Story · 28 · The Poet
'Wake up! Why do you sleep, O Lord?'
In Psalm 44, the community insists it hasn't broken the covenant, yet God has abandoned it, 'like sheep for slaughter.' It demands that God wake up.
Prayer can be protest.
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Christian traditions have often focused on praise and neglected lament. Walter Brueggemann called this 'the costly loss of lament': without it, communities lose a scriptural basis for political protest. A faith that forbids protesting God won't foster courage against lesser powers.
Bible reference: Psalm 44:17–24
Source: Why the Bible Began, pp. 448–450
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