Can despair become prayer when it tells God to go away? Psalm 39 begins with someone trying not to speak out of pain. But silence becomes unbearable. The prayer erupts into questions about mortality, loss, and the weight of God’s presence. Near the center comes a confession: “My hope is in You.” And then the anguish continues. The Psalm ends with a startling request: “Turn Your gaze from me.” The one who prays wants God to look away, hoping for one last moment of brightness. We do not need to rescue Psalm 39 from its ending. The despair gets spoken, and the relationship can hold it. Then comes the gift of the Psalms as a collection: Psalm 40 is next. Another voice remembers the God who bent toward the hurting person and heard their cry. When we cannot hold hope, the community can hold the song with us. What do I wait for? You hold my hope.