Thoughts on Prayer

“Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.” (Psalm 32:6-7 NIV).

Let us never presume upon God. Paul told us to “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 NASB). The Psalmist says, “let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found.” That is both a profound and horrifying reminder! Let’s look at it.

First that phrase, “while you may be found,” reminds us that God is not obligated to be available to anyone! I chuckle and cry at the same time when I hear arguments to keep God out of the public sector and then hear those same voices asking “Where was God (when some tragedy befell us)?” Most recently, “Where was God” when the children at a Minnesota school were mercilessly gunned down? These same skeptics who want to point their accusing finger toward the heavens are the same skeptics who asked Him to leave them alone. What’s the problem? That is what He has done!

Second that phrase, “while you may be found,” reminds us that God is not obligated to hear the prayers of those who give sin, any sin, a safe harbor in their hearts. The Psalmist said, “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” (Ps 66:18 NIV). And Isaian said, “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:1-2 NIV). Don’t think you can live any way you like and God is always going to be there to rescue you from the consequences of your sins.

Third, that phrase, “while you may be found,” when linked with the next thought, “surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him,” is both insightful and instructive. There are times when issues of life become so complicated and burdensome that it seems that God does not hear my prayers; my frantic cries for help. If I am not in the habit of communing with Him in the good times, it is unlikely that I will recognize His help in the bad times. Those who know what it is to “call upon God in the good times” know the peace that comes with calling upon Him in the bad times, even when our own cries deafen us to His still small voice.