God, Please Hurry.

Okay… let me ask you something.

Have you ever prayed a prayer that sounded nothing like the ones you hear from others?

Something like, “God… I need You. Right now.”

More than likely, right?

Well, that’s Psalm 70.

David gets right to the point.. “make haste, O God, to deliver me. Make haste to help me.”

I don’t know about you, but that makes me feel seen.

Because there are some days that I don’t need a theology lesson and I don’t need someone telling me everything is going to work out eventually.

I need God to show up now.

It's like this Psalm was written on one of those days where everything is just a little too much, you know?  

Where the pressure doesn’t let up and the thoughts don’t slow down. 

Where you’re holding it together on the outside, but on the inside you’re thinking, 

I CANNOT do one more day like this. 

David talks about people coming after him.  Even if you don’t have literal enemies, you know what that feels like, don't you? 

It feels like anxiety that won’t shut up, like fear that keeps tapping you on the shoulder, or even situations that feel like they’re closing in and you find it hard to breathe. 

Instead of pretending it’s fine, David says, “God, I need You to intervene!”

Not later.

Now.

We've all been there.  

Right in the middle of all that urgency though, David pauses and says,

“Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee… let God be magnified.”

It’s almost like he takes a breath mid-panic and says, “I still know who You are and I magnify you!”

That’s faith! Don't you agree?

And it's REAL....it's not the kind that acts like it has everything figured out.
It's the kind that says, “God, I’m so overwhelmed.......but I still trust You.”

The end of the Psalm doesn't end any differently than it started.  There's no answered prayer. Just honesty, 

“I am poor and needy… make haste unto me, O God.”

In other words, he's admitting “I still need You.”

And maybe that’s why Psalm 70 hits so hard sometimes?  Because some prayers don’t end with solutions, do they? They end with humility and dependence on the Lord. They end with us admitting that we can’t fix it and wee can’t carry it. But we STILL need Him.

If you take anything from this today, please know that God is not offended by your urgency.  He's not annoyed by your desperation.  You're not out of line and He's not waiting for you to sound more composed and eloquent.  

Your prayer today counts...even if you think it sounds messy.
Your prayer today counts... even if you think it's rushed.
Your prayer today counts... if it’s repeated for the hundredth time.

Psalm 70 tells us that sometimes the most faithful prayer you can pray is simply,
“God....please hurry.”

And I truly believe that even that kind of prayer shakes the gates of heaven.