PRAYING OUR TROUBLES
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Opening Prayer
Gracious Father, thank you for this day you have made and for all you have in store for me in it. Help me to honor and glorify you today.
Read PSALM 17
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Psalm 17
A prayer of David.
1 Hear me, Lord, my plea is just;
listen to my cry.
Hear my prayer—
it does not rise from deceitful lips.
2 Let my vindication come from you;
may your eyes see what is right.
3 Though you probe my heart,
though you examine me at night and test me,
you will find that I have planned no evil;
my mouth has not transgressed.
4 Though people tried to bribe me,
I have kept myself from the ways of the violent
through what your lips have commanded.
5 My steps have held to your paths;
my feet have not stumbled.
6 I call on you, my God, for you will answer me;
turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.
7 Show me the wonders of your great love,
you who save by your right hand
those who take refuge in you from their foes.
8 Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings
9 from the wicked who are out to destroy me,
from my mortal enemies who surround me.
10 They close up their callous hearts,
and their mouths speak with arrogance.
11 They have tracked me down, they now surround me,
with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.
12 They are like a lion hungry for prey,
like a fierce lion crouching in cover.
13 Rise up, Lord, confront them, bring them down;
with your sword rescue me from the wicked.
14 By your hand save me from such people, Lord,
from those of this world whose reward is in this life.
May what you have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies;
may their children gorge themselves on it,
and may there be leftovers for their little ones.
15 As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face;
when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.
Reflect
Take an inventory of your prayers that God has answered. In what ways have you experienced his faithfulness?
Personal scrutiny and vindication are common features of David’s psalms. He is unafraid of baring his innermost fears before the Lord, and his walk with God should challenge us. He candidly expresses his convictions. He assesses himself before the Almighty with a unique mixture of emotion and personal insight, as well as trust in the power of God to respond to his frustrations, fears, and concerns. Here is a human king who knows that his words need careful stewarding. We might all resonate with the wisdom of David, to will ‘that my mouth will not transgress’ (v. 3, ESV). Often, it is our words, whether spoken or uttered in our inner being, that displease the Lord. The psalm’s confession-cum-resolution comes before David admits that he resists the broad way1 of the violent paths of corrupt living.
David constantly calls upon the Lord, with the utter confidence that God will answer. This confidence underwrote the fact that David composed this psalm for the benefit of others. Do you and I have the habit of journaling our prayer concerns? When we look back over the years, we find that God did indeed answer every one of them in his wisdom, in his time, and in his way. I can personally attest to this.
Psalm 17 demonstrates to us the need to pour out our hearts, our complaints, our laments, and our feelings to the Lord. We may face people who are harsh in their manner, intent on doing harm, and who are well beyond our ability or recourse even to confront. David faced such people—not with the sword or staff, but with prayer.
Apply
Moses knew that God was close to him.2 Is this an experience you and I also desire to have? David expressed it; why not you?
Closing prayer
Holy Spirit, help me to pray prayers filled with faith, prayers offered confidently in my Father’s will and for his purposes.
1 Matt 7:13. 2 Deut 4:7.
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