“How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily?… Consider and hear me… I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation” (KJV, Ps. 13:1-3, 5)
“How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever?”
Father, I thank You that I can turn to You in prayer. I am not worthy of such a blessing, but You grant me the privilege nonetheless. You have bestowed upon me great mercies and much grace. Your love toward me abounds, and I am forever grateful.
Nevertheless, I can feel at times, along with David, that you are distant rather than near. I can feel that You may have forgotten about me in the midst of my anguish and turmoil. When things get hard, there are ways in which I may not sense Your comforting presence. I pray, Father, that You would turn to me afresh this day, and open my eyes to see that You are near.
“how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?”
In the words of David, I am encouraged in a number of ways. David was a man after Your own heart. However, David was a man who at times felt estranged from You. David walked in Your ways. However, there were times when he could not sense Your presence. David was a man who went through much adversity. Nevertheless, You did not always make Yourself known to him in tangible ways.
One of the greatest encouragements that I see in the words of David is the face of Jesus Christ. I thank You that Your Word points me to Christ in so many exciting ways. In the words of David, I see the way in which he felt as though You had turned Your face from him. However, in the New Testament, I see that when Christ hung upon the cross, He cried out with His dying breath and stated that You had turned Your face from Him, as well.
I thank You that since You turned Your face from Christ, You will never turn Your face from me.
“How long shall I take counsel in my soul”
Sometimes when I feel distant from You, I can begin to take counsel in my soul about the matter. Sometimes in doing this, I can begin to believe lies and stray far from what Your Word has told me is true. I pray that during times of feeling distant from You, I would turn to Your Word and be reminded of Your great love for me. I pray that I would not give into the lies that You have deserted me. I pray that I would not give into my feelings and determine what I believe to be true based upon those feelings.
While there may be times in which I do not sense Your presence as intimately as at other times, I pray that I would never forget that You will never leave or forsake me.
“having sorrow in my heart daily”
I find that during times of great sorrow, I may feel as though You have left me. I find that during times when I do not feel good or am in pain, I can think that you have departed. I pray that I would remember the words of Paul during those times.
Paul has told me that since I have been justified by faith, I have peace with You. He then tells me that I am also at peace with You during times of suffering, anguish, and sorrow. Sometimes my feelings may get the upper hand, but I pray that I would never forget that I am at peace with You through the finished work of Christ and that I have forever been reconciled to my Creator.
“Consider and hear me”
O Lord, I pray that You would hear my prayer. I thank You that whenever I do not know what to pray for as I ought, the Holy Spirit is praying for me. I thank You that I have a Great High Priest Who is sitting on the throne of heaven, Who never ceases to intercede for me.
I find that I have a tendency to trust in myself, but I pray that You would help me to fix my eyes on You and the work that You are doing. I pray that You would listen to my prayer and answer me speedily. Consider me, O God, and give ear to my pleas.
I need You, Lord. I can do no good unless You are doing it through me. My flesh is weak and my heart faints before You. But You, O Lord, are the strength of my heart.
“I have trusted in thy mercy”
Father, I thank You for Your mercy. Each day, I am met with the reality that I am a sinner before a holy God. The longer I walk with You, the more I see of this reality. One would think that it would be the other way around. However, it is not.
I see within me a law that wages war against me and that seeks to take me captive. I see that sin still dwells within me, and if I allow it to gain an inch, it is as though it has taken a mile. I must not let the enemy gain a foothold, but I pray that You would have mercy me on me along the way.
I need Your mercy, O God, and I thank You that You give it. Thank You for sending Christ to atone for my sin. Thank You for making a way that I could know You and be with You throughout all eternity.
“my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation”
I truly have many reasons to rejoice. There are times when I can get rather fixated on negative things. There are ways in which the enemy seeks to draw me away from having a grateful heart. I pray that You would solidify my joy in Christ and teach me the discipline of rejoicing always.
I see in the apostle Paul an amazing man who never ceased to rejoice in You. I see a man who endured much hardship in the will of God, but who continually rejoiced in Your work nonetheless. Thank You for the truth that, while I was still a sinner, Christ came and died for me. Love has never had a greater display than what can be seen in Christ.
Teach me to rejoice. Your Word tells me that I am to rejoice always. Help me to fix my mind on Your Word and the work of Christ. Help me to see at all times what this life is all about. Guard my mind and my heart from the wiles of the devil, who seeks to draw me away from You. You are worthy of my praise, honor, glory, and adoration. In Jesus’ name, Amen.