Beseeching God’s Answer to Prayer Psalm 69:9-18 This Psalm is attributed to David. David was a man “after God’s own heart” or “a man who shares My (God) desires” in the Common English translation. Acts 13 verse 22 says this about David: . 22 After God removed him, he raised up David to be their king. God testified concerning him, ‘ I have found David, Jesse’s son, a man who shares my desires. Psalm 69 9 Because passion for your house has consumed me, the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me! 10 I wept while I fasted— even for that I was insulted. When we join ourselves in a relationship with another- rather friendship, marriage, or business, etc- our lives are drawn into the joys and sorrows of that person or group of people. When they hurt, we hurt. When they feel joy, we are joyful. But, there are some who are not compassionate. David was insulted because he wept and fasted for his people. One of the most powerful verses in the bible has only a few words in it. (‘Jesus wept’ or ‘Jesus began to cry’ depending upon the translation) It reveals the deep love for a friend who had passed away. When Jesus was told that His dear friend, Lazarus, was very ill He completed the mission He was involved in before He went to be with His friend. When He arrived He found that His friend had died. John 11 records this incident: 33 When Jesus saw her crying and the Jews who had come with her crying also, he was deeply disturbed and troubled. 34 He asked, “Where have you laid him” They replied, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus began to cry. 36 The Jews said, “See how much he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “ He healed the eyes of the man born blind. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying? ” Psalm 69 11 When I wore funeral clothes, people made fun of me. 12 Those who sit at the city gate muttered things about me; drunkards made up rude songs. David goes further to say that people not only jeered at him when he grieved, but they made up ‘rude songs’ about him. There are many rude sayings and jokes that people find funny. There are rude or crude remarks about people who are suffering in poverty. There are also rude or crude remarks about people who are wealthy. Before we make any comment about a group of people we need to make sure of our information. For instance, not all of the people who are on public assistance live ‘free’ in government subsidized housing. Most have to pay 30% of the rent. Therefore, they must have a job. Not many students are on completely ‘free lunch’. The program is ‘free or reduced’ lunch. The school I teach in is a Title I school where over 70% of the students are on free or reduced lunch. On the other hand wealthy people are not all greedy. Our public libraries come from grants began by those of great wealth like the Carnegie family. Many people of great wealth give away a great amount of money to help people in need like Bill Gates and his wife. Psalm 69 13 But me? My prayer reaches you, LORD , at just the right time. This is a powerful verse. Our prayers reach God at the right time. If we think about it, there have been many times when we feel God’s presence in a way that only can be understood in the depths of the heart of the individual. There are times when it is just between you and God. Psalm 69 God, in your great and faithful love, answer me with your certain salvation! 14 Save me from the mud! Don’t let me drown! Let me be saved from those who hate me and from these watery depths! I saw a movie where there was a scene where a person drowned in the mud. This is a horrible, but accurate metaphor for someone drowning in their own grief and choking on their own tears. As a person with asthma, I know the feeling of a tightened chest where oxygen is prevented from entering ones lungs. It is a feeling of helpless gasping for air. Psalm 69 15 Don’t let me be swept away by the floodwaters! Don’t let the abyss swallow me up! Don’t let the pit close its mouth over me! Think of an abyss. It is a hole with no bottom. It is like falling off the earth into an eternal fall with nothing to hold on to. If the pit closes over us, there is no way out of the free fall into the abyss. Psalm 69 16 Answer me, LORD , for your faithful love is good! Turn to me in your great compassion! The cry from the abyss is to call upon the Lord and depend upon His faithful love. God’s compassionate love reaches down and grabs our hands and pulls us out of a ‘free fall’ into the depths of human degradation. Psalm 69 17 Don’t hide your face from me, your servant, because I’m in deep trouble. Answer me quickly! In deep trouble we want out of it quickly. God intervenes in the right way at the right time. Psalm 69 18 Come close to me! Redeem me! Save me because of my enemies! This is a prayer for God to come close to us. We all have a ‘zone of proximity’. This is a zone of personal space. We don’t allow many people into that space. The marriage relationship is very close to the closeness referred to in verse 18. In fact, the marriage relationship is used in the Bible to explain Jesus’ relationship to His church. The relationship with God brings salvation from our enemies. The enemies we fight are not all flesh and blood. There are the enemies that find their way into our hearts like hate, greed, avarice, negativity, lack of faith, etc…. My prayer for you today is that you know that God is right beside you to raise you up when you fall and to raise you up to greatness as you commit your life to Him. Love in Christ, Pat youtube/watch?v=2DorNUsi5LE You Raise Me Up-Selah
Posted on: Tue, 16 Jul 2013 12:33:42 +0000
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