Prayer in the Midst of Tragedy

The writer of Psalm 137 has some very important things to teach us about prayer in the midst of tough times. Those who were taken into exile from Judah experienced horrors that most of us may only know in our worst nightmares, and the Babylonians were doing their best to demoralise the exiles and cause them to lose their identity as God's people of promise. The Psalmist remembers three key things: firstly, the reality of the past and its power to cast a shadow over the present; secondly the faithfulness of God in His promises; and thirdly, the certainty that God's justice will ultimately prevail over His (and our) enemies.

Looking back at this psalm and its historical context through the lens of Jesus Christ who has dealt with our past, proven the Father's faithfulness, and made God's justice known, will enable us to trust and obey with the an even greater degree of faith than the Psalmist.