Tuesday, July 9, 2019

How Long, O Lord?

Wednesday, July 10, 2019
O Lord, don’t rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your rage.  Have compassion on me, Lord, for I am weak.  Heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.  I am sick at heart.  How long, O Lord, until you restore me?  Return, O Lord, and rescue me.  Save me because of your unfailing love.  For the dead do not remember you.  Who can praise you from the grave?  I am worn out from sobbing.  All night I flood my bed with weeping, drenching it with my tears.  My vision is blurred by grief; my eyes are worn out because of all my enemies.  Go away, all you who do evil, for the Lord has heard my weeping.  The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord will answer my prayer.  May all my enemies be disgraced and terrified.  May they suddenly turn back in shame.  Psalm 6:1-10
Last Sunday morning at church I was prompted to ask both congregations I serve a question during worship while we were sharing prayer requests.  I asked, how many of you have been praying for five years or longer for something, and you still don’t see much movement…no answer yet?  The skimpy show of hands surprised me, because I expected every hand to shoot up to the ceiling.  Instead, in both congregations the response was just a few.  Now, the reasons, as I understand the possibilities, are:
·      People give up on something if they don’t get a quick answer
·      People assume a prayer “unanswered” is a “no” or a “wait” from God, and don’t see the need to offer the prayer continually.
·      People don’t pray.
Now, this last one is total foolishness…even a hedonist who cares nothing about God prays…when that catastrophe comes in view, he says Oh God!  That is a prayer…shorter than any sermon you’ve ever heard, but a tacit call to heaven, nonetheless.  Everyone, especially in times of trouble, prays!
David knew plenty of reasons to pray in his lifetime.  He was a shepherd in his youth, facing lonely times protecting his flock in the wilderness, including fighting off mountain lions and bears.  He faced down the giant, Goliath.  He was hounded by King Saul, the most powerful man on earth.  His enemies wanted him dead.  David’s son, Absalom turned against him, wanting the king removed from the throne.  And, not to be outdone, even David was David’s enemy; just like you and me, David’s worst enemy, perhaps, was his own lapse of remembering we are God’s and not our own.  Highs and lows…very low lows!  This was David’s life, and, as with all of God’s creatures, the higher the highs, the lower the lows.  David had plenty of reasons to pray.
The key to this recorded prayer of David’s is found in verse 9:
The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord will answer my prayer.
David trusted God more than he trusted his position, his intellect, his reputation, his passion, or any person on earth.  Short or long, said only once or every waking moment for years, out loud, or in secret, loudly with tears, or just a hushed whisper, David prayed in faith…and that was the reason his prayers were answered!
For You Today
It is my firm belief that we are all hardwired to pray.  Everyone prays, whether they admit it or not.  So, I won’t say IF you pray; let me say WHEN you pray, remember to pray in faith.
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image:  Pixabay.com        Unless otherwise noted, Scripture used from The New Living Translation©

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