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Monday Devo

March 21st, 2022
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Scripture Reading:

Psalm 4:1-2
1 Answer me when I call to you,
O God who declares me innocent.
Free me from my troubles.
Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
2 How long will you people ruin my reputation?
How long will you make groundless accusations?
How long will you continue your lies?

Commentary from the ESV Study Bible:

Psalm 4. This psalm expresses quiet trust amid troubling circumstances, combining the categories of individual lament and confidence. Many take this as a companion to Psalm 3, because 4:8 seems to echo 3:5. If there is a connection, the past tense of 3:5 sets it in the morning, while the future tense of 4:8 sets it in the evening; any further connection is speculative.

4:1 Confident Prayer. The recollection of past experience (You have given me relief) between two urgent requests is similar to the rhetoric of 3:7: past experience emboldens the faithful to confident prayer.

The singer turns from his prayer to address those who slander the pious; such people should know that the Lord has set his favor upon the faithful and will listen to their prayers.

Study Questions:

  • David was in a desperate situation, and so he desperately cried out to his Heavenly Father. He threw away all the niceties and formalities and cried out, "ANSWER ME!" Just imagine a child who is trying to get the attention of their parent because they need something. They might tap them over and over. They might even grab the parent's face and turn it towards theirs. This is the state of David's desperation. Have you ever found yourself so desperate for God to move in your life that you cried out to him in this way? What about a time when you probably SHOULD have cried out? As parents we might get frustrated and finally shout, "WHAT DO YOU WANT?" What do you think is God's reaction to this kind of request might be?

  • The reason David is upset with the people has nothing to do with his own reputation, as many people assume from most translations. Rather, he is upset at these influential people for misleading the people of God, encouraging them to turn towards the worship of false gods. They were in a severe drought or famine, and they were suffering agriculturally. This happened quite a bit in those days, and when it did, some people would start to question the God of Israel and instead turn to foreign false gods of fertility. You might think to yourself, "I'd certainly never worship a false God!" And you would be wrong. Have you ever tried to solve your problems in your own power? Or turned to alcohol, sex, food or an addiction to ease your suffering? Ever turned to everything else under the sun besides God to come to your aid? Because if you have (and we all have) you are just as guilty. What is the thing you normally turn to when you face difficulties? Why do you think we can be so slow to run to our Heavenly Father for help?

Pray:

  • That we would cry out to God FIRST when we face trials.
  • That we wouldn't turn anywhere else for comfort or help... only God.

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