Daily Devotion

Reflection: Terry
Voice: Jennifer

Laments from the Cave

Audio

Today is Friday, the 13th of June. As we approach another weekend, let us be still in His presence.

We start with praying the Morning Collect:

Almighty and everlasting Father,
we thank you that you have brought us safely to the beginning of this day.
Keep us from falling into sin or running into danger;
order us in all our doings;
and guide us to do always what is right in your eyes:
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

We pray together with King David the words of Psalm 142:

With my voice I cry out to the Lord;
    with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord.
² I pour out my complaint before him;
    I tell my trouble before him.

³ When my spirit faints within me,
    you know my way!
In the path where I walk
    they have hidden a trap for me.
⁴ Look to the right and see:
    there is none who takes notice of me;
no refuge remains to me;
    no one cares for my soul.

⁵ I cry to you, O Lord;
    I say, “You are my refuge,
    my portion in the land of the living.”
⁶ Attend to my cry,
    for I am brought very low!
Deliver me from my persecutors,
    for they are too strong for me!
⁷ Bring me out of prison,
    that I may give thanks to your name!
The righteous will surround me,
    for you will deal bountifully with me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as It was in the beginning, is
now, and shall be forever. Amen.

Reflection

In 1 Samuel 22, we find David on the run from King Saul, hiding in the cave of Adullam. Psalm 142 — titled “a prayer when he was in the cave” — is traditionally linked to this moment of desperation.

David’s troubles were truly cavernous — vast, dark, and overwhelming. He was being hunted by the king and his army, and he openly admitted, “They are too strong for me.” (v.6)

He was brought very low, not only physically but emotionally. He felt like a fugitive, a criminal, wrongly accused and relentlessly pursued.

More painfully, David experienced abandonment. “No one cares for my soul,” he cried (v.4). Friends were nowhere to be found. Allies were silent. He was isolated — literally in a cave, and spiritually in a place of darkness.

He described himself as imprisoned (v.7), not just by the cave’s walls but by fear, betrayal, and despair.

And yet, this psalm is not just a cry of desperation — it’s a prayer. A deeply honest and vulnerable cry to God. It captures the full weight of lament: raw emotion, grief, questions, complaints, and longing — all lifted toward heaven in trust.

Psalm 142, like many others, teaches us that it’s okay — even faithful — to lament. God is not threatened by our pain or honesty. He listens without judgment. The ability to lament before God is not a sign of weak faith, but of real faith — the kind that refuses to give up on God, even in the cave.

Prayers, cries, and laments are the sacred sounds of suffering. May we learn, like David, not to suppress them, but to voice them — and in doing so, find healing, comfort, and the quiet assurance that even in the darkest cave, God hears.

We end with this Collect

Loving Father God, be with us in our distress:
with our families, friends and neighbours,
our country and our world. 
Give health to the sick, hope to the fearful,
and comfort to the mourners. 
Amen

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We are all grieved by the pain that countless are facing in the wars in the Middle East, Ukraine, Myanmar etc. May this version of the lament from Psalm 83, O God do not be silent capture the cries of our hearts:

O God, do not be silent
O God, do not be still
O God you can’t stand by and watch
While your children are killed

You heard the people screaming
You heard the cries of pain
You know the ones who made these plans
You know they’ll come again

O God be like the hurricane
O God be like the storm
O God of justice come like fire
Do not let them escape O God,
do not be silent O God,
do not be still O God
you can’t stand by and watch
While your children are killed

Words & Music: © 2017 Wendell Kimbrough.

Link to today’s full Morning Office

This daily devotion is based on the Morning Office. It is a project ignited by Revd Canon Terry Wong with clergy and members from various parishes contributing. It comes with selected readings from the appointed Psalm and another Scripture text, accompanied by reflections and prayers. There is an audio option, which often ends with a selected hymn or song. It will be best to both read and listen. We aim to help Anglicans to appreciate our liturgical resources while keeping to the devotional needs of Christians today. This project started on Ash Wednesday, 2025 and are offered for weekdays only. We appreciate feedback at info@mpcc.org.sg