Have you prayed to the Lord in times of trouble, asking for relief, but didn't get an answer? Perhaps you prayed for healing for yourself or a loved one. Instead the illness drags on.
Our text for today (attributed to David), tells us that he called to the Lord and his prayer was answered. We may wonder why David's prayer was answered and ours wasn't. Reading his words may confuse and dishearten us.
Sometimes it's hard to believe that God is with us, but He is—even when things go wrong. His lovingkindness doesn't change. David continues praising God and says, “Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly; though lofty, he sees them from afar. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life.“ (Psalm 138:6-7 NIV) His love “endures forever“ (Psalm 138:8 NIV)
We mustn't give up hope. The Lord hears our prayers. He hears our cries for help.
“...the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer...” (1 Peter 3:12 NIV)
When we pray, He makes us strong. We might prefer to remain weak and have the problem solved instead, but the Lord knows what's best for us. Sometimes we must walk through the struggle with Him at our side, encouraging us forward.
“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” (Isaiah 40:29 NIV)
Pride stops us from praying successfully. God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.
We might not be able to get down on our knees to pray, but we can certainly humble ourselves in the presence of Almighty God. He hears us and He's waiting for us to approach Him.
“This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.“ (1 John 5:14-15 NIV)
Remember the parable of the persistent widow who kept coming to the unjust judge with the plea, “Grant me justice against my adversary.“ The judge refused her petition for some time but finally relented because “this widow keeps bothering me.“ (Luke 18:3-5 NIV)
Jesus tells His disciples, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.“ (Luke 18:6-8 NIV)
Does God seem far off? Some days He probably does. Even David had feelings of being abandoned by God, but he never lost hope. He was obedient in seeking the Lord. We can do the same, no matter how downcast we may feel.
“Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.“ (Hebrews 4:16 NIV)
