The Blessedness of Answered Prayer
A Psalm. A Song at the dedication of the house of David.
“I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up, and have not let my foes rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me. O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
Now in my prosperity I said, “I shall never be moved.” Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled. I cried out to You, O Lord; and to the Lord I made supplication: “What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth? Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me; Lord, be my helper!”
You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.”
Psalm 30 is another short power house of a psalm. You can take every verse of this psalm and make it into a separate praise chorus.
“I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up, and have not let my foes rejoice over me.” When we trust God, He will protect us and justify us. We don’t have to obsess about critics and slander, for God will clear our names.
“O Lord my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me. O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.” How many of us have found ourselves in dangerous situations from which God has delivered us miraculously? There is a British TV reality show entitled “Close Calls on Camera.” This show documents all kinds of emergencies-parents stricken with heart attacks or diabetic comas, climbing accidents, walkers accidentally wandering into deep mud, traffic accidents, etc. In each situation, those involved survive with the help of family members, passersby, or emergency crews. Sadly, only a few of these people stop to thank the God Who sends help in all those forms, although they do mumble something about the miraculous.
“Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” When we remember all the wonders that God has already done, we find encouragement and hope. Does God become angry? Yes. A holy God cannot tolerate sin, but when we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive them. And God’s favor lasts a lifetime. Many of us have found ourselves spending sleepless nights wondering what will happen, only to find new hope when morning comes.
“Now in my prosperity I said, “I shall never be moved.” Live long enough and you realize prosperity is a poor thing to rely on. Investments can evaporate, and companies can go belly up. One of our friends went to work one morning as the head of a large division in his company, only to leave that afternoon without a job, forced into early retirement as the company suddenly announced a move to a larger city several hundred miles away.
“Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled. I cried out to You, O Lord; and to the Lord I made supplication: “What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth? Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me; Lord, be my helper!” When the things on which we have built our lives are crumbling, God is the only true Helper.
“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.” At the end of this psalm, God has triumphed, the singer has been delivered and is dancing and leaping and shouting for joy. If there were fireworks available, the fireworks would be going off!
APPLICATION: This psalm runs the emotional gamut from dark despair to giddy celebration. Are you spending a lot more time slogging away at jobs that are less than inspiring? Do you feel you are spending more time on the near-despair end of the emotional spectrum than on the celebration end? Welcome to the human race; most of us need all the celebrations we can get.
We had one of those celebration moments a few days ago. One little girl had been admitted with seizures and malaria; she was so pale we had to transfuse her immediately. Then it took several days before the little girl woke up. But suddenly she went from being comatose and barely responding to pain to sitting up and demanding rice! And two days later, the little girl walked out of our ward, climbed on her dad’s motorcycle along with her mom, and the family returned home rejoicing.
Are you feeling lower than a ditch digger’s boots? Do you feel that your situation is hopeless? Hold on! Joy comes in the morning, and you too may find your mourning turning to dancing.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, speak to the hearts of all who are reading these words. Let them put their trust in You and give them Your peace and Your joy. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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