Honest to God: A Qualitative Study of Engaging with God in Lament

Lament is an ancient form of prayer that has been neglected in American Christianity. Biblical lament – seen throughout scripture and particularly in the psalms – typically follows a pattern: the sufferer addresses God, brings an honest complaint to God, makes a request of God, reminds themself of God’s past work on their behalf, and ends in expressions of confidence in God in a posture of active, willing surrender. After participating in a six-week daily lament program, 32 participants who reported a recent difficult life circumstance were interviewed about their experiences with lament. Using thematic analysis, we found that four mechanisms – permission for emotional honesty with God, biblical passages that mirror participants’ experiences, emotional processing, and grounding through the return to praise – helped increase their intimacy with God, providing a new perspective, hope, and/or peace.