I cry out to the Lord with my voice;
with my voice to the Lord I make my supplication.
Psalm 142:1
Whew! The young man rakes his hand through sweaty dark hair and collapses against the damp cave wall, grateful for the sheltering darkness. He is almost sobbing with mingled relief, fear, and anger.
After saving his nation by a daring feat with a sling and becoming a popular captain in the army, after soothing the king with his musical talent and marrying into the royal family, this once-celebrated hero has been forced to flee his home following four attempts on his life.
The cause?
A king's jealousy!
And as if that weren't enough, someone has betrayed his hiding place. Becoming desperate, he took refuge with his bitter enemy: the king of the Philistines.
What a fiasco!
Now he has barely escaped with his life to this lonely cave, and his frustration is at flood level.
There is only one thing to do. After filling and lighting a tiny clay lamp, he reaches into the front of his tunic. Yes, there is the writing case. A small bottle of water and a cake of ink, a reed pen, a scrap of parchment, and he is ready.
To understand read Psalm 142 it is written by David in the cave—a prayer.
With my voice to the Lord I make my supplication.
I pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare before Him my trouble.
When my spirit was overwhelmed within me,
Then You knew my path.
In the way in which I walk
They have secretly set a snare for me.
Look on my right hand and see,
For there is no one who acknowledges me;
Refuge has failed me;
No one cares for my soul.
I cried out to You, O Lord:
I said, "You are my refuge,
My portion in the land of the living.
Attend to my cry,
For I am brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are stronger than I.
Bring my soul out of prison,
That I may praise Your name;
The righteous shall surround me,
For You shall deal bountifully with me.
David, the fugitive who later became king, had a refuge—he took his needs straight to God.
Now don't get me wrong. This wasn't just some pious exercise. David was upset, afraid, and angry, and he "told it like it was." But he didn't stop with how he felt. He went on to remind himself of God's character, and as he did, he began to see his problems from the perspective of the King of the Universe.
The book of Psalms in the Bible is a collection of prayer-poems addressed to God. Hebrew poets used a simple but powerful form: a patterning of repeated thoughts, instead of rhymes. (See lines 2 and 3 of the psalm above for an example.) They also used such familiar things as storms and stars, trees and towers, beasts and battles to draw vivid word pictures of their needs and of God's greatness in answering those needs.
God is always available in time of need or plenty, but most of all He is always listening to His children—cry out to God.
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