By Rev Victor Neill
'I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and He heard me out of His holy hill‘ (Psalm 3 vs 4)
It seems clear that David at this point in his life found himself in a very difficult situation - his enemies had seemingly multiplied: ‘Lord how are they increased that trouble me! Many are they that rise up against me‘ ( vs 1 ). How difficult it is when we face opposition in life, especially if we are seeking to live for the Lord and how much greater is the pain of opposition, if it comes from those who are close to us - even from within our own family! It is agreed by many that David wrote this Psalm when he was on the run from one of his sons - Absalom, who was seeking to depose him from the throne Israel, and indeed he had declared himself King. It seemed most of the people were throwing their support behind Absalom, for we read in 2nd Samuel 15 v 6 that Absalom had ‘stolen the hearts of the men of Israel'.
We can only imagine the sorts of thoughts that were going through David’s head as it appeared to him that almost everywhere people were turning against him. He would have been stung with their comments: ‘Many there be which say of my soul, there is no help for him in God‘ ( vs 2 ). Or perhaps to put another way - it may have seemed to him they were saying that ‘He (David) was no longer God’s man for the job and God had given up on Him!‘ So, what did David do when his back was against the wall and what would you do if your back was against the wall? When David looked around, he could only see opposition, so David did the wisest of things, he looked up to the Lord in prayer! ‘I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and He heard me out of His holy hill‘ ( vs 4 ). Whilst it is true that family and friends can help in difficult situations – yet there are occasions when only the Lord can give us the help we need. The truth remains that the Lord hears and answers the believing prayers of those who trust in Jesus and situations that seem impossible, are turned around as we look to the Lord in prayer.
In answer to prayer God can not only can alter and change the situation, but He can change us! He does so by taking away the anxiety and concern that difficulties have brought upon us, just as He did for David, who was then able to sleep peacefully: ‘I laid me down and slept; I awaked for the Lord sustained me‘ (vs 5). The burden of concern and worry had been lifted and David in the morning was like a new man and now felt with the Lord’s help, able to face any foe, however numerous or daunting! 'I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about‘ ( vs 6 ). Perhaps you could make this a prayer in your situation of difficulty:
‘Father I place into your hands my friends and family, Father I place into your hands the things that trouble me, Father I place into your hands the person I would be, for I know I always can trust you‘ (Jenny Hewer)
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