Pastor Stef's Prayer based on Psalm 13

God, how long will you forget about me?
Will it be forever?
How long will you play hide-and-seek?
 
Sometimes I wish I could shut off my brain because I’m constantly fighting my thoughts.
These enemies of anxiety and depression won’t go away.
 
How long are you going to let this continue, Lord?
Why won’t you listen to me?
Are you deaf?
Give me relief.
Am I going to go on like this until I’m dead?
Are you going to let my enemies claim victory over me?
Are you going to let them throw a party when I’m gone – thinking they’ve got me?
 
I can’t see you.
I can’t hear you.
I can’t feel you.
And yet….
 
I will trust in you.
 
Where else can I go?
You alone have the words of eternal life.
 
So, when everything is black, I will trust that you are there for me.
I will choose to live joyfully in the hope that your salvation is coming.
Despite how I feel, I will sing songs about what a good God you have been. 

Devotion by Cora Goodyear
Psalm 13
A Psalm of David
In this short psalm, David is feeling that God has forgotten about him. He is wondering how long God will be silent or when he will hear a response from him David is wrestling with his thoughts, is sorrowful in his heart and his enemies are winning. He pleads to God to answer him. Yet, he is reminding himself to trust and rejoice because God was good to him in the past
 
Psalm 13:1, 6 v1 “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” v6 “I will song to the lord, for he has been good to me.”
 
How long? – a question likely all of us have asked at times in our Christian life. Times perhaps when we are struggling with our concerns over a particular issue or various issues all at once. Times when we are not sure what to do. Times when other people may also wonder what God is doing in our lives or our enemies may look on us and even gain satisfaction at our seeming defeat. We hear no immediate answer from God. We get discouraged and wonder where God is and we can easily jump to the assumption that God has forgotten us. He has forgotten his promises to us and that we are his children. We try to find answers within ourselves. Perhaps, we cannot. During these times, we have to be careful not to lose hope. Losing hope can often lead to anger or depression.
 
David begins his prayer by saying “How long?” And he pleads for God to give light to his eyes. But as he prays, he realizes that he trusts in God’s unfailing love and rejoices in his salvation (v5).
 
David ends the psalm by saying in v6 “I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me.” David (as we should) remembers the past, remembers the times when God was good to him. And he (as we should) continues to trust in Him. It is good to remember that God can do even more than we ask. Paul says in Ephesians 3:20 “… to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine…”
 
When we look back – we can note what God has done for us in the past, even if we could not see it at the time. We can remember difficult times when God walked beside us and comforted us. Times when we weren’t sure if God was there – we can now realize that he was and worked things out for our good. This reminds us that God does not forget about us in dire circumstances and later on down the road, we will always be able to look back and say – God was faithful and this is what he did for me. Oh, the joy when we can do that!
 
He has promised to never leave or forsake us and we can hold onto that promise.
Point: We can trust God’s promises. 
​