- Psalm 13:1-6 - How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved. But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.
If you have ever prayed to God and heard only silence in response, know that you are not alone in this experience. The psalmists knew this well. The most important feature of these hymns is their sincerity. Before telling His Heavenly Father his troubles, David does not hide his pain, nor does he try to fix everything or pretend it is fine. He cries out, complains, and even asks God: «How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?» (Psalm 13:1). There is no role-playing here, no carefully chosen words to make himself look good. This is the sincere cry of a person opening up before the God he trusts with his grief. Even in the darkest psalms, the common thread is this trust. A cry in Scripture is not just complaining; it is directing that complaint to Someone. The sorrow is real, but so is the assurance that the One who hears us is near and is able to act. Even when the psalmist cannot see what the Lord is doing, he does not lose sight of who God is. This is exactly how God invites us to pray: not with specially chosen, perfect words, but with sincere ones. Not with certainty that everything will turn out as we hope, but with faith that He is with us in the waiting and that He is good. When we do not know what to say, the Psalms give us words. And they remind us that crying out to God is itself an expression of faith.
Reflection
How difficult is it for you to be honest with God during prayers that seem to go unanswered?
