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Praying Daily to God-Psalm 55
PRAYING DAILY TO GOD
---- PSALM FIFTY-FIVE
"Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication. Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise; Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me. My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me. And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest. Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah. I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest. Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city. Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof: mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it. Wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets. For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company. Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them. As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice. He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there were many with me. God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God. He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant. The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords. Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee." (Psalm 55:1-23)
Troubles come to every life. Psalm 55 is a psalm that shows us how to pray when we are in distress. We can literally unload our burdens on to the Lord. David wrote, "Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved." (Psalms 55:22) It is difficult to focus on the Lord when you have been betrayed by someone close to you. David knew and understood that bitter pain. David had the unfortunate experience of his son Absalom turning against him. His faithful counselor or advisor, Ahitophel turned against him and joined with his son in the conspiracy. David prayed. He asked God to turn Ahitophel's counsel into foolishness. This may have been the background for Psalm 55. When David was betrayed he prayed earnestly to God.
David prayed earnestly to God for deliverance -- Psalm 55:1-8: David humbly asked God to hear his prayer and not reject his request. David was deeply hurt because he had been betrayed by people he loved. Out of a very troubled heart David cried to God for help. He had been treated terribly by his enemies and now he needed God's help. The psalmist was hurting so bad inside that he thought he would die; he was trembling with fear. Things were so bad for the psalmist that his desire was just to escape. "Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest." He though his only answer was to run away from his trouble. His troubles were beating him down like a horrible storm.
David prayed earnestly for his enemies to be destroyed -- Psalm 55:9-15: The deep hurt of this moment was brought about because David was under attack by a familiar friend. There was violence and strife in the city and so David asked God to confuse his enemies. The evil people were David's close friends. It is sad to be under attack. It is especially sad to be under attack because of the treachery of a friend. The closer they are to you, the deeper the pain. Like David, Jesus was betrayed by one of his closest and most intimate friends. David could have handled the pain of betrayal by an enemy, but this betray was by David's equal; his trusted peer. This betrayal was by David's familiar friend. David waited on the Lord to take care of his enemies.
David just kept on praying to God -- Psalm 55:16-23: David knew the answer to dealing with earthly problems. He took his problems to God in prayer. He is focused not on what cannot be done about the problem, but he focused what God could do. He said, "I will call upon God." David said, "As for me, I shall call upon God, And the LORD will save me. Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and murmur, And He will hear my voice." (Psalm 55:16-17) If there is to be revenge it must not be personal. We are to wait upon God to rightly deal with the problem. When he took this great burden and gave it to the Lord, God actually took it. God will sustain you and me when we wait upon the Lord. "Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee." (Psalm 55:22-23)
Our heart must rely upon God. Let us confidently lean upon Him. He will help His people. Are you His child? To become a Christian you must hear the gospel (Romans 10:17), believe in Jesus as the Christ (Mark 16:16), repent of all sins (Acts 17:30), confess Christ as Lord (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized for remission of sins. (Acts 2:38) After baptism remain faithful to God. (Revelation 2:10) God's love protects and provides for us when we turn to Him and cast all our care on Him.
By Charles Box, Walnut Street Church of Christ, P.O. Box 551, Greenville, Alabama 36037 USA
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