Fasting and Prayer with Psalms: A Reading Plan

The Psalms serve as the prayer book for God’s people, offering a rich collection of songs and prayers that guide us in seeking God in every circumstance of life. Among the various types of psalms—thanksgiving, praise, gratitude, and moral instruction—the most prevalent are the laments.

Laments are prayers of anguish. They are not the neat, polite prayers we might offer around the dinner table but raw, unfiltered cries from the broken and suffering. Laments are desperate calls to God, pleading for His presence and intervention in our darkness. They echo the prayers of Job in his suffering, David in his repentance, the prophets grieving over injustice, and Jesus crying out on the cross. These psalms give voice to our deepest pain and fears, and helps us bring them honestly before God.

As we enter this period of fasting and prayer as a church, we invite you to join us in reading the laments of the Psalms daily. Let these prayers accompany your fasting.

We hope that praying these laments will teach us to turn to God in times of pain, doubt, sin and struggle. May He meet us in our weakness and hear our cries. May we also recognize His own cry in these laments and reflect on what grieves God.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit – Psalm 34:18

Download reading plan here: Psalms of Lament