Psalm 102:1

Psalm 102:1

Hear my prayer

This Psalm is described as, “the prayer of an individual in a time of great distress.”  Thus, v 1-2 are an appeal for the Lord God to hear the lament of the afflicted person. Then v3-11 describe the sufferings of this person, followed by assurances that the Lord will hear. The last verses, v23-v28, summarise all that has been said before. 

The title of the Psalm is unique, “A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the Lord.” We do not know the name of this person or the specific reasons for their suffering, however, there is plenty to suggest that there was a national identity involved in the sufferings, so we might surmise that these words were written by a king?

As I write this introduction to Psalm 102 it is October 7th 2023, exactly 1 week after I suffered a life-threatening heart attack. It seems that I might find myself empathising very much with the author of Psalm 102 and hopefully, there will be some very practical help for all of us who have suffered in some way. Hallelujah!

 

V1        It’s funny how a crisis drives many people suddenly to prayer. Perhaps I’m being a bit cynical, but it seems that the closer to home that crisis or affliction may be, the more fervent the prayer. In truth it’s quite obvious, when we are personally affected by a situation, we find ourselves pleading with the Lord in ways that maybe we would not do when raising the needs of strangers who live on the other side of the world. So, we cry out, “Hear my prayer, Lord; let my cry for help come to you.” It’s almost as if the writer is preparing the way, this is a confidential “heads up” to God that sometime soon a prayer is going to be winging its way into His presence, and he wants the Lord to be aware that it is on its way and to be ready to receive it when it arrives. It reminds me of the times when we eagerly await the delivery of a promised letter or package. “Be ready Father, my prayer is coming. When it arrives, please listen, it is a cry for help and I need you to hear it.”

Perhaps we can learn something here about preparing the way for our prayers. Instead of just rushing in with a list of urgent requests, we are being prompted here to make sure that the Lord is listening. Do we have His ear? Are there any obstacles in the way? Are our requests suitable to be brought to Him? Are there any grounds for believing that He may not listen? Is He ready for what we have to ask of Hm? Food for thought!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Psalm 4:1 Smear campaigns

Psalm 4:1    Smear campaigns   The background to this Psalm is so familiar; David is being slandered and maligned by his detractors.  It seems that some calamity has befallen the nation and the king is getting the blame! Lies are being told, a smear campaign has begun, and the reputation of the Sovereign is under threat.  As usual, if something goes wrong, culpability is laid at the feet of the one in charge.  David, quite rightly, turns to the Lord his God and prays for relief and for mercy. The Satan is a master of such campaigns and his emissaries gleefully turn on Christians in leadership positions although the whispering campaign can affect all of us. The whispering starts in our own heads, but it can also come from the lips of our detractors. It goes something like this: - You’re the reason it went wrong You messed up again You should have seen it coming Surely you know better You are not worthy You don’t know what you’re doing Someone else ought to be in c
Read more

Psalm 74:16

Psalm 74:16 God established the sun and the moon “ In  the beginning   God created   the heavens   and the earth.   2  Now the earth was formless   and empty,   darkness was over the surface of the deep,   and the Spirit of God   was hovering over the waters. 3  And God said,   “Let there be light,” and there was light.   4  God saw that the light was good,   and he separated the light from the darkness.   5  God called   the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”   And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” These, so familiar, words from Genesis 1 remind us of who is in charge! There would be no light without God. There would be no day or night without God. There would be no earth without God. And there would have been no living things unless God had created order out of chaos. The sun, moon and stars would not be fixed in their orbits without God and you and I would not exist unless He ordered our conception. It is because we see God as glorious, righteous
Read more
Psalm4:8        I will lie down and sleep                Th ere are times, in the life of all believers, when we no longer have control of situations. We can do nothing more. We have given our all, we have tried every possible solution and now it is out of our hands. As someone has wisely said, “It is time to let go and let God.” If we truly trust Him, if our faith will allow us, we can turn our backs on our enemies. We can block our ears to the threats. We can ignore the lies and the deceit and say,  “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone Lord, make me dwell in safety.” I should imagine that the devil, having sent a hurricane our way is not amused, when we settle in our beds in the midst of it all and drift off into a peaceful sleep! But that is our right and privilege once we let the Lord God Almighty take control. These spiritual attacks are like whirlwinds, they blow with terrifying intensity and threaten to turn us upside down; the disciples witnessed one of thes
Read more