7
Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
be
gracious to me and answer me!
8 You
have said, “Seek my face.”
My
heart says to you,
“Your
face, Lord, do I seek.”
9 Hide
not your face from me.
Turn
not your servant away in anger,
O
you who have been my help.
Cast
me not off; forsake me not,
O
God of my salvation!
10 For my
father and my mother have forsaken me,
but
the Lord will take me in.
David
has clearly shown that he relies upon God, and is actively trusting Him. His
prayers show dependence, urgency, and awareness of his need for God’s mercy and
grace.
David’s
prayer is immersed in his desire to know God and to know what He desires. He
knows that it is God Who must reveal Himself to him.
Many
times when we are going through trials, our prayers might be fervent, but the
request is basically dictated by our desire for the uncomfortable situation to
end. Some feel it is more spiritual, when in a trial, for them to ask God to teach
them His lessons quickly, so that the trial will be brief.
These
verses display the attitude that drives David: he knows that he deserves the
anger of God, but he also knows that God is his Savior.
Our
acquaintances and even our loved ones can abandon us, but God, once he has made
us His own, will never forsake us.
How
can we evaluate our own attitudes as we pray? If there is anger or bitterness
or complaining, then it is evident that our prayers are directed toward meeting
our felt needs and not directed to becoming the servant that God desires.
Some
have given up on prayer, thinking that God is not answering them, but God has
promised to answer our prayers according to His timing and His will.
James
4:3
You ask and do not receive, because
you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
What does it look like for us to seek
the face of God?
We certainly cannot depend upon our emotions, but only on the Word of God. It
is there where we can discover His character, His will, His desires, and what
He expects from us.
It
is very hard, during the times of trial, to know what God wants, if we have not
been diligent in filling our minds with His Word during our times of peace.
Surrounding ourselves with godly
people will also help us to learn what God wants from us.
The
psalmist’s requests flowed out of his heart and desires:
11
Teach me your way, O Lord,
and
lead me on a level path
because
of my enemies.
12 Give
me not up to the will of my adversaries;
for false
witnesses have risen against me,
and
they breathe out violence.
David
knew two things: that within himself, he did not know which path was the
correct one, and that reacting to his adversaries would only lead him in the
wrong direction.
How
many times have we allowed others to bait us into sinning? How often do we even
use the behavior of others to excuse our own poor reactions?
As
the writer prays this heartfelt request, he asks not
to be abandoned to the will of his enemies. What a privilege it is, to have the
Lord’s promises recorded in the Scriptures!
Hebrews
13:5,6
5 Keep your life free from love
of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will
never leave you nor forsake you.”
6 So we can confidently say,
“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”
Our confidence in God’s care begins
with our contentment about His provision. God has promised to never leave us
and He never does. Feelings of abandonment can only begin when we concentrate
on our unmet expectations.
When
we are facing trials or enemies, we must keep our minds on what is true! The
Lord is our Helper: no one can attack us without God being at our side to give
us strength and to help us.
Dear
friends, we have said it before: trials are real, enemies are real, but we
should never allow ourselves to become our own greatest enemies. We must keep
our eyes fixed on the Lord and we must be disciplined in immersing ourselves in
the Truth, rather than in our emotions!
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