Please Hear Me


Psalm 142
A Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer.
1With my voice I cry out to the Lord; with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord.
2I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him.
3When my spirit faints within me, you know my way! In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me.
4Look to the right and see: there is none who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul.
5I cry to you, O Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
6Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low! Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me!
7Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name! The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me.

In 1 Samuel 22 and 24 we are told of the time in David’s life, before his time as king, when he hid out in a cave from the murderous King Saul. In that story we find David and his men on the run from the death threats of the king. They hid in a cave; the one that Saul chooses as a place of privacy to relieve himself. In that vulnerable moment, David had the opportunity to kill Saul, easily and simply. But his sense of honor and respect for authority doesn’t allow him to end Saul’s life. Instead, he cuts off the corner of Saul’s robe and even that act brings him to a place of guilt. David means Saul no harm.

Despite David’s lack of animus toward Saul, he is a hated and hunted man. As he hides in the cave from his enemy, he prays this prayer to the Lord. You can hear his anguish as he pours out his sorrow to God. While we may not have faced death threats in our lives, we all know what it means to have people believe falsehoods about us or hate us for reasons we don’t understand. It is terribly painful. And his only resource for relief is God. And while this isn’t true of other psalms from David, this one only really asks God for one thing – please hear me.

Sometimes all we want is for someone to hear our voice; to recognize that we are in pain. And because we are surrounded by fellow human beings who can be overwhelmed by their own traumas, it may feel like know else cares enough to listen. So, David turns to God, hoping that He will hear his cries for help. And of course, God is there, hearing every word. And that is the message today – God is there, hearing your every word. In fact, He knows those words before you even speak them. He is intimately aware of your loneliness or sorrow. I believe that it is His joy to hear whatever we have to say because He loves time with His children.

Third Day grabbed these ideas in a song called “Cry Out to Jesus”. Enjoy a moment of peace and music today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmVxRl5bc4Y

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