Day 23: Psalm 142
A David prayer, when he was in the cave.
We find David at a really low place, he is in a deep state of depression, he is alone and at the end of himself. So, throughout this Psalm we see the anguish and pain flow out before God.
I cry aloud to the Lord;
I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy.
I pour out before him my complaint;
before him I tell my trouble.
I really feel for David here. He is at the end of himself and has no one around to help. How often do we feel this? When we look through our own (human) eyes we sometimes think there is no one to help. So, we can sink into a dark place, our mind takes over and we plunge deeper and deeper.
David was in that place; he was hiding from Saul who was out to kill him!
Verse 3:
When my spirit grows faint within me,
it is you who watch over my way.
In the path where I walk
people have hidden a snare for me.
His world had been torn apart, he would have been exhausted, desperate and alone. But rather than letting the feelings overtake him completely, he bares himself to God.
Verse 5:
I cry to you, Lord;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
At this point David does something that breaks the chains that are holding him! He looks up, he asks to be rescued from those who were seeking him. He cries out to be free to praise God’s name.
Verse 7:
Set me free from my prison,
that I may praise your name.
Then the righteous will gather about me
because of your goodness to me.
I can think of so many times I have felt at the depths of myself, I have felt so far away from people. But at the darkest moments there is a light. A promise that God is there (Hebrews 13:5) and he will never leave us!
Is there anything at this moment of time that is holding you back? If so, give it to God, let him break the chain so you praise his name!
Father I pray that at this moment of time you will comfort our hearts! That you will break the chains that hold us away from you, that you will whisper your promises of good to us! So that we can stand and praise your holy name!
Amen!
Michelle Hodgson-Lambert
Connect Leader