Psalm 61:1-3 - June 25, 2009

Ps 61:1-3 "Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. 2 From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 3 For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe." NIV

When pain has reached a deep place, when emotional fatigue is intensely strong, when negative circumstances seem unrelenting the heart of man is compelled to cry out! The Hebrew definition of the word heart refers to the very core of our being. Not just emotions, not just passions, but the driving force of spirit, soul and body. David is referring to a pain so deep a fatigue so complete that the very core of his being is drained and on the edge. His emotional and physical health are hanging in the balance between.
Many of us have faced at least one season of such trying life circumstances and for each of us these trials present us with a choice. Many choose to vent their frustrations to the people around them. Others choose to direct their anger and perplexity towards God. Still others have learned the secret that David has learned; David knows the Lord as his refuge and strong tower against the enemy. No matter what difficulty has touched his life David knows that his life is hidden in God. In the midst of this storm David lifts his pain in prayer before the Lord. His appeal is a moving one as he says, “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” This plea is filled with passion, faith and humility as he cries from the depth of his need for direction and protection from the almighty God to whom he has entrusted his life.
Many times intense prayer is birthed out of intense pain and intense growth is birthed out of the intensity of our prayers. This passage bears great resemblance to the description found in Heb 5:7 of the prayers of the Lord Jesus. “During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.” Loud cries and tears were the heart of Jesus’ life of prayer! This was the foundation of those things that moved the heart of God. When our need or the needs of others drive us to the throne of God those prayers are received with kindness when they are offered with reverence and submission. This seems to be the key to David’s life of prayer as well as the lives of Christ and many others throughout the word of God. In the same way each of us will grow greatly in our spiritual lives as we submit reverently to the Lord
in prayer.