[Confession: I posted this originally in March 2009...but remembered it when I read today's passage and thought you might enjoy it.]
"I'm ready, God, so ready."
Have you ever prayed like that?I think for many of us, it's a last-ditch effort kind of prayer. It's the, "I'm still here, God, do you hear me?!? Do you see what I'm going through?!?" kind of prayer. It's probably a prayer of desperation--for that long-awaited job, spouse, financial stability, salvation of a close friend or relative, healing, relationship repair...you name it. Last night (well, today in this 2010 update!) I was reading a prayer that started like that in Psalm 108, but that's not what it was about...well, not exactly. Here's how it goes:
I'm ready, God, so ready,
ready from head to toe.
Ready to sing,
ready to raise a God-song
"Wake, soul!"
...I'm thanking you, God,
out in the streets,
singing your praises
in town and country.
The deeper your love,
the higher it goes;
every cloud's a flag to your faithfulness.
Soar high in the skies, O God!
Cover the whole earth with your glory!
Whoa. David's "I'm SO ready, God" was expressing his desperation to thank and praise God. But that's not where the story ends:
And for the sake of the one you love so much,
reach down and help me—answer me!
Hold up--David was desperate to praise God...when, at the same time, he was also desperate for help? He was psyched to thank God...when the answers weren't there yet? Wow. Let's see how God responded to that:
That's when God spoke in holy splendor:
"Brimming over with joy,
I make a present of Shechem,
I hand out Succoth Valley as a gift.
Gilead's in my pocket,
to say nothing of Manasseh.
Ephraim's my hard hat,
Judah my hammer.
Moab's a scrub bucket—
I mop the floor with Moab,
Spit on Edom,
rain fireworks all over Philistia."
Translation? God's basically saying to David (a warrior), "I'm giving you new territory. I've got allies for you in my back pocket. And I'm taking out your enemies." I kind of wish the prayer ended there. But I'll be honest--I'm really glad it doesn't. Because it goes on to show a little bit more of David's humanity. After God spoke and basically said, "Don't worry--I'm taking care of you and your situation," David did what a lot of us do...he kept on talking:
Who will take me to the thick of the fight?
Who'll show me the road to Edom?
You aren't giving up on us, are you, God?
refusing to go out with our troops?
David's questions here are interesting to me. He is the man after God's own heart--but he's also still a man. A human being. And like a lot of us, he doesn't just want God to answer--he wants the details. He doesn't just want to know what's going to happen...he wants to know how. The prayer ends as David says:
Give us help for the hard task;
human help is worthless.
In God we'll do our very best;
he'll flatten the opposition for good.
The good news? In the end, David trusted God and admitted the limitations of humanity. However, I also love that David didn't let his limitations stop him from doing his part. I hope reading this passage (and my little commentary along the way) encouraged you. I know looking closely at David's example and God's way of speaking and answering prayer in this passage was a good reminder for me--to focus on thanking God just for who He is, to listen, to trust His plan for my life and to do my best with whatever "hard task" I encounter.
Tomorrow: Psalm 115-118
