Pray by Leaning into What You Know

I have trusted in your steadfast love. PSALM 13:5David is not feeling the love of God. He has been quite candid about that: “How long will you hide your face from me?” (13:1). Now, he moves beyond what he feels to what he knows: God’s steadfast love. This is love that lasts, love you can count on. God’s love for you had no beginning; it will have no end. God has loved you with an everlasting love.What David is facing shows no sign of going away, and so his question has been, “How long?” David dares to believe that God’s love for him will outlast the pain that he is enduring. David confronts the pain of his long-lasting sorrow with the reality of a longer-lasting love.There are times in the Christian life when the love of God is known by faith and feeling. There will also be times when God’s love is known by faith alone. There is a gritting of David’s teeth here in what he says. This is a courageous statement of David’s faith: “I have trusted in your steadfast love, however long this trial continues.”Then David says, “I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me” (13:6). The singing is future. But when David says that God has dealt bountifully with him, he is leaning into what he has already experienced.David is a shepherd, and yet by God’s grace he had become a king. He is a sinner, and yet by God’s grace he had been forgiven. David is a sufferer, and yet by God’s grace he looked forward to a future filled with unclouded joy. David leans into this, and he says, “Not only have I trusted in your steadfast love, but you have dealt bountifully with me.” Take some time right now and lean into what you have already experienced of God.Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeish www.openthebible.org.uk