When it Hurts To Pray: Lament, Worship, and Hope
in the Midst of Pain
With Dr. Patrick Stewart
1-08-27 1:00pm to 2:30pm
Longhorn Cafe or Virtual
12311 Nacogdoches Rd., San Antonio, TX 78217
1.5 CEs
When suffering disrupts a person’s life, prayer can begin to feel like reopening a wound. Grief, trauma, loss, and unanswered questions may unsettle not only emotional well-being but also a person’s understanding of God, faith, and divine presence.
Drawing from the Psalms, Lamentations, the Gospels, Romans, Hebrews, and Revelation, this workshop explores the biblical theology of lament as the language of faith when faith is in pain. It examines how Scripture gives wounded people permission to name grief, express difficult questions, confront the experience of divine silence, and bring their pain honestly before God. Particular attention will be given to lament as an expression of worship, Christ’s participation in human sorrow, the Spirit’s help when words fail, and the hope of God’s present and future restoration.
Participants will gain a theological framework for understanding the spiritual struggles that can accompany grief and trauma, including the tension between what a person believes about God and what suffering has made difficult to experience. The workshop concludes with a five-movement framework for faithful lament and contemplation that makes room for honest pain while remaining grounded in the character, presence, and promises of God.
Ordering ahead highly recommended.
We will start promptly at 1:00pm to receive full credit for CEUs.
Dr. Patrick Stewart is a biblical scholar, author, and ministry educator whose work explores biblical lament, worship, covenant, suffering, and the presence of God. He holds a PhD in Bible Exposition from Liberty University and has served in teaching, preaching, and pastoral-care contexts.
He is the author of When It Hurts to Pray: Lament, Worship, and Hope in the Midst of Pain, which examines how Scripture gives wounded people language for grief, difficult questions, divine silence, and faithful hope. His doctoral dissertation, From Divine Absence to Eternal Presence, explores the biblical treatment of abandonment, lament, restoration, and divine presence, with particular attention to Jeremiah, Lamentations, and the fulfillment of God’s restoring presence in Christ.
Dr. Stewart’s work seeks to make rigorous biblical theology clear, accessible, and spiritually formative for people navigating suffering and the complexities of faith in real life.
The CE is free for CCT members. For non-members there is a $10 fee payable when you register.
The Zoom link will be sent in the registration confirmation email.
