Powerless (A Lament)

by Dan Christian

12 Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up Your hand; forget not the afflicted.
13 Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?14 But You do see, for You note mischief and vexation, that You may take it into Your hands; to You the helpless commits himself; You have been the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till You find none.
16 The Lord is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land.
17 O Lord, You hear the desire of the afflicted; You will strengthen their heart; You will incline Your ear
18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

Psalm 10:12-18 (ESV)

Almighty God, I cry out to You on behalf of the powerless.

Father, I am outraged at the injustice and oppression that wreaks havoc in our land. 

Many of those in positions of power are misusing their power to mistreat those without power. 

And the pent-up anger of a powerlessness that has been unjustly—cruelly—treated again and again explodes in violence that only feeds the brutality of the powerful.

God, please bring an end to this vicious cycle of death and destruction!

Lord, Your Word says You hear the desire of the afflicted, and there are afflicted people on all sides of this chaos—afflicted people who are powerless to save themselves from the injustice that is thrust on them.

Father, I cannot begin to understand the pain of these who face cruel injustice day after day, year after year, century after century.

I do not understand the depth of their pain, but I can understand in a small way the experience of powerlessness. I have felt that.

And in fact I feel something of that powerlessness now, seeing a centuries-long problem that infiltrates every corner of our society. I feel very small.

But that is precisely why I pray to You, O God. 

You are not powerless. “To You the helpless commits himself…”

You are the God of justice. Make Your power and justice known!

God, You see, You hear, You act. 

Please open my eyes to see the pain on all sides of this divide.

Please allow me to hear the stories of the powerless, that my heart would break as Yours does.

Please show me how to act. But whatever action You lead me to, may it only come after much weeping over all that I see and grieving over all that I hear.

Help me to see and hear like Jesus did, in ways that move my heart to compassion and my hands and voice to action.

I do not want to remain silent. I do not want to cower in fear over saying the wrong thing or being misunderstood. 

So I start with prayer. I begin with lament. “Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up Your hand; forget not the afflicted!”

Amen. Come Lord Jesus!