praying with a patient heart

 I would encourage you to start this week by reflecting on the precious words of Psalm 130:

Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;

    Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
    to my cry for mercy.

If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,
    Lord, who could stand? 

But with you there is forgiveness,
    so that we can, with reverence, serve you.

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
    and in his word I put my hope.

I wait for the Lord
    more than watchmen wait for the morning,
    more than watchmen wait for the morning.

Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
    for with the Lord is unfailing love
    and with him is full redemption.

He himself will redeem Israel
    from all their sins.

For centuries the church has used the opening expression of this Psalm as a fitting title to it. In our English translation, the title would be the opening four words, ‘Out of the depths.’ In the Latin language, the simple expression, “de profundis’, has been the centuries old way by which this psalm was known. 

The psalm is one of the most powerful expressions of our reliance on God in Scripture. When our lives have bottomed out, when we are lost and at the end of our strength, we turn to God. The cry of the disciples in the boat in Mark 4, as the waves crash over the side and threaten to drown them, is the New Testament example of this prayer. 

• Do you need it today? 
• Do you have friends or loved ones who need it?

So yes, the opening words of this Psalm make a fitting title to it. But they do more. They suit the progress of the psalm as well. There is a steady climb towards assurance, and at the end there is encouragement for the many from the experience of the one.

What might our cry be before God and what might our need be?

Out of the depths of despair…

                        …distress…

                    …depression…?

The Psalmist cried out of the depths of guilt.

What is clear is that self-help is not the answer to the depths of distress that that this individual is experiencing. 

So while verses 1 and 2 are a cry out of great need, verses 3 and 4 are a discovery that we have a great God. 

We have a great God who meets our great need. 

The big word in last week’s blog was “watch” with its call to pray with an alert mind.

This week the word is ‘wait.’ It is the call to pray with a patient heart.

Three or four years ago I set my alarm for 4am one Saturday morning and set off up through Aberfoyle, over the Trossachs to Loch Akray, to climb Ben A’an in time for sunrise. There was barely a glimmer of dawn when I set off so a head torch was required equipment. When I got to the top there were visible signs that the sun was rising. However, in reality I had to sit for 45 minutes before the sun crept over the eastern hills to welcome a new morning. I needed to patiently wait for that wonderful moment when the sun broke over those surrounding hills. 

Waiting on God is a familiar expression in Scripture. Waiting requires patience, and none of us has too much of that!

The Psalmist puts it like this:

"I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
    and in his word I put my hope.

I wait for the Lord
    more than watchmen wait for the morning,
    more than watchmen wait for the morning."

What he tries to convey in this vivid word picture is that the night may seem endless, but morning is certain and its time is determined. 

Waiting before God does imply praying with a patient heart.

The waiting in prayer itself is beneficial to us: 

it refines our faith, 

    exercises our patience, 

        trains our submission, 

            and instils gratitude for the blessing when it comes.

It is no wonder that someone described Psalm 130 as “a very precious psalm”. 

May its truths bless you today.