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Lamentations 5:1 O God, look at the mess we are in - Day 240

Good evening friends,

Have you ever felt that God doesn't have a clue about the situation you are in?  This seems to be the case in the last chapter of Lamentations.

Blessings

Jeff

The beginning of a list of the consequences of exile.

I always find it interesting when an inspired writer reminds God of something.  In reality, all the things on the list are exactly what God intended Judah to experience when they went into exile.  So what do we make of this?

Does prayer change God's knowledge of our circumstances? No.  Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount that God knows what we need before we ask him.  Yet we are also told to ask for our daily bread.  I think the point is that our prayers remind us of our dependency on God.  Our prayers change us, not God.  In this case, as Jeremiah recounts the problems, we are reminded that all these things resulted from Judah's disobedience.  These things are happening to us because we deserve them.

Does prayer change God's plan? No.  The theme of the chapter is Restore Us to Yourself, O Lord.  God always had a plan for the restoration of a remnant after the exile.  Jeremiah's plea is the secondary means by which God implements His plan.  We are really praying "your kingdom come, your will be done" when we speak to God about rescuing us from the consequences of rebellion.

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