Cast Your Burdens - Psalm 55
Things You Would Never Say
“Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy! Attend to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and I moan…” - Psalm 55:1-2
Have you ever thought there are things you would never say to God? When you need to vent, when you need to get things off your chest, when you need to just be totally self-absorbed and focused on your own issues and problems, who do you talk to? What if we turned the question around and asked, “What are the things you can say to God, that you would never say to anyone else?” What is so striking about the first two lines of David’s prayer song in Psalm 55 is how incredibly self-focused he is! In just a couple of verses, David points the focus on himself 7 times! Look again -
- “my prayer"
- “my plea"
- “attend to me"
- “answer me"
- “I am restless"
- “my complaint"
- “I moan"
Imagine having a friend like that, who talked about himself and his needs and problems incessantly. OK, it’s probably not that hard to imagine; we all know what it is like to be around someone like that. It is so draining. Before long, you are ready to push the eject button to get out of the one-sided conversation and get on with your day! Those of us with some social awareness know that we just can’t talk with (to) others that way and expect to have friends who want to be around us. That is the point… There are things you can say to God, that you would never say to others.
Why is it that David is known all these years later as “a man after God’s own heart” (see Acts 13:22)? It is exactly for this reason — David shared things with God that he would never share with anyone else. David had such a relationship with God, that even when he was completely overwhelmed and self-absorbed, he knew he could come to God and say exactly what was on his heart and mind. God is seeking this kind of intimacy with each of His children, including you and me.
In Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus provides for His disciples a 'model prayer.' Jesus says, “this is how you should pray.” When our heart and head are in a good place our prayers should reflect the Lord’s pattern. But, do not forget this, God would rather have your messy sincerity over spotless religion. He wants you to know that you can say to Him the things you would never say to anyone else.
From Cast Your Burdens: A Psalm 55 Devotional available as an eBook on Amazon.
Warren Mainard
Executive Director | IMPACT Players
[email protected]