A Pentecostal’s Lament: Is there a correspondence between the form of the biblical lament psalms and the early Australian Pentecostal practice of prayer?

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1. Introduction

Sadly, the lament psalms have been relegated to the sidelines of church praxis. The neglect of these psalms and the practice of lament is “costly.”¹ It comes at the cost of authentic interaction with God and the unquestioning acceptance of the status quo. In an era of globalisation, the daily news of worldwide distress combined with our own resident grief can inundate us. It is proposed that the practice of lament could provide a sure voice for this pain and permission to appeal to God for intervention. Thus today, more than ever, lament needs to be recovered.

For Pentecostal commentators, there has been recent consideration of the relevance of the Old Testament laments and their potential resonance with Pentecostal spirituality.² Although this examination remains preliminary, what appears to be significant is that the form of the lament psalms - which transition from the cry of distress to praise, petition to assurance, complaint to hope - reflects Pentecostal sensibilities. This form resembles a Pentecostal’s expression of prayer, testimony and experience of God.³ Indeed, it has been suggested that there is a “striking affinity”⁴ between Old Testament laments and the terminology of early (North American) Pentecostal documents. Nonetheless, further research is required to ascertain this ‘affinity’ in reference to the biblical lament psalms, as well as within early Australian Pentecostalism. In the Australian context there has been very little (if any) evaluation of the use of lament. As such, it is not known whether lament has ever been part of the spirituality of Australian Pentecostalism or, alternatively, whether the practice of lament has been lost progressively – as Brueggemann suggests has occurred in the wider church.⁵ Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to examine the biblical lament psalms in reference to the early Australian Pentecostal documents. It aims to evaluate whether there is a correspondence (a ‘striking affinity’) between the form of the biblical lament psalms and the early Australian Pentecostal practice of prayer. If such a heritage can be found, then a re-visioning of lament for contemporary Pentecostalism is anticipated.

2. The Lament Psalms

Before exploring ‘lament’ in early Australian Pentecostalism, we need to determine the parameters of the form and content of lament in the Psalms. Of course, laments are not unique to the Psalter; they pervade the entire Old Testament. Indeed the “call of distress” or the “cry out of the depths” is a prominent part of what the Old Testament describes as occurring between God and humanity.⁶ Yet, it is the lamenting aspect of ancient Israel’s relationship with God as depicted in the Psalter which will be considered.

2.1 Elements of Lament Psalms

Address (and introductory petition):
How long, O Lord? (13:1a)

Lament:
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and everyday have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me? (13:1-2)

Petition:
Look on me and answer O Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;
my enemy will say “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall. (13:3-4)

Confession of Trust (or Turning toward God):
But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation. (13:5a)

Vow of Praise:
But I trust in your unfailing love;
My heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me. (13:5-6)⁸

From this outline of the form of a lament psalm it can be observed that they are not just lamentations. Although they are designated as laments (or sometimes as complaints) this is not their primary function. These psalms do not simply present a complaint to God; they seek change. Specifically, it is the petitions within the lament psalms which indicate this purpose. Thus, to achieve this goal “the one praying strives to move the heart of God with everything he (sic) says.”⁹ As such, “A lament functions not simply to report an incident to Yahweh or achieve catharsis for the psalmist, but to motivate Yahweh to act on the psalmist’s behalf, usually by making the description evocative and provocative.”¹⁰ In sum, lament psalms are primarily appeals. How this is expressed in the five form-elements of the laments will now be developed.

Address

In bringing an appeal to God, the first sentence usually begins with the Address.¹¹ The address is to God, and it occurs from one who has had a long history of trustful interaction with God. Thus, the address is usually in personal terms which claims a relationship to God that is “an implicit but significant ground for the appeal.”¹² It is usually as simple as “O God”, “My God” or “Lord my God”,¹³ and can occur up to three or four times within the psalm itself.

Lament

Secondly, once the summons to God is made, the whole purpose of the prayer is acknowledged, that of the lament being brought to Yahweh. As the address is usually short and simple, this part of the prayer comes forth emphatically. Gunkel highlights, “That which oppresses and torments the heart of the one praying flows unrestrictedly in the complaint.”¹⁴ The distress is painted in the deepest colours, with respect to both its external and its internal aspects, with the human “limit-experiences” articulated in dramatic religious language, known as “limit-expressions.”¹⁵ Whilst the rhetoric in these psalms seems to overstate the case, this is employed to evoke from Yahweh an “intrusive, transformative act.”¹⁶

Specifically, Westermann has identified three elements of the lament within the lament psalms.¹⁷ First, the most frequent aspect of lament within the lament psalms is the questions and complaints directed to God.¹⁸ Here the psalmist challenges God’s attitude and actions towards them.¹⁹ The most frequently asked questions of God are: “Why?” and “How long?”²⁰ Namely, why has God abandoned, rejected, or forgotten the Israelites? And how long do I/we have to endure this suffering? As Miller states, “The complaint to God in these prayers thus gives voice to the most fundamental of human questions when life is threatened and falls apart.”²¹

Secondly, there is a cry to God about the psalmist’s personal suffering. Within the communal lament psalms this aspect is closely related to the complaint against God and against the enemy, as the personal suffering is viewed as being caused by a national enemy and their reproach. Whereas, within the individual lament psalms the complaint of personal suffering is usually related to persecution, physical or spiritual suffering, especially the immanence of death.²² Whilst it is straightforward to note that there is personal suffering within the psalms, the psalms presentation in poetic terms makes it difficult to interpret their literal context and meaning. It is unquestionable, however, that they are vivid presentations of internal, physical, mental, and spiritual anguish. Thereby, displaying that no area of personal distress is exempt from lament.²³

Finally, the lament-element in these psalms also arises out of the circumstance of hostility and oppression caused by a third party, known as the enemy.²⁴ The enemies of the pious are mentioned continuously within the lament psalms. Yet, the elusiveness of their description and how to respond to the accusations against the enemies has resulted in much discussion, which due to the constraints of the paper, cannot be detailed here.²⁵ However, the complaint against the enemy occurs for two main reasons: what they have done to the people of God, and what they have said against them.²⁶ It is important to also observe the distinction here, between the communal laments, where the enemy is recognised as a political enemy who has dealt a severe blow to the lamenter, and the individual laments, where the enemy only threatens the lamenter.²⁷

Overall the lament-element of these psalms; comprising the complaints against God, the personal lament and the complaint against the enemy, reveal that no aspect of Israel’s life and suffering was un-lamentable. It could all be brought to God in protest and prayer.

Petition

Thirdly, the lament-element within these psalms usually leads directly to the petition. According to Gunkel, the petition is the most significant part of the lament psalms. “It is the heart of the genre, which is understandable since the efforts of the praying are designed to obtain something from God.”²⁸ Logically, the petition then corresponds with the lament. An example of the corollary between the lament and the petition is observed in Psalm 22, where the psalmist cries a lament of “Why are you so far from me?”(v1), in which the prayer of petition echoes, “Do not be far from me…”(v11) and “But you O Lord, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me”(v19). Thus, if the lament within the psalm was due to sickness, the plea is for healing and health. If it was the absence of God, the plea is for God to hear and be near, and so forth.

The petitions within these psalms ask God to act, and to act decisively, for God’s sake as well as theirs.²⁹ The psalmist does not draw back, instead assumes the right to speak boldly and insist upon their covenantal rights.³⁰ This is especially highlighted by the psalmist’s use of Hebrew imperatives to voice their petition.³¹

Confession of Trust

Another form-element of a lament psalm is the confession of trust. This aspect of the lament psalm voices the psalmist’s confidence in God and God’s ability to intervene in their distress, usually based on past acts of deliverance.³² “Confidence in YHWH is the preferred and the most frequently stated reason why the poets of the complaint songs offer their petition.”³³ It is recognised that confidence in God is the foundation for the lament and petition, for why would you bring a lament and petition to someone whom you did not trust and who cannot change the situation?³⁴

Typically the psalmist voices a straightforward confession in God, which can be as simple as: “But I trust in your unfailing love” or “My eyes are on ever on Lord.”³⁵ The confession of trust can also be “a statement about God in which some characteristic or quality or way of God’s being and doing is lifted up in relation to the psalmist.”³⁶ Again, the confession of trust is closely related to the lament and petition, vividly reinforcing the psalmist’s appeal for God to intervene.³⁷

Praise

Finally, when the lament psalms shift into its final section, it is with a very different mood. The melancholy and distress of the lament has been removed. The psalmist offers praise. The transition is so distinct that Brueggemann comments, “This movement from plea to praise is one of the most startling in all of Old Testament literature.”³⁸ The urgency and desperation of the psalmist is replaced with confidence, gratitude and well-being, (this movement occurs in all lament psalms except for Psalm 88.) ³⁹

Specifically, there are three main elements of praise within the lament psalms. Firstly, the psalmist praises God due to the assurance of his hearing them.⁴⁰ Instead of the wrestling of petition and complaint previously observed, the psalmist is now certain and confident that they have been heard. Whereas before in the complaint, God was described as being absent, or unresponsive, this has changed and the psalmist is convinced that Yahweh has heard their cry for help. Whether or not the petition was actually answered, the crucial aspect is that Yahweh has heard. “This in itself is enough. … It is not thinkable that God would hear and then not act. And therefore, the crucial thing is Yahweh’s hearing, from which everything else happily will follow.”⁴¹ In response to this assurance the psalmist can offer God a payment of their vows.

The second aspect of praise to God is that of the psalmists declaring their thanks and praise through the payment of their vows.⁴² At the time of lament and petition it may be that the psalmist vowed to pay an offering of thanksgiving and praise when God answered their appeal.⁴³ This is especially depicted within the formal and sanctuary-orientated lament psalms which conclude with an act of praise, thanksgiving and sacrifice before a gathered community in the sanctuary.⁴⁴ Westermann, additionally states:

Whoever truly cries to God out of the depths, and in this cry thinks not of his need but of God … knows that the moment of making a vow, a promise, is part of this cry. I know then that the matter is not finished when I have pled and God has heard, but that something else must still come. I know that I owe something to God.⁴⁵

Finally, the third aspect of praise within the lament psalms is classified as doxology and praise.⁴⁶ For Brueggemann this is the most important element of resolution within the lament psalms.⁴⁷ The doxology makes clear that things have changed. God, who was appealed to and accused of neglect, is now acknowledged as generous, faithful and saving. The lament psalm has changed from petition to thanksgiving, from grief to joy. As such the psalmist responds in the only reasonable way; with praise.

Summary of Lament Psalms

In summary, the lament psalms are comprised of elements which progress from the address, lament, and petition, to trust and praise. Significantly:

The form of the lament reflects the liturgical conviction that the situation is transformed when Yahweh acts. The pattern of expression corresponds to and gives voice to that view of the situation. Thus the form enables the faithful to read situations of hurt as situations of potential transformations.⁴⁸

This is the wonder and power of these psalms. Yet this aspect of transformation needs further explanation, for why the change? What has caused the turn from distress to hope, plea to praise? Further consideration is needed before we can begin to explore the early Australian Pentecostal practice of prayer and develop any conception of a correspondence.

2.2 Transition from Distress to Relief

The uniqueness of the lament psalms are “to be understood and interpreted around the turn from distress to relief. The crucial structural question is the relation between these contrasted parts.”⁴⁹ For example, within Psalm 13 it appears that between verses 4 and 5 something occurred, likewise in Psalm 22 between verse 21 and 22. But what was this? In providing answers for this transition there have been a variety of suggestions.

Firstly, Joachim Begrich offers the most notable hypothesis. He proposes that an authorised speaker, most likely a priest or prophet, answered the appeal and petition by voicing a “salvation oracle”.⁵⁰ “The salvation oracle is a promise on God’s part to be present with, to help, and to intervene on behalf of the complainer.”⁵¹ It is a speech that “resolves the desperate situation and permits the speaker to begin life anew in confidence and gratitude.”⁵² Mowinckel and Gunkel proposed a similar idea that after the lament ritual had come to an end, an oracle of blessing was given by the officiating priest. Since this was an oracle, the suppliant could now be satisfied, since the deity had spoken.⁵³ Correspondingly, F. Külchler discusses that in four texts (Psalm 12:5; 60:6; 91:15-16; & 108:7) God speaks, most likely through the priest. As such it is this ‘divine oracle’ which stands between the petition and the praise. He then infers that although not explicit in the other psalms, it can be presumed to also occur.⁵⁴ On the other hand, John W.M. Wevers argues that speaking the name of Yahweh itself is the point of transition. This name is decisive and when it is spoken; the situation is transformed.⁵⁵ Additionally, S.B. Frost believes that the very announcement of praise and thanksgiving is the most powerful guarantee that divine intervention is on the way. No other formal divine statement is needed or expected.⁵⁶ Finally, F. Heiler proposes a psychological explanation. He suggests that during the prayer an unconscious metamorphosis took place. The suddenness of this change is explained as “… the result of the psychic impact of repeated petition and expressed longing for an answer. Such a psychological phenomenon is certainly not impossible; it, however, only applies to private prayer.”⁵⁷

Where now does this leave us? Perhaps, with a ‘conflict of interpretations.’⁵⁸ However, Brueggemann notes; “What is clear in the text is that there is a covenantal-theological move from one part of the text to the next. Beyond that, we are engaged in speculation ...”⁵⁹ Yet what we do know “is that grievance addressed to an authorised partner does free us.”⁶⁰ Significantly, Westermann comments likewise;

The transition in the lament psalms is rooted in the lament’s function as an appeal. Because the lament is directed toward the one who can change the suffering … Understood in this way, the structure of the Psalm of lament, which enables us to see the path leading to an alleviation of the suffering, is one of the most powerful witnesses to the experience of God’s activity in the Old Testament.⁶¹

This is an explanation which could offer us a way forward in the next stage of this essay. Particularly as it harmonises with the wider portrayal of Israel’s historical self-understanding as an experience of cry and rescue, based on their paradigmatic experience of the Exodus and re-visioned at every stage of their history.⁶² Israel has consciously held to the event of ‘conversion’ from a situation of distress to unexpected deliverance, based on their dialogical covenant-relationship with Yahweh. It is this consideration that seems to offer a thoughtful new horizon and contributes to our exploration of the hypothesis proposed previously. It is with this in mind that we now turn to explore the early Australian Pentecostal practice of prayer.

3. Exploring early Australian Pentecostal practice of prayer

To clarify what constitutes early Australian Pentecostalism, it is defined for this paper as the period from 1908 to 1937. The official beginning of Pentecostalism within Australia is attributed to 1908 when Sarah Jane Lancaster opened Good News Hall in Melbourne.⁶³ From this time there arose many loosely affiliated Pentecostal fellowships. However, it was not until 1937, when thirty-eight Pentecostal assemblies from across Australia came together to form the Assemblies of God Australia (AGA),⁶⁴ that Australian Pentecostalism became recognised as an official institution. Thus, these first 29 years will be classed as the formative and early years of Australian Pentecostalism. During this formative period, there were two Pentecostal periodicals circulated, the Good News, and The Australian Evangel. The data for the early Australian Pentecostal practice, subsequently, will be acquired from these periodicals and limited to the period of 1908 to 1937.

3.1 Methodology

The methodology developed to achieve useful examples of early Australian Pentecostal prayer for this exploration consisted of three main phases. Firstly, eleven key words were placed into the electronic search of the Good News and The Australian Evangel journal databases.⁶⁵ The eleven key words chosen were: lament, prayer/s, groan/s, tears, wail, petition/s, travail, tarry, cry, testimony/testimonies, and complaint/s. These words commonly arose out of the lament psalm and Pentecostal literature on lament in the North American context. It was anticipated that these key words would provide results which would allow a possible correspondence between the lament psalms and early Australian Pentecostal prayer to be envisaged.

This initial search with the eleven key words produced an overall result of 869 periodical references. Of these, 295 articles were multiples. Thereby, with the removal of the repetitions, a total of 574 individual, unrepeated articles were gathered. Next, a second phase of examination was employed to discover whether of the 574 articles, an occasion of prayer was described or other extraneous information beyond the scope of this paper generated.⁶⁶ This analysis of independently reviewing each article resulted in a total of 186 prayer occasion entries being identified (see Figure 3 in Appendix 1).

Finally, a third phase of analysis was undertaken. This consisted of seven questions being developed and asked of the resulting 186 prayer articles. These questions were created based on the form-elements of the lament psalms as outlined in the previous section. The questions were as follows:

1. Did it address God?

2. Was there a lament

   a. Against God?

   b. Against an enemy?

   c. A personal lament?

3. Was there a petition?

4. Was there a confession of trust?

5. Did the prayer end in praise?

On the basis of these questions, the data of the prayer occasions was sorted. A scoring of one point per item, was given to the prayer occasions, with a maximum of seven points achievable for each article.⁶⁷

3.2 Results

The final results of this data analysis yielded no “7 point” prayer occasions. This was due to the lack of lament in relation to ‘God’ being articulated.⁶⁸ However there were eleven individual prayer occasions which received a total of “6 points” (see Figure 1). Significantly, eight of the eleven results were identified more than once within the keyword search. For example, the prayer occasions were identified with multiple keywords, such as cry and prayer or testimony and tears. Notably, of the eleven initial keywords only five were represented within these results. They were tarry/s, cry, tears, testimony/testimonies and prayer/s. One of the prayer occasions was located within The Australian Evangel and the remaining results, (ten articles), were located in the Good News periodical.⁶⁹ Noticeably, no corporate occasions of lament-form prayer was identified within this analysis.⁷⁰ Substantially, for the purpose of this paper, it was evaluated that the eleven prayer occasions provide a good representation of the data.

Additionally, for the purpose of comparison, forty-six ‘unmixed’ biblical lament psalms (communal and individual) as identified by Gunkel,⁷¹ were similarly scrutinised according to the seven question analysis. The results are displayed in Figure 2. Significantly, the majority of the biblical lament psalms (76%) showed a “6 & 7 point” correspondence with the form-elements discussed earlier. This result supports the supposition that the lament psalms are highly stylised and the majority include typical form-elements.⁷²

This paper will now determine whether the eleven “6 point” early Australian Pentecostal prayer occasions likewise correspond to the distinctive stylisation of the lament psalms.

3.3 Explanation of Results

The eleven “6 point” prayer occasions vary from appeals for healing from sickness, testimonial accounts of Holy Spirit baptism, and general prayer petitions. For ease of explanation the results are divided into these three topical categories for in-depth discussion; (1) Sickness and Healing, (2) Spirit Baptism, and (3) General Appeal.

Sickness and Healing

To begin, one of the most frequent themes present within early Australian Pentecostal lament-type prayer was sickness and healing. Five of the prayer results are categorised as such. This is comparable to 37% unmixed biblical lament psalms mentioning this same theme.⁷³ In accordance to the form of the lament psalms, (discussed previously), the data itself is considered as follows:

The Address:

The address to God within these five prayer occasions echoes the frankness and personal intimacy of the lament psalms. For example:

I cried unto my God.⁷⁴
…and pleaded with God.⁷⁵
How precious the Lord was to me through it all.⁷⁶

The address in these prayer occasions is brief and understated. As per the lament psalms there is little formality. The address of the prayer to God is voiced so that the purpose of the appeal can be hastily divulged.

The Lament:

The lament-language described in these early Australian Pentecostal prayers is filled with rawness, grief and suffering, equally as vivid and intense as the lament psalms. Excerpts of this are portrayed as follows:

I was ill at home for three weeks, and the odors (sic) of the decayed lung were awful, but the pain was beyond description, every time I drew my breath or coughed it felt as though my whole inside was being torn to pieces. I cried unto my God that I might be freed from all suffering and be at rest, … deliver me from the powers of hell.⁷⁷

Mrs Tuck’s ‘crisis’ event occurred after the death of her husband:

I had a very serious breakdown; for three months I felt myself going steadily down, it was if I were sinking into a deep mire from which I had no power to get out…I grew weaker each day, then my whole system collapsed, and I became a nervous wreck. …I felt death upon me like a huge monster coming up from my feet and creeping up my body. I was filled with terror…Then there were times when I was too weak to fight, pray or think; … I felt unless the Lord undertook I could not live…My cries could be heard outside; my nerves were all on fire, I was one mass of suffering… My life seemed to be ebbing away; too weak to talk, I was watched night and day… My life was at a very low ebb, no sleep for nights.⁷⁸

In summary, it can be observed that the language used in these ‘sickness and healing’ prayers resonates with the lament psalms. For example, ‘my whole inside was being torn to pieces,’⁷⁹ ‘moaning and groaning all day,’⁸⁰ ‘pain so severe,’⁸¹ ‘our souls were burdened,’⁸² ‘I was one mass of suffering,’⁸³ ‘unless the Lord undertook I could not live,’⁸⁴ and ‘my life seemed to be ebbing away.’⁸⁵ In these examples the physical, mental and spiritual anguish of a lament is clearly identifiable. Even the metaphor commonly utilised by the psalmist of being overwhelmed by floodwaters is clearly depicted in Mrs Tuck’s testimony, ‘I felt myself going steadily down, it was if I were sinking into a deep mire from which I had no power to get out.’⁸⁶ These pray-ers correlate with the psalmists, and even highlight the potential influence of the psalmist’s words, in their unrestricted lament cries to God.

The Petition:

Arising out of these aforementioned laments the people testified of their petition to God or seeking out someone to petition God on their behalf.

I made up my mind to pray for her healing, and, amidst tears, I put my hands on where she said the pain was, and pleaded with God, through the Name of Jesus Christ to heal her. I prayed for about five minutes…⁸⁷

One day the pain was unbearable. We sent for Elder Roberts, and the Lord used him mightily in prayer, claiming the protection of the blood and victory in Jesus’ name. After five hours’ persistent prayer, we were conscious of the sweet presence of Jesus, and instantly every trace of the trouble disappeared.⁸⁸

The petition in these prayer occasions, like the lament psalms, are frank and strongly stated; ‘blast this cursed disease’⁸⁹, ‘in the Name of Jesus’⁹⁰, ‘I…pleaded with God’⁹¹. There is an insistence and boldness to their prayers which desires to see ‘victory in Jesus’ name’⁹² and ‘a full and free deliverance from suffering.’⁹³ The petition as ‘praying through’, an idea presented in our initial proposal, is also represented here.⁹⁴ Wherein, one prayer occasion details five hours of persistent prayer ensuing until the pray-ers were ‘conscious of the sweet presence of Jesus’⁹⁵ and a change in circumstance.

The Confession of Trust:

The confession of trust exemplifies the recounting of personal history between the pray-er and God, as well as the reliance on the larger biblical testimony. For Pentecostals who self-consciously see themselves as ‘people of the book’ and their story closely reflected therein, it is no surprise that this aspect comes through clearly in these accounts. For example:

At last they landed me out in the Austin Hospital for incurables. The doctor there, and some of the older students, would sometimes tell me that I would never get well from this disease. I told them… the Lord would deliver me from this trouble as He had done from many other complaints.⁹⁶

Further, in speaking to his doctor during this time, Hultgren states his trust in “A true and living God”, his reason being that,

… He is the same God to-day as in those days of old, when He led the Israelites through the wilderness and across the Red Sea dryfooted.⁹⁷

Mrs Tuck states that she:

… 1knew He was able [to heal and keep her from death], for I had proved the Lord for my body for fifteen years.⁹⁸

She states further,

“How precious the Lord was to me through it all…I knew from the beginning that God would heal me, for it is His will that His people should be well.”⁹⁹

The Transition from Plea to Praise:

Then, just like the lament psalms, something occurs within the prayer results which changes the whole mood of the testimonial accounts, from plea to praise. Sometimes there is an explicit reason articulated within these prayer occasions for this change in mood, as illustrated by the dramatic intervention of the healing power of God. At other times it is more implicit, with the assurance of a forthcoming healing confirmed. This is portrayed in the following examples:

Instantly I was healed in front of 1400 to 1500 people. Oh! What a scene! Everyone was carried away, joining with me in a shout of praise to God. I ran home without my crutches to my dear wife…‘I am healed, healed.’ Oh! What rapture… I laughed and cried, and shouted, and danced with joy.¹⁰⁰

In the next example we note the pray-er make a statement that matches the ‘assurance of being heard’ aspect within the lament psalms. Furthermore, the outing to the Croydon Junction meeting is a demonstration of corporate praise, and could depict a modern-day equivalent of the lament psalms ‘payment of vows’.

…and, when I had finished praying I said, ‘You are going to get better,’ and she told me the pain had all gone…To test that she has been healed, she went out with me to a meeting at Croydon Junction the next afternoon.¹⁰¹

Mrs Tuck also recounts her healing and states the requirement of needing to corporately testify of this:

… when dear Pastor Jeffreys’ prayed Heaven opened to me, the power of God came upon me and shook every organ of my body… and I was instantly healed… All that night the Lord kept saying to me, ‘Go, tell what great things the Lord hath done for thee.’ So I knew that He wanted me to go to the meeting and testify. … It was with great difficulty that I got to the meeting…But praise God, when I stood up to testify these words came to me, ‘They overcome him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony,’ and instantly my body was quickened… It is now four months since the Lord healed me…Praise God I am free, free, free. Hallelujah!¹⁰²

Also, at the Evangelist Van Eyk’s meetings we see a vivid transition to praise because of miraculous healings, for example:

“I just had to call and let you know my little stepson, who is now nine and a half years, and who has been suffering since babyhood from catarrh, weak stomach and general debility, which many physicians have failed to relieve, was healed when you prayed for him. He is now eating heartily, and is, oh, so happy! The change is truly marvellous… He sings your hymns day long.¹⁰³

Also, although not healed, there is a tangible transformation and change of mood occurring within Van Eyk’s account.

At the meeting one dear young man with cloven palate, for which we prayed last night, elbows his way to the front, and, gaining our ear, says, ‘Brother, I’m not healed yet; but the spiritual blessing and uplifting in my soul, which I have received through your prayers, is simply wonderful…¹⁰⁴

It is particularly interesting to note the role other people play in praying and petitioning God on behalf of the person testifying. Possibly, this could equate to the function of priest/prophet within the lament psalms and the proclamation of a ‘salvation/divine oracle’.¹⁰⁵

Thus, overall in the examination of these five ‘sickness and healing’ prayer occasions there is a high correspondence with the form-elements of the lament psalms. There is displayed an intimate and brief address, the lament is vivid and expressive of the limit-experience of pain and suffering, the petition for healing is bold and persistent, there is a confession of trust which relies on the history between the pray-er and the healing character of God, and finally there is a transition to praise due to the transformative act of healing or at least an assurance that healing will come. Will the other prayer-occasions show an equally strong correspondence?

Spirit Baptism

Secondly, the periodical search for lament-type prayers resulted in another five prayer occasions which detailed the experience of tarrying for baptism in the Holy Spirit. Conventionally, the occasion of Holy Spirit baptism is not a situation of grief or suffering, as for example with sickness. However, as depicted through the language, it reflects an experience equivalent with the lament psalms’ absence or hidden-ness of God. In accordance to the form of the lament psalms the multiple parallels with the testimonial accounts will be detailed.

The Address:

Within the accounts the address is usually inferred and not explicitly stated, yet there are examples of the simplicity of the address.

Yes, Lord…¹⁰⁶
Oh, God…¹⁰⁷
My God…¹⁰⁸

These examples of address likewise correspond with the lament psalms, in which it was previously noted that the most common address was the simple “My God” or “Lord my God.”¹⁰⁹ This is apparent in these prayer occasions.

The Lament:

Similarly, the emotional limit language of the lament can be heard in the following descriptions:

For hours I prayed with strong crying and tears. My soul agony was so great that I sweat until my woollen underwear was wringing wet.¹¹⁰

For a week I was in great distress, and there seemed no help anywhere, in spite of attempts at prayer, God seemed to have turned His face from me, I could not even pray, and all looked hopeless.¹¹¹

Later there came physical manifestations, some of the most humiliating character; there were sighings, groanings, stretchings, gaspings, actual travailing of the body at different times, twisting of the tongue, frequent complete prostrations on my face.¹¹²

As displayed, tarrying for the baptism in the Spirit portrays a similarity with the psalmist’s anguished laments. There is an equal emotional (‘strong crying and tears’¹¹³, ‘all looked hopeless’¹¹⁴, ‘I felt black and as miserable as could be’¹¹⁵, ‘irritable’¹¹⁶), physical (‘sighings’¹¹⁷, ‘groanings’¹¹⁸, ‘stretchings’¹¹⁹, ‘travailing of the body’¹²⁰, ‘little sleep’¹²¹, ‘sweating’¹²²), and spiritual distress described (‘no help anywhere in spite of attempts at prayer’¹²³, ‘conscious of His hand being upon me’¹²⁴, ‘the enemy was telling me’¹²⁵, ‘I do not believe I have any God in my soul anymore’¹²⁶). The event of tarrying is characterised as one of fragile desperation and sense of abandonment by God (‘God seemed to have turned his face from me’¹²⁷). This is comparable to various psalms which express the very same lament, although admittedly evolving from a different Sitz im Leben.

The Petition:

In turning to petitionary statements we observe:

I cried mightily unto Him that He would fill me.¹²⁸

Brother Tom when asked by what he is seeking for stated: “I don’t know, only my full inheritance.”¹²⁹ And also:

I got down on my knees and bellowed out like a mad bull. I was desperate, and said to the Lord, ‘I have lost everything I ever had. I don’t know whether I am saved or not. Oh, I’m lost!’¹³⁰

The petitions within the laments psalms are strongly and resolutely stated. This is exemplified in these prayer results, with the pray-er crying out ‘mightily’ and ‘bellowing out like a mad bull’ due to desperation. This is the crux of the lament appeal, the pray-ers want all that God has for them, that is their ‘full inheritance’. The petition is furthermore, based on their knowledge of God and clearly linked to the confession of trust.

The Confession of Trust:

A Confession of Trust is exhibited in these testimonies. Predominantly in the lament psalms, the psalmist confessed the victory of God’s past actions with his people, thus indicating their confidence that he will act similarly. In our prayer results the reliance on the previous actions and promises of God is voiced in prayer usually via the scriptural testimony. As for Pentecostals what has occurred for the biblical characters, should equally be experienced today. For example:

The Lord convinced me that I needed the same baptism, that He gave, the Gentiles in the house of Cornelius as recorded in the 10th chapter of Acts. So I began to seek for it with all my heart.¹³¹

Then I took a text from the Promise Box, ‘Prove me now’ (Mal 3:10), and I was filled with joy, and was satisfied that I would get through, and before 10 o’clock I found the Holy Spirit magnifying God through me in an unknown tongue, and then I knew that out of my innermost being the rivers of living water were flowing, Oh! It was joy unspeakable and full of glory.¹³²

The Transition to Praise:

In the last example, a transition from plea to praise occurred with no explicit indication of how. Other portrayals of this transition from distress to relief are described as follows:

A Lady preacher ‘EMW’ states that she was tarrying at home:

Then a voice said: ‘Now ye are clean’; and almost immediately my tongue begun stammering… while I became blessedly conscious of being in the most wondrous communion with my God that I had ever known in my life. … Later in the afternoon,… the Spirit was singing through me! Oh, the glory, the joy, the wonder of it all! …For days my joy was so great I could not refrain from speaking in tongues.¹³³

In this example, observe the correlation with the salvation/divine oracle theory.¹³⁴ The voice, presumably of God, speaks to her ‘Now ye are clean’. Thereafter, a transformation occurs. Significantly, there is no human intermediary in this account. God speaks directly to her, as promised at the outpouring of the Spirit in Acts 2.

Fockler writes that he finally yielded all to God and then:

I don’t know whether I went up to heaven, or heaven came down to me; but I was truly in a heavenly state, and spoke in other tongues. I surely did magnify God…Before the meeting was over I had the joy of joining with others in that glorious ecstasy of praising and magnifying God, ending up with the heavenly choir.¹³⁵

Cousins tarried month after month at tarrying meetings with no experience of the power of God manifested in her life. Then she began to set aside time each day to wait upon God for the Holy Spirit. She soon testified:

I was kneeling beside a chair, and emitted a big sigh (or, rather, the Holy Spirit sighed through me), and thought the people would think I was sobbing; then I felt great waves of glory going over all my shoulders. Everyone in the room was praising the Lord. I was filled with wonder…¹³⁶

Finally, Pauline Heath’s account discusses feeling joy at meeting Christ afresh as a surrendered and repentant sinner. However, “Each day I pray that he will send me His Holy Spirit, so that I may be able to speak for Him.” She had not yet received the fullness of the baptism of the Spirit. Even so, she expressed confidence and assurance that the breakthrough of God was near. “Last week I got the promise in Jeremiah, 29:13. I am seeking ‘with all my heart’, and the promise is sure. Pray for me that I may receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter.” This appears to mirror the form of the lament psalms, although the fullness of the petition has not been realised, there is a plea to the community to believe with and affirm her petition, an assurance that God has heard her cry, and confidence that the answer is on the way.

In these results, the form-elements of the biblical lament psalms are echoed in the early Australian Pentecostal’s experience of tarrying for Holy Spirit baptism. There appears to be genuine affirmation of the proposal presented in this paper, with clear parallels of the transition from distress to praise, the form-elements (of address, lament, petition, confession of trust, and praise) and scholarship’s hypothesis of the salvation/divine oracle. Before explicitly jumping to final conclusions, the remaining prayer occasion results will be reviewed.

General Appeal

Finally, the last early Australian Pentecostal lament-prayer result did not fit easily into any category. Possibly it is wrestling for the salvation of family and friends, although this is not fully described. However, it again corresponded to the form of the biblical lament psalms. It is outlined here.

The Address:

The address of the prayer continues to display a simplicity and intimacy of relationship.

O, Lord…¹³⁷
The dear Lord himself…¹³⁸

The Lament:

As with the previous early Australian Pentecostal prayers, the prayer occasion describes the crisis event in lament-like language. Briefly:

I fell wearily to sleep, for I had been wrestling earnestly in prayer for a friend; and how often it is so: We struggle till aweary…¹³⁹

The Petition:

The direct petition arises from the lament.

…and then we cry: ‘O Lord, do Thou the rest.’¹⁴⁰

The Confession of Trust:

Within this prayer occasion, the confession of trust again portrays a reliance on the character of God.

The Lord heard my cry, and He alone knew the agony of my heart. Praise be unto the dear Lord, who always knows why we sigh or smile.¹⁴¹

The Transition from Plea to Praise:

Finally, we perceive the breakthrough and intervention of God within the situation through the subsequent change of mood. Even though, in this case, the answer to the petition is not immediately forthcoming or apparent.

That night a sweet vision I saw…The dear Lord Himself came to me…. Oh, the rapture of that moment! In a voice filled with the tenderest compassions, He breathed the words: ‘You love me, don’t you?’ While I looked upon that face, I could but answer one word – ‘Yes’…I awakened, and a great joy filled my heart, for I knew I had seen the dear Lord, and it was He who had spoken. … He knew, too, that it would not be best for me if He answered my prayer, as I desired, immediately; but though it tarry, it is coming, for ‘all things are possible with God.’¹⁴²

Overall, this prayer occasion also shows a correspondence to the form of the lament psalms.

3.4 Discussion

In this paper an attempt has been made to explore whether there is a correspondence between the form of the biblical lament psalms and the early Australian Pentecostal practice of prayer, and “saturating it, so to speak, with intelligibility.”¹⁴³ In examining the early Australian Pentecostal’s practice of prayer a correspondence between their form and the biblical lament psalms is unmistakable. We note that the early Pentecostals’ address God in a familiar frankness and relationality of the lament psalms. The early Australian Pentecostal lament is equally filled with limit-language which portrays the crisis experience vividly and bodily. The Pentecostal’s petition matches the lament psalms with its intensity of passion and directness, both frankly appealing to obtain something from God. Significantly, the presence of others being included in making the petition to God on the pray-er’s behalf is influential within the early Australian Pentecostal prayers. Potentially this describes the equal function that a priest/prophet within the cultic setting or a lay leader within the community of ancient Israel performed.¹⁴⁴ Further, the confession of trust is apparent within the Pentecostal’s prayers, with a reliance on the past relational history between the Pentecostal pray-er and God, as well as the reiteration of the biblical promises of healing, Holy Spirit baptism, and God’s deliverance. Finally, the transition to praise is extensively grand and expressive, bodily and verbally, occurring within the corporate and individual settings. The transition to praise also concurs with scholarship’s hypothesis of a salvation/divine oracle, being spoken by God directly or via an intermediary. Further, it is noted that the majority of early Australian Pentecostal prayer results displayed the expectation of a direct “intrusive, transformative act”¹⁴⁵ by God, through an observable healing or baptism in the Spirit as exhibited by tongue-speaking. Where this did not directly occur, the results portrayed an ‘assurance of being heard’ wherein a trusting and joyous mood was conveyed. Thus, on every level of form - address, lament, petition, confession of trust, and praise - there is a definitive correspondence between the lament psalms and early Australian Pentecostal prayer.

There is one significant omission, however. This was that the prayer occasions analysed did not display a ‘complaint against God.’ We did not see the bold accusations or protests against God himself. Possibly this is connected to Westermann’s observation that this type of complaint is dominant within the communal laments rather than the individual laments.¹⁴⁶ Further, it may indicate a passive acceptance of suffering as the ‘will of God’ by the pray-ers or a reluctance to accuse and defame the reputation of God.¹⁴⁷

Moreover, the ‘complaint against an enemy’ in the early Australian Pentecostal prayers is different compared to the lament psalms. Instead of references to human accusers, we observe statements to the devil as the spiritual enemy within the early Australian Pentecostal prayer occasion results. For example:

But the enemy was at work, and as I arose to go, I heard, ‘What if nothing happens? Your friends will laugh at you.’¹⁴⁸

I was not without temptation during this time of waiting. The first began by a dark shade covering my face. I tried to push it way, striking at it with my hand, but I only hit the floor. The second time a black hand came, and all the while these trials were on I struck at them and praised God all the more, praying in my heart to God for deliverance.¹⁴⁹

During that time the devil attacked every organ of my body; he tried his utmost to kill me. One night I suddenly awoke and a black veil was around my bed enclosing me in. I knew it was death.¹⁵⁰

The devil knew his time was short. He tried to kill me before I was prayed for.¹⁵¹

Consequently, from these examples, we can see that there is a complaint against an enemy’s behaviour and mocking indictments, including corollary petitions for deliverance from them. The difference is that the nature of ‘the enemy’ has changed. That is from a physical human enemy to a spiritualised evil archetype. This is due to the New Testament perspective of the enemy no longer being “flesh and blood but…the spiritual forces of evil.”¹⁵² Even so, it can be stated that there is still a correspondence of the form of a complaint against the enemy, although this is modified in character. This is due to the “open and metaphorical”¹⁵³ language of the lament psalms which is able to incorporate these modifications, as the function of the enemy whether portrayed as physical or spiritual, is still antagonistic against the psalmist or pray-er.

4. Conclusion

To close, this paper has substantially determined that there is a correspondence between the form of the biblical lament psalms and early Australian Pentecostal practice of prayer. In a subsequent article possible implications for Pentecostal praxis will be discussed. Therein, it will be affirmed that Pentecostals are ideally positioned to recover and re-vision lament praxis for themselves and the wider church today, due to their heritage and distinctive understanding of prayer, crisis, glossolalia, prophecy and God’s dynamic in-breaking presence.

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APPENDIX 1: EARLY AUSTRALIAN PENTECOSTAL PRAYER RESULTS

Figure 3 charts the raw data results of the keyword search of the early Australian Pentecostal periodicals. The eleven keywords yielded a total of 869 references within the periodicals. When examined further, to remove extraneous results, there was a total of 230 prayer occasions identified, some of which were identified with multiple keywords. This figure shows the distribution of all the prayer occasion results per keyword. With the removal of repeated references, there was a total of 186 individual prayer occasions identified from the eleven keyword search.

Figure 4 demonstrates the distribution of the 186 individual prayer occasions per early Australian Pentecostal periodical. A total of 129 prayer occasion results were from the Good News and 57 prayer occasion results were from The Australian Evangel periodicals. A further breakdown of these results per the seven question analysis: ((1) Did it address God?,(2) Was there a lament against God? (3) Was there a lament against an enemy? (4) Was there a personal lament? (5) Was there a petition? (6) Was there a confession of trust? (7) Did the prayer end in praise?), is also demonstrated in the graph.