Thinking about Prayer...

I recently went on a Psalms marathon, wherein I read the entire book of Psalms in 24 hours. (Not because I really wanted to, but more of because I had forgotten to do it as a homework assignment and needed to catch up… #Confessions…)

But that was probably good for me because I noticed something interesting about the way David prays. He doesn’t just pray the way we do in modern day Church.

Here is what I mean by that. When we pray we try and say all the right words in all the right ways. We struggle to make our prayers sound like something you would find in a prayer book and to make them sound holy, profound and deep.

But that’s not how David made his sound. He laments in Psalms 102:

“Hear my prayer, Lord; let my cry for help come to you.

Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress.

Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly.

For my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like glowing embers.”

If I felt like that, I wouldn’t be wasting any words on frills. When the cry of my heart is “Lord do not hide your face from me!” it means something pretty drastic is going down.  David (in this case) wears his heart on his sleeve when he is standing before God. (Which is good because God already knew was happening, and what was going to happen in the future.)

 When the Psalmist was done pouring out his heart to God, he always praised God for his goodness. He says this at the end of Psalms 102:

“But you remain the same,

 and your years will never end.

The children of your servants will live in your presence;

    their descendants will be established before you.”

Even when he was hurting and weak, he still found the strength to praise and worship God.

That is pretty amazing. When I am tired and weak, all I want to think about is myself. I want to blame the world and just sit in my corner and cry while listening to Anthem Lights. (Because that might not be the answer to all of life's problems, but it sure helps.)

I don’t want to worship! And I sure do not want to praise him in the storm! I mean please. Who wants to do that? (Not me!)

But each time the Psalmist finds a way to praise. 

They poured out their hearts, and God listened and comforted them. He filled them full to overflowing with a new hope and peace. He heard the prayers of the afflicted and showed them favor.

He was the anchor for their souls and the strength that they needed when they felt weak. He changed their worlds when it was hard to see the light.

When Jesus says “I am the way the truth and the life” he means that he literally is your path through the desert, the truth in the middle of the deceit and the life when you feel dead.

I think the Psalmists knew that. That when they tried to do things on their own it didn’t work. But when they cast their cares before the Creator of the universe it would all work out.

And when they cast their cares, these Psalmists were given what they longed for. They were reminded that God is sovereign through the fire and in the flood. They were reminded that he was the creator of the universe, and that he cared for them.

If we poured out our hearts to God, would he perhaps move in amazing ways? Would we see his amazing works and experience his peace?

Just more to think about…

Rachel Joy