May 17 Daily Devotional

Prayer in Earnest: A Meditation on the Fifth Psalm

Psalm 5

1 Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.
2 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.
3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
4 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
6 Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.
7 But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.
8 Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.
9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.
10 Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.
11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
12 For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

Devotional

Much praying is not always earnest praying. Many words uttered before God are not always true words. There was a Pharisee once who prayed much and loud. He knew how to advertise his prayers. Nearly everybody knew the extent of his prayer life. But for all his boasted piety, our Lord Jesus has told us that he was not justified before God (Lk. 18:14).

In the prayers of a true rnan of God there is none of this boasted pomp and show. Oh, how deceitful is the human heart when it can, in the very act of calling upon God, have respect unto men. Is it possible that such a holy exercise as prayer may he used to further man's own ends?

Where is the man who betakes himself to God alone? His prayers are not cold and cluttered with many words. That man is earnest, because his needs are great. He knows that the Lord alone is able to help him. The self-sufficient have no need to call on God. The Lord has nothing to give to those who do not need a physician. The sick and needy cry and the Lord is gracious in answering them. Every word that comes from a heart burdened with sin and steadfast in its gaze upon a Saviour in heaven is as a sweet smelling savor before God. Stammering, from a contrite heart, pleases God better than all the fine and flourishing figures of rhetoric man can command.

Helped by the Holy Spirit

David's heart is full. God's strange providences have driven him to his knees. He is hardly able to speak. Words do not come forth freely. He can only say, "Give ear," "Consider," "Hearken," "I will look up." Earnest desire prompts these words. Inward anguish forces him to cry out. Yet there is not despair. There is evident the conviction that God will not turn aside those who sincerely place themselves before Him. The Son says, "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." Did David not come to the same God who said, "Come unto me, and I will give you rest"? Thanks be to God, there is given to one who truly prays a Helper. He is the Holy Spirit. "He helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself makcth intercession for us with groanings which cannot he uttered" (Rom. 8:26).

Prayer Without Ceasing

Prayer that is in earnest is persistent. It is not discouraged by delays or its own weakness. It knows only the urgency of its own case and the grace which is in God. And is God wearied by our importunity? Oh, no! Ceaseless asking touches Him. Our Lord Jesus Christ has put before us a man who knocks at the door of a friend at midnight. The friend is in bed with his children. He is awakened from his sound slumber and the man asks him for three loaves of bread with which to feed a weary guest. Such a request at such an hour angers the householder. He would pay no attention but for the ceaseless begging of the midnight visitor. His continued asking makes his friend give him as much as he needs. And now what did the Lord Jesus say, after He put this case before His disciples? These are the words, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."

We are taught not only to pray, but to be increasingly urgent in prayer till we carry away from God the blessing we seek from His favor. If selfish man can be won by prayer and importunity to give, and unjust man to do right, how much more shall the gracious Lord Jesus bestow, and the righteous One do justice!

(to be continued)