Psalm 6: A Prayer for the Weary

Key Verse
9     The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer. 
 
Meditation
God’s shepherding care provides words to pray when His people lack words to say. Weary from external conflicts and internal sin, David’s penitential Psalm gives prayerful power to weary people.
 
God is big enough for our biggest questions. God is strong enough to help in our deepest fears. God is faithful to protect us from the most pressing enemies. God is good enough to give us exactly what we need.
 
Psalm 6 invites a bolder faith expressed through honest and powerful prayer. Worn down by life, drenched from weeping (v. 6), and surrounded by foes (v. 7), David cries out for deliverance (v. 4). His bones ache from internal trouble (v. 2) but his heart clings to the steadfast love of the Lord. With a soul greatly troubled, (v. 3) and the shadow of death looming (v. 5), David dares to pray: “HOW LONG!?!?”
 
“HOW LONG!?!?” voices the hunger of a weary heart and echoes throughout the Psalms (see Psalm 13, 35, 74, 79, 82, 94…). It is an invitation to boldly engage the Living God. Scripture gives us language for our prayer when we have more frustration than faith and more problems than strength to pray.
 
When we do not have all the answers of life, God’s Word draws us back into the presence of God Himself, giving us hope. In the Lord, David discovers authority over the enemy (v. 8), confidence that God hears his cry (v. 9), and assurance of victory (v. 10). God is big enough for our questions, and His Word provides prayer-power to the weak and weary.
 
Today’s Reading
O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath.
2     Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.
3     My soul also is greatly troubled.
But you, O Lord—how long?
4     Turn, O Lord, deliver my life;
save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
5     For in death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who will give you praise?
6     I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
7     My eye wastes away because of grief;
it grows weak because of all my foes.
8     Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
9     The Lord has heard my plea;
the Lord accepts my prayer.
10    All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.
 
Richly Dwelling
-Do you trust God’s shepherding care enough to use His words as your prayer when you are weak and weary in your faith?
 
-What stands out to you about the desperation of David’s prayer and the delight he has with God hearing His prayer?
 
-How can you grow in dependency on God when you are weak and weary in faith?
 
Key Verse
9     The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer.