Prayer in the Night by Tish Harrison Warren
Week 7: Chapter 6 — Pity the Afflicted
Read Chapter 6 of Prayer in the Night by Tish Harrison Warren. Primary Compline phrase: "Pity the afflicted."
Previewing Week 7 of Prayer in the Night
Read 3 of 7 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 15-week guide when you’re ready.
The word 'pity' sounds condescending to modern ears, but Warren reclaims it as a word for divine compassion — a gut-deep movement of God toward those crushed by circumstance. This chapter asks what it means to be afflicted and to be seen by a God who is moved.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Warren notes that 'pity' has fallen out of favor as a word — we prefer 'compassion' or 'empathy,' which feel more egalitarian. But she argues that the theological concept behind 'pity' — God being moved in his very being toward the crushed — is irreplaceable. What is lost if we flatten the distinction? What is gained by recovering it?
2.She explores the biblical idea of the *anawim* — the poor, the lowly, the afflicted — as a category that God pays special attention to throughout Scripture. How does this scriptural pattern challenge or inform how your church community thinks about ministry and mission?
3.Warren distinguishes between suffering that is broadly human and affliction that involves a particular kind of crushing powerlessness. Have you experienced affliction in that deeper sense — a season when circumstances felt not just hard but overwhelming and inescapable? What did faith look like in that season?