Cry Out to The Lord

By Dean Collins

Have you ever been in a panic and desperately needed to talk to someone you know and someone who knows you? It might have been when you lost your wallet, your keys, or your phone. Or it might have been when you found yourself in some sort of danger or dealing with a time-sensitive problem that had to be resolved. There is nothing more helpful than hearing the voice of someone who cares, even if they are not able to help in the moment. Their help is their love for you and their willingness to listen and do whatever they can.

Psalm 120 opens: “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.” While we may not be able to hear an audible voice, we can rest assured that when we call to the Lord, he hears us and he answers! As we read this passage, we realize that the psalmist is in a difficult situation presently and begins by reassuring himself that in the past, when in a difficult situation, God helped.

You might be in a horrible situation today. And if so, it is important to cry out to the Lord with urgency and even unfiltered. Old Testament scholar John Goldingay says that up until 100 years ago, followers of Jesus were more comfortable expressing their pain, their hurt, and their disappointment to God in prayer. He suggests that the New Testament has many examples of the disciples and even Jesus quoting some of these harder and angry-sounding psalms. You may not want to use this prayer at dinner time with the kids at the table, but know that God is not bothered by hearing our anger and frustrations.

A prayer like Psalm 120 might feel right when you find yourself in a situation like the one described in the psalm. Maybe someone is gossiping about you, lying to you and others about someone you love, or even lying about yourself. But there are likely many times when you are in a better place and things are not particularly difficult. Well, in those cases, it is appropriate to pray this prayer on behalf of Christians who are being mistreated or persecuted in other regions of the world. It might also be a good prayer for us to pray when we consider those battered by wars.

There is a strange reference in this psalm to two obscure places where the psalmist says they had sojourned and lived: Meshech and Kedar. These ancient peoples were in the farthest regions to the north of Israel (Meshech) and to the south of Jerusalem (Kedar). Some scholars suggest that this is a poetic reference to living far away from your home base, much like the exiles had done in Babylon.

As Christians, sometimes we will find ourselves working literally in distant places, but we might also be in a situation where many of the people around us are simply living a completely different life than we live as followers of Christ. In these times, it might be exactly the right time to call out to the Lord with our struggle to be authentic followers of Jesus, even though no one around us shares our beliefs or confidence in the love and mercy of God.

God is present and for us no matter what our situation.

Father, thank you for examples of prayers that teach us that we can be completely honest with you. We do lift up our brothers and sisters who suffer persecution even today. We ask you to stop those who seek their harm. Interrupt every lie that is told about those in these difficult places. Show us what we need to do to help. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Your Time with God’s Word
Psalm 120:1–7 ESV

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