Psalm 5:1-2
Listen to my words, Lord, consider my lament. Hear my cry
for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.
What's your prayer life like? What sort of prayers do you
tend to pray? Psalm 5, which we're starting today, gives us a window into David's prayer life. We will see at least 5 'types' of prayer. They're not exhaustive - David prays other things,
in other ways, in other Psalms. But hopefully what we read here will prompt us to think about how we pray, and to broaden our prayer life if we've got into something of a rut.
Psalm 5 begins with David asking God to hear him. We are so
familiar with the idea of talking to God that we can easily lose the wonder at what a great privilege this is. I know I do. We are talking to God himself - the creator and sustainer of all things. The one whose greatness is beyond anything we can even imagine. We are asking for an audience with the King of the universe, the one who right now is directing every atom in accordance with
his plans, which extend from everlasting to everlasting. David says to THAT God and king 'listen to ME'. A tiny, weak fragile creature who can't even breathe for himself, apart from God's enabling.
It's no surprise that someone like him - like us - would NEED to pray, but it's an amazing surprise that God would hear and answer him - and us!
When we remember the privilege of prayer, we might think
that talking to a God this great requires special language, formal words and careful preparation. But v1 tells us it's not like that. David asks God to hear his 'lament'. Other translations say 'sighing' or 'groaning'. He doesn't come to God with a polished speech, designed to impress. He just cries out for help (v2).
So let's thank God again today for the privilege of speaking
to him in prayer. And let’s pour out to him whatever is on our hearts ... all our sighing and groaning, our fears and longings, our frustrations and our joys, confident that he will hear us because we pray in the name of his son, our saviour, Jesus.
