LONG Prayers

 

Monday, September 14, 2026

I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me.  I sought the Lord in my day of trouble.  My hands were continually lifted up all night long; I refused to be comforted.  I think of God; I groan; I meditate; my spirit becomes weak. Selah

You have kept me from closing my eyes; I am troubled and cannot speak.  I consider days of old, years long past.  At night I remember my music; I meditate in my heart, and my spirit ponders.  “Will the Lord reject forever
and never again show favor? Has his faithful love ceased forever? Is his promise at an end for all generations? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?” Selah

So I say, “I am grieved that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”        I will remember the Lord’s works; yes, I will remember your ancient wonders.  I will reflect on all you have done and meditate on your actions.  God, your way is holy.  What god is great like God?  You are the God who works wonders; you revealed your strength among the peoples.  With power you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

The water saw you, God.  The water saw you; it trembled.  Even the depths shook.  The clouds poured down water.  The storm clouds thundered; your arrows flashed back and forth.  The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind; lightning lit up the world.  The earth shook and quaked.  Your way went through the sea and your path through the vast water, but your footprints were unseen.  You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.  Psalm 77:1-20

Whenever I hear the phrase “long prayer” my mind goes back to childhood days when any prayer seemed too long at the dinner table when I was hungry.  A bit sacrilegious at worst, and ungrateful at best, I just hated to let good food get cold!

But another sense of “long” praying is when you’re suffering, and it seems like Heaven has closed-up shop for the season.  The Psalmist has prayed through the night, hands lifted up like a broken puppy, and he wonders, has God forgotten to be gracious?  This is the lament of one who counted upon God’s help and feels so alone, as if the universe has moved on without him.  The game is over…all is lost.  Ever felt that way?  Ever felt like just giving up?

Well, don’t start the pity party just yet; the Psalmist was only warming up.  In lament praying, he has started by owning his feelings and assessing what he can see. 

¹⁰ So I say, “I am grieved that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”       

But then…faith takes over:

^11-13 I will remember the Lord’s works; yes, I will remember your ancient wonders.  I will reflect on all you have done and meditate on your actions.  God, your way is holy.  What god is great like God?  

The praying man begins to pray in the confidence of a man with broken confidence; shaken by the world and all it holds, he does what is unthinkable to those who don’t know God….he lifts up faith, the evidence of things not seen.[1]  He restates his confidence in God’s love and care.

For You Today

If life has handed you nothing but lament lately, recall that life is always full of that.  There is plenty of suffering to be had by all.  But while you suffer, make your long prayer a Godly one…own your shaken faith, and then lift that faith to the God who is the author of it all.  Do your lamenting well.  As He loved Israel, He will also love you!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title and Other Images: Pexels from Pixabay  Unless noted, Scripture from Christian Standard Bible^©

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[1] Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  Hebrews 11:1