A Prayer of Lamentation and Intercession
"¶ Behold, O LORD, and consider to whom thou hast done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, and children of a span long? shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?" - Lamentations 2:20
O Gracious and Sovereign Lord,
As I come before You with a heart heavy with the weight of grief, I reflect on the sorrow expressed in Lamentations 2:20: "Behold, O LORD, and consider to whom thou hast done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, and children of a span long? shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?" My spirit is troubled as I ponder the implications of this cry, a cry borne not merely from the lips of the prophet but from the depths of human suffering and despair.
Lord, I echo this lamentation, for I see the turmoil that engulfs our communities, our families, and our world. I beseech You, O Lord, to behold the heartbreak that resides within us. Open Your ears to our cries and Your eyes to our tears. We live in a time where the innocent are endangered, where the vulnerable suffer under the weight of injustice, and where the voices of the righteous are silenced amidst the chaos of sin.
In these trying times, we find ourselves asking, "Shall the women eat their fruit?" O God, how often have your daughters been left destitute and abandoned, their hopes and dreams devoured by circumstance? Father, I pray for the women who are suffering—mothers who hunger for their children's wellbeing, daughters who seek validation and love in a broken world.
Remember the plight of those who struggle to provide, those who are forced to choose between compromising their values and ensuring the survival of their families. I ask You, Lord, to supply all their needs according to Your riches in glory. Provide for them not just materially but emotionally and spiritually—give them the strength to rise above their circumstances, the courage to fight against despair, and the faith to trust in Your providential care.
And, Lord, what of our children? "Shall the children of a span long?" Sweet Jesus, how we lament for the children—fragile and pure, entrusted to us by Your divine plan. We live in a world that forces them to bear burdens far too heavy and to face challenges far too great for their tender years. Protect them, Lord! In a culture that often overlooks their significance, remind us of their worth in Your sight.
Wrap them in Your arms of grace and guard their innocence from the grasp of evil. May they find refuge in You, amidst the storms that seek to overwhelm them. Instill in us as a society, a conviction to protect our children fiercely, to nurture them in love and truth, and to raise them to be strong pillars of faith in their generation.
O God, we also mourn for the shepherds of Your flock—the priests and prophets who are called to lead us in righteousness. "Shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?" Almighty God, we perceive their struggles; the weight of leading Your people bears down upon them as they contend with their own trials.
I pray for those who stand in the gap, who labor in prayer and preaching, guided by Your Spirit yet facing opposition and weariness. Renew their strength, O Lord. Shield them from discouragement and disillusionment. Restore to them the joy of their calling and fill their hearts with passion to proclaim Your truth without fear or falter.
Let the sanctuary of the Lord be a place of holiness, a beacon of hope amidst darkness, where worship abounds and where the sound of praises may drown out the cries of despair.
Finally, Lord, I beg You to consider the world we live in. Stretch forth Your hand to heal our land, to mend broken hearts, and to illuminate the path of righteousness. Let revival begin with us, ignite a fire in our souls to seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with You.
In the name of Jesus, I pray, believing that You hear our cries and that You hold our lamentations in Your heart. Amen.
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Lamentations 2:20 - "¶ Behold, O LORD, and consider to whom thou hast done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, and children of a span long? shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?"
"¶ Behold, O LORD, and consider to whom thou hast done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, and children of a span long? shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?" - Lamentations 2:20
Lamentations 3:20 - "My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me."
Lamentations 5:20 - "Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, and forsake us so long time?"
Lamentations 2:1
Lamentations 2:1
Lamentations 2:1
2 Chronicles 35:25 - "¶ And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they are written in the lamentations."
"My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me." - Lamentations 3:20
Lamentations 4:20 - "The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the heathen."
Lamentations 5:2 - "Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens."
Lamentations 3:2 - "He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light."
Lamentations 1:20 - "Behold, O LORD; for I am in distress: my bowels are troubled; mine heart is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled: abroad the sword bereaveth, at home there is as death."
"Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, and forsake us so long time?" - Lamentations 5:20
Ezekiel 2:10 - "And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe."
Lamentations 2:5 - "The Lord was as an enemy: he hath swallowed up Israel, he hath swallowed up all her palaces: he hath destroyed his strong holds, and hath increased in the daughter of Judah mourning and lamentation."
Ezekiel 27:2 - "Now, thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyrus;"
"He has brought her kingdom and its princes down to the ground in dishonor." Lamentations 2:2
Lamentations 4:2 - "The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!"
"He has brought her kingdom and its princes down to the ground in dishonor." Lamentations 2:2
Jeremiah 9:20 - "Yet hear the word of the LORD, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbour lamentation."
2 Samuel 1:17 - "¶ And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son:"
Acts 8:2 - "And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him."
"Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens." - Lamentations 5:2
Lamentations 2:12 - "They say to their mothers, Where is corn and wine? when they swooned as the wounded in the streets of the city, when their soul was poured out into their mothers' bosom."
"He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light." - Lamentations 3:2
"¶ And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they are written in the lamentations." - 2 Chronicles 35:25
Lamentations 2:1 He has hurled down the splendor of Israel from heaven to earth;
Matthew 2:18 - "In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not."
Lamentations 2:15 - "All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the city that men call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth?"