“Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.” (Ps 86:6-7 AV)
The confidence of the writer is an encouragement to us all. He is confident that when trouble comes, God will hear his cry. There is no room for doubt here. There is no wiggle room for any other outcome. The writer has no other plans. When his day of trouble comes, he will immediately go to God with the assurance and confidence that God will answer him. This reminds me of Heb.11:6. “But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Heb 11:6 AV) Going to the LORD without believing in His existence AND His reward is pointless. Doubting God’s love will get us nowhere. Note also that the hope of the writer is in the future. He could have used the word “shalt” or shall. But by using the word ‘wilt’, it shows more force. ‘Shall’ leaves open the rare occasion when it might not come to pass. ‘Wilt’ does not. It will happen. He will answer.
It is hard to have faith in someone you cannot see, touch, or hear. In our world of ever-increasing technology, it is a hard thing to trust. The other day, I had a young man call who claimed to be from a ministry of helps to pastors. He called to let me know he wanted to get to know me. Even though I was aware of this ministry and the likelihood the call was a genuine one, I was still very guarded. I had heard that AI hackers try to get your voice recorded so they can use it to apply for credit. So, I was very guarded. Probably too guarded. The young man wanted to hear my life story. I simply told him it was too long and complicated. All I had was his voice. I didn’t see his face. I had never met him. I didn’t know him from the man on the moon. So, I was a bit guarded and short with him to the point he may have felt uneasy with the phone call. I was vague and non-committal. How am I supposed to know whether the phone call was real or not? This age of technology has made us less trusting and more reclusive. This is not good for our spiritual life.
Faith in God’s existence is not enough. We must also believe that He will reward diligent and humble intercession. We must believe He hears and will engage. The answer may not be something we want to hear. But it is necessary that we know an answer is coming. The psalmist does not promise rainbows and candy. Rather, he promises that if we walk with God in faith and obedience, He will hear and answer. That is the best we can hope for. And I mean that in a good way. It is the only hope, and it is a perfect hope. God did not create and save us to ignore us. No, He created us to know Him and fellowship with Him. Why would He ever desire silence? Next time we pray, perhaps we should pray with the same faith our writer has. Then perhaps we might see the LORD do something.
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