David prays. “ Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand?”
“Lord, hear my plea for justice. Listen to my cry for help. Hide me in the shadow of your wings. Protect me from wicked people who attack me, from murderous enemies who surround me. They are without pity. Listen to their boasting! They track me down and surround me, watching for the chance to throw me to the ground. They are like hungry lions, eager to tear me
apart – like young lions hiding in ambush.” As David himself says, his prayers come from honest lips. He knows his enemy. He is overwhelmed by his enemy. His enemy taunts, and burdens his heart with sorrow. My enemies. Your enemies. David’s enemies. They may all be different, but they are all destructive; they gain the upper hand, waiting to inflict their pain, physically, emotionally, spiritually. But David does what believers often hesitate to do. He comes before his God in utter dependence, and such a dependence necessitates not only honest lips, but an honest heart that acknowledges the need, acknowledges the destructiveness of the need, and acknowledges the inability of the one who prays to blot out the need, or even cope with it in some compromising way. And David reflects our own inabilities when life throws its enemies at us.
But David’s focus begins to intentionally change as his utter dependence on God re-shapes within his own heart, the image and reality of his God. He says to his God, “You are my Master! Every good thing I have comes from you. Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine. You are the one who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.”
Seeing his God with a renewed perspective that is utterly dependent on Him, he is able to feast on all God wants to give. “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence. My heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. I will sing to the Lord because he is good to me. I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray. Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways.”
David’s request for God to bend down and listen as he prays, reflects the yearning of my own heart, and if you are still reading this, probably your heart yearns in the same way. It’s the closeness of a young child with the Papa he is dependent on. It’s the certain knowledge that our Father-God never abandons us, and He is the one who bends down so we can know His closeness and His care.
–Bev
(Related Bible reading: Psalm 13, Psalm 16, Psalm 17, and you can find still more........)
