy strike.
- The Psalms do not provide a theological answer to why evil exists but offer a way to pray through it.
Lament and protest 10:47
- One-third of the prayers in the Book of Psalms are generated out of pain and anguish.
- The way to pray through this contradiction is through lament and protest.
- Lament and protest acknowledge the feeling of abandonment by God while still praying through it.
Psalm 22 11:25
- Psalm 22 is an example of lament and protest in the Book of Psalms.
- The majority of this prayer is anguished, detailed description of it is not until the end that the author makes requests of God.
Request mode 11:59
- The default mode of prayer for many people when hardship hits is “help me.”
- This is a request mode of prayer where people ask God to provide a solution or relief.
- The assumption in this mode of prayer is that God needs to be told exactly what to do about the situation
Assumption of Psalm 22 14:39
- The assumption in Psalm 22 is that God already knows what is happening and what needs to be done.
- The majority of the prayer is taken up with describing what is happening and how the author feels about it.
- The author makes requests of God at the end of the prayer.
Disproportionate Prayer 15:53
- Biblical prayers assume that God is most interested in hearing our description of how we are processing all of what’s happening to us and how it’s making us feel.
- They do the opposite of most of our prayers which are focused on requests mode.
- In requests mode, we assume that God needs help knowing what to do, but God already knows what’s happening and how we feel about it.
- Psalms assume that God is interested in hearing from us how we are processing our pain.
Lament and Protest 16:06
- Psalms are here to teach us how to pray in times of suffering and hardship.
- They do that primarily through lament and protest.
- Protest in these prayers is different from what we think of as protest.
- Protest in these prayers is a different category.
Contemporary Example of Lament and
Protest 17:32
- A passenger wrote a letter to Continental Airlines about the miserable experience they had sitting in seat 29A on one of their aircraft.
- The passenger’s letter is an example of lament and protest.
- The letter was a viral sensation on the internet.
- The structure of the letter is similar to Psalm 22.
- The letter’s author aims to get a response by describing their experience of suffering and hardship.
- The author’s aim is to get the airline to remove the seat and leave it empty.
Insights from the Passenger’s Letter 22:03
- The letter from the passenger to Continental Airlines is remarkably similar to Psalm 22 in its structure.
- The letter’s author aimed to get a response from the airline by describing their experience of suffering and hardship.
- The author’s aim was to get the airline to remove the seat and leave it empty.
- The author’s approach was more effective and funny than if they had just made a request.
- The entire letter is aimed at getting a response, not just the request at the end.
Background on the Psalm 22:41
- Psalm 22 is a prayer of lament and protest.
- It is almost poetic, filled with metaphor and exploration of the anguish and pain being experienced
Exploring the Anguish 22:47
- The majority of Psalm 22 is an exploration of what is happening in detail, what is being felt and experienced.
- There is no specific description of the circumstances, making it open-ended and relatable to anyone who has ever felt
abandoned by God.
The Use of Irony and Sarcasm 22:56
- The Psalm is full of irony and sarcasm, which is why it can be both intense and humorous.
- This is a good example of how to pray through grief, even though most of us do not know how to do it well.
Honesty and Heart in Prayer 23:10
- We often assume that God does not want to hear our grief and pain, but that is not the case.
- God is interested in hearing what we are feeling and processing, even if it is difficult for us to express.
- We should strive to pray with honesty and heart, even if it is not as dramatic as Psalm 22.
Analysis of Psalm 22 23:30
- Psalm 22 is a prayer of David, generated from a difficult life experience.
- David’s description of how he feels and what is happening to him is open-ended and relatable to anyone who has ever felt abandoned by God.
- The prayer has been passed down to Jesus and to his people, making it a prayer for anyone who has ever felt a sense of absence from God
The Importance of Psalm Structure 24:13
- The structure of the Psalm is important, including the note at the beginning that it is a psalm of David and the melody to which it was played.
- The note about the melody tells us that this prayer was played in Israel’s worship in the temple.
- The structure of the Psalm opens it up to the lives of many people who have experienced a sense of absence from God
Lament and Protest 27:00
- Biblical lament and protest is based on relationship with God.
- David begins his prayer with an appeal to God, assuming that God cares and is his God.
- David’s protest is based on how God has proven his faithfulness in the past.
Reminding God of His Past Faithfulness
27:29
- David reminds God of how he has been faithful in the past, citing the story of the Exodus as an example.
- This is a way of reminding God that he has responded to his people’s cries for help in the past.
- This is a legitimate question to ask when we feel that God is absent from our lives.
Expressing Isolation and Grief 29:06
- In this section, Tim Mackie talks about how the psalmist expresses his feelings of isolation and grief to God.
- He quotes from Psalm 22, where the psalmist says things like “I’m a worm,” “I’m not a man,” and “I’m scorned by everyone.”
- The psalmist feels completely alone and despised by everyone, to the point where people are mocking him and insulting him.
Going Deep into Isolation 29:33
- Tim Mackie comments on how the psalmist takes a deep dive into his isolation in this section.
- He says that the psalmist doesn’t shy away from articulating his feelings of grief and isolation, even though it may be uncomfortable for some people to talk to God in this way.
- Mackie points out that grief and tragedy can be very isolating experiences, even for people who care about us.
Animal Metaphors 32:11
- In this section, Tim Mackie talks about the animal metaphors used in the Psalms to describe circumstances that are hostile or dangerous.
- He quotes from Psalm 22 again, where the psalmist uses images of bulls, lions, and dogs to describe his situation.
- Mackie explains that these metaphors were common in the culture and time of the psalmist, and that they would have understood the imagery well.
Lamenting to God 34:47
- In this section, Tim Mackie talks about how the psalmist moves into request mode after expressing his grief and isolation to
God. - He says that the psalmist assumes that it’s more important to God and to himself to really articulate what’s happening to him than to make specific requests.
- Mackie quotes from Psalm 22 again, where the psalmist asks God to not be far, to come quickly to help him, and to rescue him from his enemies.
The Purpose of Lament 36:12
- The Book of Psalms contains prayers of lament that express grief, anger, and protest against the conditions that prevent human thriving.
- Lamentation is a biblical way of processing times of stress, tragedy, and hardship and involves naming what is wrong and holding the contradiction in faith.
- Biblical lament and protest are not angry wallowing prayers, but rather an invitation to be honest and pour our hearts out before God.
The Whole Human Being 36:38
- Times of hardship and grief are not just about therapy; they are about being whole human beings.
- The Bible’s culture of prayer and lament is God’s way of inviting us to process our pain and align ourselves with His care and goodness
Biblical Lament and Protest 38:05
- Biblical lament and protest are different from angry wallowing prayers.
- Lament and protest involve being honest and pouring our hearts out before God.
- The Book of Psalms contains prayers of lament and protest that express grief, anger, and protest against the conditions that prevent human thriving.
From Lament to Praise 38:32
- Biblical lament does not end with grief and protest; it leads to praise and thanksgiving as well.
- When we find an answer or resolution to our prayers, we are to invite other people into our journey of pain, grief, and so on to celebrate moments of deliverance and answered prayer.
- David’s prayer in Psalm 22 shifts from lament and protest to praise after he experienced deliverance from his grief and anger.
Inviting Others into Our Story 41:50
- David’s shift from lament to praise in Psalm 22 is an example of how biblical lament involves inviting other people into our story.
- Celebrating moments of deliverance and answered prayer with others assumes that we have invited them into our journey of
pain and grief. - Westerners find it challenging to connect and initiate relationships with others, but inviting others into our story is an essential part of lament and prayer as a community of Jesus’s followers.
Inviting Others into Our Story 41:50
- David’s shift from lament to praise in Psalm 22 is an example of how biblical lament involves inviting other people into our story.
- Celebrating moments of deliverance and answered prayer with others assumes that we have invited them into our journey of pain and grief.
- Westerners find it challenging to connect and initiate relationships with others, but inviting others into our story is an essential part of lament and prayer as a community of Jesus’s
followers.
Praying through our pain 42:57
- Psalm 22 is a prayer of lament by David, who is crying out to God in his suffering and pain.
- This psalm is an invitation for others who are also struggling to pray through their emotions and find solace in the fact that they are not alone in their pain.
- Through praying together, we can unite our stories and find support in our shared experiences.
The bigger story 43:47
- In Psalm 22, David reflects on his own story of tragedy and how he called out to God for help.
- He realizes that his story is just a small part of God’s bigger story in the world, where God is meeting evil, suffering, and brokenness with mercy and salvation.
- David ends his prayer by envisioning a future where all nations will worship God and all generations will be told about the Lord’s righteousness
Jesus and Psalm 22 47:11
- Jesus quotes Psalm 22 while he is on the cross, taking on the suffering of all humanity that has prayed this prayer before him.
- Jesus identifies with the suffering of humanity and creates a space for Christians to pray through the first half of Psalm 22, even if they may never see the full answer to their prayers.
- By taking on this prayer, Jesus gives us an anchor to hold onto, reminding us that God did not despise or scorn the suffering of the afflicted one.
The Importance of Psalm 22 50:08
- Psalm 22 is a prayer written by King David that expresses his anguish and suffering.
- This Psalm was also quoted by Jesus while he was on the cross, making it a significant part of Christian history.
- It is a prayer that speaks to people who are going through tough times and need help finding hope.
God Enters into Our Suffering 50:14
- The prayer in Psalm 22 speaks of God entering into our suffering and understanding our anguish.
- This is important because it shows that God cares about our suffering and is willing to be with us in our pain.
Jesus’ Experience with Psalm 22 50:28
- Jesus experienced the second part of Psalm 22 during his crucifixion.
- As followers of Jesus, we can put our faith and trust in him during our own times of suffering.
Connecting with Jesus through Prayer
51:24
- Taking time to pray and connect with Jesus can help us find comfort and hope during times of pain and grief.
- This can be done through quiet time, prayer, worship, or taking communion (bread and cup).
- When we connect with Jesus through prayer, we are connecting with him in his suffering and identifying with him in our own suffering.
Encouragement to Pray with Psalm 22
52:07
- It is encouraged to spend time with Psalm 22 during times of pain and grief.
- This can be uncomfortable, but it is important to be open to what God might want to speak to us through this prayer.
- God cares about our suffering and has done something about it through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
- Summary from youtubesummarized.com