Answered Prayer: Psalm 13

Sometimes it seems like the people in the Bible had a huge amount of faith and trust in God. When I read the Psalms, I see a lot of praising God and trusting God. I don’t always feel or think that I can trust God and get discouraged by the faith other people show in God. My faith wavers and dips. Sometimes I have more faith and sometimes I have less.

When I think of King David, I think of a man whose heart was completely for God. In 1 Samuel 16 it talks about how God picked David because God looks at the heart and found David’s heart to be devoted to Him. Does that mean that David never doubted God? If that was the case then relating to David would be very difficult, because I am full of doubts.

In Psalm 13, David begins with a statement that tells me that he did in fact doubt that God would come through for him:

“Long enough, God –

            you’ve ignored me long enough.

I’ve looked at the back of your head

            long enough. Long enough

I’ve carried this ton of trouble,

            lived with a stomach full of pain.

Long enough my arrogant enemies

            have looked down their noses at me.” [Verses 1 – 2, The Message]

David questioned God’s care for him. He doubts that God will take care of him and protect him from the arrogant enemies. He complains of feeling alone and ignored. He complains of having a ton of trouble. He complains of living with pain in his stomach, possibly from nerves, anxiety and/or hunger. I can relate to this David. I’ve felt alone and ignored and like there’s a ton of trouble just waiting for me. I’ve struggled with anxiety that has left me with pain in my stomach. I can relate to the David in this Psalm.

The question that comes to me is this: Does God really ignore us? I don’t think so. I think David thought God was ignoring him but God was at work somehow. David comes around to acknowledging God’s work in his life by the end of this Psalm. David keeps talking to God and eventually comes to a point of trusting God. Verses 5 – 6 say,

“I’ve thrown myself headlong into your arms –

            I’m celebrating your rescue.

I’m singing at the top of my lungs,

            I’m so full of answered prayers.”

I think that many of my prayers are like David’s. I start off complaining and worried but as I focus on Who God is and what He’s done for me, I come around and end up praising Him. Eventually, I can end up throwing myself into God’s arms and celebrating the way He rescues me from the trouble I face. Sometimes it doesn’t happen right away. It may take a few days or a few months or even a few years, but eventually I see God’s answered prayer. And if there are things that I pray about and never see the answered prayer, it doesn’t mean God wasn’t at work. It may mean that in God’s plan there was something better going on than I could see.

I’ve seen enough of God’s rescues to know He’s at work. I can trust Him for the things I cannot see. I can trust Him not to be ignoring me, as I might think He is. I just have to remember the things He’s done and praise Him for the answers I’ve seen. Like David, I can be singing at the top of my lungs about the answers to prayer I have received and trust Him for the ones yet to come.