Prayer for Help in Trouble.
[a]Maskil of David, when he was [b]in the cave. A Prayer.
142 I cry aloud with my voice to the Lord;
I make supplication with my voice to the Lord.
2 I pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare my trouble before Him.
3 When my spirit [c]was overwhelmed within me,
You knew my path.
In the way where I walk
They have hidden a trap for me.
4 Look to the right and see;
For there is no one who regards me;
[d]There is no escape for me;
No one cares for my soul.5 I cried out to You, O Lord;
I said, “You are my refuge,
My portion in the land of the living.
6 “Give heed to my cry,
For I am brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are too strong for me.
7 “Bring my soul out of prison,
So that I may give thanks to Your name;
The righteous will surround me,
For You will deal bountifully with me.”
When this psalm was written, David was running for his life, and had already seen God’s deliverance. For that matter, God had used David as the instrument of deliverance for his people. But Saul became jealous and was chasing him all over the wilderness. Not only that, but others were helping Saul to find David, even though he had done nothing wrong and should instead be a celebrated war hero.
If it came to a battle, David stood no chance (v. 6), but David didn’t put his hope in men. Rather, we see something important in v. 3. “When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, You knew my path.” I was reminded by my wife this morning how important it is to be known, to have someone who understands you and what you are going through.
It is sometimes for that reason that God brings us through trials in the first place, so that we can help others who are going through the same struggle. But the most important part is that He knows us. He doesn’t just know what we are going through, God knows our innermost being. He knows what we can handle, He knows exactly what we need to make it through.
But He also knows our doubts, our failures, our shortcomings and flaws. Yet God loves us anyway, which is all the more precious for His intimate knowledge of us. Be like David in v. 7, when he said, “So that I may give thanks to Your name…” He didn’t wait a minute more, but gave God credit for what He was going to do, “You will deal bountifully with me.” David had already seen God’s rescue before, and he was confident God would come through again.
Put your trust in God, and begin to give Him thanks even while the storm rages on around you. He knows you, and He knows the storm, and He will be faithful to complete the work that He began. No storm can thwart that plan–His plan.