All year long I’m studying the Psalms, which means all year long I’m sharing little nuggets of truth that I’m gleaning from the Psalms. Here’s a thought that comes from the wonderful eighteenth inspired poem…
They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the LORD, but He answered them not.
Psalm 18:41
The difference between David and his enemies is this: When David cried to the Lord, God answered. When David’s enemies cried, God answered them not. That paints an incomplete picture, however. Why did God answer David and not his enemies? After all, neither of them is perfect, both of them need mercy, and God’s mercy should be available to both, so why is only one heard and not the other(s)?
David is heard because David is sincere. That’s the difference. It’s one thing to pray to God for mercy because you don’t want to be punished. That’s normal, and reasonable, too. David does that. We all do that. David doesn’t just do that, however. He prays to God because he genuinely wants a relationship with Him. Meanwhile, David’s enemies have been defeated. They stood opposed to the Lord and felt the stern spanking of the Heavenly Father.
Then, as the hammer was about to be dropped on them for good, those enemies wanted to cry for mercy. Unlike with David, the prayer of his enemies was nothing more than a naked attempt to save their own skin. Really, it’s an expression of their love of self, not their love of God. On the other hand, David’s prayer for mercy came from a place of disgust at his own sin and from a place of yearning to be close to God again. That’s the difference.
Remember that the next time you bow your head and repent of sins: Is your prayer focused on the Lord and what your sins did to Him, or is it about you, and how you don’t want to face the consequences of your actions? God hears one, responds to one, and blesses the one…but not the other.
~ Matthew