October 9
Verse of the Day for October 9
[To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.] How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?Psalm 13:1 KJV
The Key of Endurance · Day 9 of 31
Reflection · 3 min read
How Long
Psalm 13 is six verses long. It is the shortest complete emotional journey in the Bible, and it begins with a man asking God how long four times in two verses.
[To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.] How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
For ever is an accusation. He does not soften it, and nobody edited it out. The songbook of Israel opens this psalm by permitting a worshipper to tell God to his face that this has gone on too long.
Then verse five turns without warning: but I have trusted in thy mercy. There is no new information in between. Nothing has been resolved. The enemy is still there, the sleeplessness is still there.
What has happened is that he has said the whole complaint out loud, in God's direction, and having said it he finds he is still standing on something.
The complaint did not disqualify the trust. It cleared the ground for it.
How long, O Lord?But I have trusted.
Six verses. Four accusations and one 'but'. The 'but' is only load-bearing because the accusations were honest.
Prayer that has been pre-edited for tone is not more spiritual. It is just quieter.
Carry this today
What would you say to God if you stopped editing it?
Pray
Read Psalm 13:1–6
1[To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.] How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? 2How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? 3Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; 4Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved. 5But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. 6I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.
Keep praying
Reflection by Collins Asein, from the daily devotionals in the PrayerKey app. Bible text: King James Version.