“O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way?” -Psalm 13:1
As we read through the Psalms, we find prayers of praise to God, expressions of truth about who God is, thankfulness, sadness, confusion, joy, grief, and just flat out honesty about life's struggles. The Psalms greatly spur us on to bring our all to God in prayer, including hard questions we may have.
Specifically in Psalm 13, we read of David, at first crying out to God with questions such as, “How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand?” (Ps. 13:2) Soon, in verses 3-4, David’s questions to God turn into requests for help. Finally, in verses 5-6, the Psalm shifts again and concludes with a prayer of trust and praise to God. In just six verses, we learn so much about how we can and should approach God in prayer!
This wonderful Psalm encourages us in our relationship with God, specifically with our prayers to God. We can, and God desires for us to, come to Him honestly in prayer! We should bring our questions. He alone can handle them! Plus, He knows...everything, including our questions. God alone truly hears, understands, and will answer our requests in His great wisdom and perfect timing. Jesus taught us about coming to God this way: “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)
As David, long ago, brought his questions and requests to God, he was then led to trust in God and praise Him for His goodness. So might we also proclaim our trust in Him and praise Him in prayer! After all, God alone is ever-trustworthy and always deserving of the praise.
So, let’s be reminded to come honestly to God today and everyday. We can and should bring our questions and requests. We can and should come to Him expressing our trust in Him and our praise for who He is. He is so good to us!
Godspeed, friends!
-Scott