Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 69:1-5
Ps 69:1-5
1 Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. 2 I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me. 3 I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God. 4 Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me. I am forced to restore what I did not steal. 5 You know my folly, O God; my guilt is not hidden from you.
John 17:13-17
13 "I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
We have in these two passages, partial prayers of two different people. The first, is David, the sweet Psalmist. The second prayer was spoken by our Lord Jesus on the night he was betrayed and ultimately put to death. Both of these come from men who trusted God with all of their heart and who depended on him to answer and take care of them. Both serve as examples for us in our prayers today.
When we cry to God from the depths of our soul, and it is done in faith, we are not complaining or murmuring, we are showing our dependence on God. This is what he wants us to do and he has promised to answer us and provide what is best for us. We face times in our lives that we, like David, cry out to God and do not see relief or his immediate response. As we continue to cry out to him, we may feel we are left alone and we are about to be engulfed by deep waters.
As we view David’s distress in the Psalms and read his story in other places, we can begin to see how he must have felt while being chased by King Saul or when his friends turned on him or even when his own son rebelled and tried to take his kingdom. But in it all, he trusted God to take care of him. We can too.
Heavenly Father, I know we all have problems as a part of this life. I also know that my problems are small when compared to those of others. I do trust you to take care of me and provide my every need. I thank you for all you have done for me in my life in the many times you have carried me through tough times. Help me never be bitter when I am done wrong but to be compassionate and forgiving toward those who would harm me. I thank you for your forgiveness, for without it I am nothing. Use me in your will. I humbly pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
