The greatest prayer of lament in all of Scripture comes in Daniel 9. We'll not read the whole thing, but I encourage you to read it in its entirety. But for our purposes, just the first few sentences will suffice to give us a glimpse at what genuine sorrow looks like.
I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. We have not listened to your servants, the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
Daniel 9:4-6
Daniel had been in exile in Babylon for over seventy years at this point. He had been taken as an adolescent, conscripted into serving his enemy, and now he was an old man who lived the majority of his life away from the land he loved most. Now, one would be tempted to think that Daniel rebelled, lost his faith, or something like that. But he never did.
Despite a long string of unfortunate events, Daniel remained faithful. In fact, as was his habit, he regularly prayed and read his bible. This very thing even got him in trouble once (cf. Dan. 6). And, this time, as he was reading Jeremiah the prophet, he realized that the time to return to Israel was at hand (cf. Jer. 29:10). This realization is what precipitated this prayer of confession in Daniel 9.
Now, there are several things we can glean from this passage. What's striking is how Daniel takes responsibility for the sins of an entire nation and his ancestors. Even though it would've been unlikely that Daniel was culpable in any way personally, he still used personal plural pronouns like "we," "us," and "our” in his prayer. What's more, Daniel goes to extraordinary lengths to contrast his people's guilt with God’s impeccability. Jehovah had not failed the Jews; the Jews had failed Jehovah. Yet, despite Daniel thoroughly making the case that he and Israel did not deserve forgiveness, we find Daniel ending his prayer by asking for that very thing.
As we so often forget, Daniel knew that though we are in the wrong in almost every way, God is still loving, patient, and forgiving. The scene then ends with an angel visiting Daniel before he even ends his prayer. The angel even said that before Daniel began to pray, he was sent to give Daniel word that he was "greatly loved." Daniel’s rueful lament was answered with a passionate declaration of love.
Lament, sorrow, confession…these are things that are unpleasant but are nevertheless essential for a follower of God. This is why Jesus says, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Physical mourning facilitates spiritual renewal. Before we can ever be remade, we must repent.
Even king David, though he had slept with a married woman, abused his kingly powers, and even had a man killed, said that "God is near to the broken hearted.” If he, of all people, could claim such a thing, then we all have hope. Should we feel like our heavenly Father is far away, may we remember that the more broken we are over our own sins, the nearer God is to us.
Our memories are short, and our passions are strong. We are wayward souls who need to be reminded of our waywardness. We are like ships with broken rudders in constant need of repair. Mourning, lament, and repentance…these are the ways we correct our course and remember God’s goodness. Mourning in this world is unavoidable. But for those who mourn in Christ, rejoicing is likewise inevitable.
This is why John the revelator tells us that at the advent of that new eternal age, “[Jesus] will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Someday all pain will be utterly forgotten. Eventually, you will cry your last tear. And just as Jesus wipes away our sins today, He will also, someday, wipe away even our own sorrow in the end.
May we mourn today so that we will rejoice in that endless tomorrow.
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