DAILY READING
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REFLECTION
Leave a Message at the Beep
by Phil Heveron
Have you ever felt like God is completely ignoring you? Felt like you've prayed and prayed, and yet your prayers are falling on deaf ears? When prayers go unanswered, sometimes we might feel like God just lets everything go to voicemail and that He'll get around to checking it when He has time - then maybe He'll answer your request in the order it was received. There's no sure way of knowing why God answers some prayers right away, but allows others go on for weeks, months, maybe even years.
In today's Psalm, David is crying out to God as a victim of vicious and prolonged attacks from enemies he hasn't even provoked. Day and night, he cries out, but to no avail. David acknowledges God as the “Holy One," the One in whom his ancestors placed their trust and were delivered. In v. 11, David is also aware that “trouble is near, and there is no one to help." In vs. 7-8, David is being mocked and insulted: “He trusts in the Lord they say; let the Lord rescue him.” David is suffering, his “mouth is dried up like a potsherd” (a broken piece of pottery or clay), and his "tongue sticks to the roof of his mouth." If any or all of this sounds familiar, it’s because similar circumstances surrounded Jesus at His crucifixion (read Mark 15:33-36).
Sometimes we're victims of an enemy we haven't provoked, either. Satan is relentless in his pursuit of us - and that may also leave us wondering, "God, where ARE you?!?" Even Jesus Himself had His moments of doubt and anguish, crying out from the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Rest assured, God will never leave or forsake us. He knows what's on our hearts. He knows the attacks we're under, and He knows the challenges we face. He hears our prayers and answers each one, according to His purpose, His plan, and His timing. Whenever we begin to doubt that truth, all we need to do is look to the cross.
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Most merciful God, I pray that I will always have confidence that you hear our prayers and that I will never give up hope, even when things seem hopeless. In Jesus' name, Amen!
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