Psalm 70-71, Psalm 77, Psalm 83, Psalm 86
Ryan: Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus, “through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence” (Ephesians 3:12). I take that to mean, in one sense, that with the greater faith that we have, the more confidence we can approach God in our prayers. If that is true, then David’s faith must be out of this world. I think to the prayers that I often pray (”if it be Your will…,” “please, LORD…,” “I’d love it if…,” etc.) and how weak, or timid, they are in terms of the language I use. I then think of the words that David offers up: “Rescue me…,” “Deliver me…,” “Do not forsake me…,” etc. These are bold, direct imperative commands, as opposed to my grammatically conditional prayers. I understand cognitively what Paul told the Ephesians, but David “gets it” in his heart. We should all take a lesson from the man “after God’s own heart” and realize that we are not small, insignificant beings unworthy of God’s time and attention, but rather, his “valued possession” (Exo. 19:5) worthy to bring to him direct requests and commands.
Samantha: David is in anguish in many of these psalms. He’s been chased, falsely accused, plotted against, and scorned. Any normal person might cave in under such pressure, but David retains hope by recalling the Lord’s power and might over all the evil in the world:
“I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds. Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph” (Psalm 77:11-15).
The God we worship today in 2010 is the very same God that parted the Red Sea, the same God who forgave David, and the same God who created the earth. Wow! It is easy for earthly things to distract us and make us feel overwhelmed (Satan is good at his job!), but following David’s example of dwelling on God’s mighty deeds will quickly put things back in perspective.
