When it comes to prayer, we would do well to follow the patterns and instructions given to us
By Dean Collins
Does anyone read the directions on a bottle of shampoo? And why do you need them anyway? Is it that hard to figure out how to use shampoo? Those who know me know that it has been many years since I have needed shampoo. I just rub sunscreen on the shining dome the Lord gave me and move on!
Pattern of prayer
I doubt that not following the instructions to lather, rinse, and repeat had anything to do with my current limited hair follicles; but when it comes to prayer, we would do well to follow the patterns and instructions given to us. Consider Psalm 71 as a reminder and as an example of when and how to pray. The psalmist has a suggestion very similar to wash, rinse, and repeat!
It seems that in David’s early childhood, youth, years of vitality, and senior years, he followed this pattern of prayer:
Place your trust in God
Declare your need for help
Affirm your confidence in God to answer
Trust even in difficult situations
Most scholars believe that David wrote Psalm 71 in his senior years. David may be reflecting back on the many challenges he faced with Saul; or possibly, he is reflecting on the struggles with the revolt of his son, Absalom. But as David reflects in his older age, he also continues to pray for God’s intervention and help in both the present and even for the generations that will follow.
The psalm opens clearly stating that God is David’s refuge: “In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame!” As David pours out both his confidence and his repeated requests for help in these 24 verses, we follow David’s life from his birth until his old age. And through every stage, David reflects on how God time and time again got him through every difficult situation.
This psalm serves as a reminder that we will need God at every age and in every season. We will face new and sometimes repeated challenges as we pass through various stages of life. But David assures us through his testimony that when we declare our confidence in God and cry out for his help, God will faithfully strengthen and deliver us every time.
Note how David repeats this pattern of prayer throughout this psalm:
“For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord from my youth.”
“Incline your ear to me, and save me!”
“For you are my rock and my fortress.”
This same pattern of declaration of trust, request for help, and reaffirmation of confidence in God to deliver runs throughout this psalm and throughout all of scripture. As the psalm comes to an end, we realize that David is likely also coming to the end of his life. He continues to ask for God’s help until the very end but adds that God would also sustain and deliver future generations:
“even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.”
Father, today we come to you with full confidence that you are our rock of refuge. Since before we were born and in our current moment, we have experienced your hand of deliverance and provision. So with great confidence, we ask that you come quickly and help us with today’s challenges. Heal us, deliver us, provide for us, protect us, and strengthen us that we might walk boldly into this day’s challenges. We ask that you prepare and bless the generations that follow us that they might fully lean on you and not on their own strength. Your righteousness reaches to the heavens, and we affirm that you are good and faithful today and will lead us to victory in the missions and ministries where you have called us.
In Jesus name, Amen.
Your Time with God’ Word
Psalm 71:1-24 ESV
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
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