David Prays To The Lord He Knows

In these petitions we see a child of God who is helpless and has no ability, no answers, no hope within himself. He knows he needs the mercy of God to save him and to return him to the joy he once had.

David in these opening verses asks for 5 things. 1) God’s Condescension - Bow down, Lord, hear me, 2) God’s Protection - preserve my soul, 3) God’s intervention - Save thy servant, 4) God’s reconciliation - be merciful unto me, 5) God’s restoration - and rejoice the soul of thy servant.

Along with his need, David gives 6 foundations of his prayer. 1) His helplessness - I am poor and needy, 2) His sanctification- I am holy, (set aside, sanctified to thee) 3) His faith -I trust in thee, 4) His persistence - I cry unto thee daily, 5) His offering - I lift up my soul to thee, 6) And finally, and most important to David, God’s character - For you are good, ready to forgive and full of mercy to those that call upon you.

Finding God’s Help

You can see why this prayer is seen by so many as a universal prayer during times of crisis, pain or loss in our lives, family, our community or our nation. Like David, when we don’t have any answers, or any ability to overcome or even to understand, it is at those times that we must make our plea for help to God. We must call out to God, asking Him to bow down, to condescend from heaven and to turn a listening ear to our prayer. We ask him to reach down, to hear us and bring us back to a place of joy in our lives.

David cried out to God believing that God would hear and that God would act. He believed this because of His covenant and his personal relationship to the Lord.

When we come to our own days of trouble and turn to God for help, we must trust that our Lord will help and we can only have that faith if we like David, have a relationship with Him. This is fundamental, it is foundational to every prayer we pray.

How many times have we watched a movie where the hero gets in trouble and then prays like this. “Lord, you know I’m not real religious (He always looks up to heaven) and I know I don’t really pray or go to church and such, but if you’ll just help me out right here. I promise I’ll never ask you for anything else. Amen Oh and I’ll try to start going to church.”

Now in Hollywood, a place that is as far from knowing God as Pluto is from the Sun, that kind of prayer might make sense, but in the real world of broken people, broken hearts, broken families and broken nations it is useless. Such a prayer has no power, no foundation upon which to put our faith upon. That’s not a prayer, its an attempt to bargain. You might as well be on the game show “Let’s Make A Deal.” I should say it is better than no prayer, but it is not the prayer of a David or a faithful child of God.

Our pain in this sinful world is real, our sorrow, our trouble, our hurts are overwhelming and if we hope to survive them, to overcome them then we better have more than a Hollywood idea of prayer and the God we are praying to.

Like David we must have a covenant and a personal relationship with God. Our covenant is the new covenant based upon the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Our personal relationship must be built on repentance and faith and built, like all relationships, by time spent with God.

We call out to God’s not because we haven’t prayed before, haven’t asked him for anything before but because we have asked Him for everything and we do it all the time.

I’ve asked God for eternal life. I’ve asked God to forgive my sin and guilt for the death of Jesus, His son upon the cross. I pray, for my family, church and friends, I ask God for providential and supernatural protection, for His guidance. I pray daily, I pray multiple times a day. I pray ceaselessly believing God is always near, always aware and always listening. I seek God’s voice through his Word daily and try to see God in all things all around me. And because I’ve walked with Him and talked with Him, I have that intimate, personal relationship with Him and when I need the Lord, I know He hears and He will help.

Paul put it this way in Romans 8:14-17 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

You and I are the children of God and in our day of trouble we will call out to our Heavenly Father. You and I are not under bondage from sin or from fear, we have been given the Holy Spirit. We are adopted into the family of God, and we cry out “Abba, Father.” I believe God will hear and God will work because we are heirs of God. Yes, we will at times suffer but rest assured by the promise of God, that we shall be glorified though and past the suffering