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Did You Think to Pray?
Life has a way of reminding you what is most important. Just when you’ve been consumed with the fact that your team didn’t win or your car is not running right or one of the appliances needs to be replaced, you are shocked out of selfishness by something of real significance. In a moment, all of the things that seemed so important pale in comparison to the matter at hand. Such a quick turn of events can leave you with a feeling of hopelessness about where to turn or what to do.
Staying in touch with our loved ones is essential during these times. We keep them informed, we update them on any progress, we let them know what we need. But we must not forget the greatest form of communication, one where there is no limit on the number of minutes used, no connection fees or data charges. It is a free access to God that man has enjoyed from the beginning. Long before there were cell phones, email, facebook, and twitter, there was prayer.
David was the “sweet psalmist of Israel” (2 Sam. 23:1). We still use some of the songs he wrote in our worship services today. We can also benefit from his prayers in the Psalms that remind us what to do “when life seems dark and dreary.” Psalm 28 is such a prayer.
“Ere you left your room this morning, did you think to pray?” David wrote, “Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to Thee for help, when I lift up my hands toward Thy holy sanctuary” (28:2). Like a little child who raises his hands to be picked up by his father, David was certain that the petitions he raised were being heard by his Father in heaven. But he was not the only one who had the ear of the Almighty.
The Father was listening to all the prayers offered in all the assemblies of His children across the world today. He was listening to all of the families who bowed and “returned thanks” around their dinner tables. He heard every cry from every waiting room, emergency room, and back bedroom. How incredible to think that He who created all the world cares about what’s going on in mine. The Lord listens. He wants to hear from you.
“When sore trials came upon you, did you think to pray?” Psalm 28 is David’s call for help. Perhaps it was written while he was on the run from King Saul or at a time when he felt surrounded by his enemies. But he did not strap on his armor and attempt to fight them on his own. The Lord had delivered him from the paw of the lion or bear that threatened his sheep. The Lord brought him a victory over the giant Goliath. The Lord’s power would prevail over the enemies of His anointed. “The Lord is my strength and my shield,” David confessed (Psa. 28:7). No other weapon was needed.
There will be occasions when your safety is threatened by the seemingly impossible, a situation that makes you admit, “I can’t do anything about it.” But God can. No matter how tall the giant, no matter how many the enemy, no matter how bleak the diagnosis, no matter how great the difficulty. This is still our Father’s world. Pray for His strength to do what you cannot.
“When your heart was filled with anger, did you think to pray?” In this psalm, the heart of the man after God’s own heart is opened wide. In his cry for deliverance from his enemies, David pleads for the Lord to “requite them according to their work and according to the evil of their practices” and “according to the deeds of their hands” (28:4). He is not calling for personal vengeance, but for the Lord to punish the wicked who do not honor His work or His will. In any case, David does not hide his most private feelings.
God wants to hear from His people, but He is not interested in the mere repetition of meaningless phrases that do not originate from the heart. He wants us to pour out our cares before His throne. When David did that, he said, “my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped” (28:7). Perhaps our help has not come because we are still withholding from Him from Whom nothing is hidden. There is no point hiding what God already knows.
I never know what to say to someone when some difficult time comes. But I’ve learned that it’s not as important what you say as it is Who you say it to. “O how praying rests the weary! Prayer will change the night to day; so when life seems dark and dreary, don’t forget to pray.”
