Prayer from the cave

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TODAY’S SPECIAL: Job 29-31; Psalm 142

TO CHEW ON: “Bring my soul out of prison,
That I may praise Your name;
The righteous shall surround me,
For you shall deal bountifully with me.” Psalm 142:7


It’s interesting to know the circumstances that sparked a piece of writing. Under Psalm 142’s title is a note that gives us a clue about this psalm: “A Contemplation of David. A Prayer when he was in the cave.”

My Bible’s notes cite two instances this might have been: the Cave of Adullum (2 Samuel 22) or En Gedi (1 Samuel 24). In both cases he was on the run from King Saul, his father-in-law, former boss, and man to whom he had shown nothing but loyalty and respect. His physical life was in danger, the rift between them was deeply personal and hurtful, and he was forced to live in settings (like this cave) that were inconvenient, physically demanding, and challenging. Considering all that, we would not be surprised if he were angry, resentful, vengeful, full of self-pity, even shaking his fist at God.

But that was not his stance in this contemplation.

Instead he:
1] Consoled himself in God’s knowledge and awareness of him--God's omniscience:
“When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then you knew my path” - Psalm 142:3.

2] Begged God for His help:
“I cried out to You Lord;
Attend to my cry…
Deliver me from my persecutors…
Bring my soul out of prison…" - Psalm 142:5,6.

3]  Affirmed his faith in God’s goodness:
“For You shall deal bountifully with me” - Psalm 142:7.

Perhaps we could use Psalm 142 as a model next time we’re in a “cave”:
- Remind ourselves that God knows and sees us and everything about and around us (Psalm 139).
- Pour out our requests to God. Make a list, write a journal entry, enumerate these things on our prayer list…
- End with faith and affirmations of God’s goodness. Use David’s (“For you shall deal bountifully with me” - Psalm 142:7) or compile a list of your own.


PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You that You supervise my bad times as well as my good. Help me to develop a theology of suffering that is faith- and hope-filled. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 142

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Thanks for reading! This year we are using The Bible Project "Timeless Reading Plan" to read through the Bible in 2018. If you'd like to read along in your own Bible, you can download a pdf of the reading plan HERE.

Persistent, overbold, shameless asking

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 11:1-13

TO CHEW ON: "'So I say to you, ask, and it will be given you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.'" Luke 11:9-10


If you saw my monthly prayer list, you would know that I take these words of Jesus seriously. Many of the items keep reappearing month after month, even year after year. In some ways, the fact that they are still there is a "yes" answer. In the case of ill family members and friends, that they're still on my list means they're still alive to be prayed for.

It's good to know that instead of resenting our persistence (which can also be translated importunity, overboldness, and shamelessness) God encourages it.

A little footnote in my Bible explains it this way:

"Jesus teaches persistence in prayer along with a sense of urgency and boldness. He does not suggest that we must overcome God's reluctance to respond to our requests but that we must be earnest and wholehearted in prayer. The persistence is necessary for our benefit, not God's." New Spirit Filled Life Bible p. 1409.

For what do you continue to ask? What do you keep seeking? What doors remain closed? Whether your requests are for yourself or others, pester God about them. He doesn't mind. Instead, He invites bulldog prayer habits.


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for this invitation to persist in prayer. Today it encourages me to pray with new energy for the things that have been on my prayer list a long time. Amen.

MORE:Prayer Lists
Do you use a prayer list? For years I have gone back and forth between using one and not. In 2008 I invented a form that I can fill in weekly (though I have been doing it monthly). It has a space for answered prayers. I describe it here.


How do you keep track of things to pray for?

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.