Help Me to Remember That You Hear My Prayer

Psalm 34: 4-7,16-19

4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. 5 Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. 6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. 16 the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. 18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. 19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all.

Something momentous has happened to this psalm-maker! She has come through a terrible time and now she is delirious with joy. She wants everyone within earshot to join her in praising the Lord. Maybe she’s come through a difficult pregnancy and delivery. Maybe the crops were about to fail and rain came in the nick of time. Maybe a dear family member was near death and recovered. We can never know. But we do know about our own times of frantic calling on the Lord. We know when our poor soul has cried, “Help!” Perhaps the worst thing about those times is the fear we experience. Fear can make us incapable of having a coherent thought or doing anything constructive. We become almost lifeless. The only thing we can do, if we choose, is to take refuge in God. The psalm-maker reminds us that the Lord encamps around us, ready to deliver us from fear. And the psalmist is quite clear. “I sought the Lord and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.” The Lord is near the broken-hearted. And when the crisis is over, there are times when we just have to shout from the rooftops, “O taste and see that the Lord is good!” -Merle Troeger

Prayer – God, help me to remember that you hear my prayer just as a good parent listens to the desires of each child.