Psalm 3:4. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill (mountain). Selah.
Oh friends, what a beautiful lazy-day Saturday this is turning out to be! Sunny and cool, with just the right amount of laziness attached to it. (smile) And I did take some advantage of the situation by lying in bed a little longer than usual. But it’s now time to get the Lord’s work going, and we’ll do that by offering up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer with heartfelt sincerity.
As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ And we know that a positive answer will soon be forthcoming because our God just LOVES those kinds of prayers that cry out for His awesome presence in our lives!
Now, let’s continue looking at some desperate prayers from men of great faith, beginning with Bruh David, who had numerous prayers of desperation, as can be seen in his psalms while he ran from king Saul who desired to take his life. Listen to this excerpt from Psalm 143 – A Prayer for Guidance and Deliverance.
‘Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness. and enter not into judgement with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified (righteous). For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten (crushed) my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness (dark places), as those that have been long dead. Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate. I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse (ponder) on the work of thy hands. I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land.’ (Ps. 143:1-6)
And that’s only the tip of the iceberg, for Bruh David had numerous foes in his lifetime. Hear this prayer of desperation from Psalm 3, when he fled from the rebellion of his son Absolom. ‘Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah. But thou, O Lord, art a shield for (around) me; my glory, and the lifter up of (the one who lifts up) my head. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill (mountain). Selah.
I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about. Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten (struck down) all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.’ (Ps. 3:1-8)
Please note that although Bruh David cried in desperation to the Lord for help, he never stopped believing and always acknowledged God’s power, goodness and mercy. And Bruh David wasn’t the only king to cry out in desperation to God, King Hezekiah did it too. First when the Assyrian army threatened to destroy Israel unless they paid tribute.
The Bible tells us: ‘And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said, ‘O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. Lord, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, Lord thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God.
Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands. And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone: therefore thy have destroyed them. Now therefore, O Lord our God, I beseech thee, save us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God, even thou only.’ (2 Kin. 19:14-19)
Yes friends, the first place Hezekiah went was to the Lord. And I like how he laid out the letter before Him. And we know the outcome. After sending reassurances to Hezekiah by the prophet Isaiah, (2 Kin. 19:20 34) the Lord showed up in all power and might. The Good Book says: ‘And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote (killed) in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they (the Israelites) arose early in the morning, behold, they (the Assyrians) were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.’ (2 Kin. 19:35-36)
But that wasn’t the end of Hezekiah’s woes though. The Bible says: ‘In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. Then he (Hezekiah) turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying, I beseech thee, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. and Hezekiah wept sore (bitterly).
And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city (Jerusalem) for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake. And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he (Hezekiah) recovered.’ (2 Kin. 20:1-7)
Yes my fellow beleivers, many men of great faith endured desperate times and were forced to pray desperate prayers, men like Elijah, Jonah, Jacob, Job, Abraham, Bruh Joseph and Bruh Paul. So it’s quite okay to cry out to God in desperate times, and if you have a heart for Him, He will hear you and act on your behalf! Much LOVE!
…there’s no disgrace in desperately crying out to God…in desperate times…
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