Incline Your Ear to My Prayer

[Psalm 17]

“In fact, the prayer of the heart is like a stream that whispers unceasingly beneath the many waves of daily life.
Living in the world without belonging to it, in the very midst of solitude, the possibility opens up for us to rise toward our God.”
— Henri Nouwen, “The Life of Prayer”

“The many waves of daily life”…
Each day, we encounter various kinds of waves in our lives.
The types and sizes of these waves differ greatly.
In the midst of these waves, we must learn how to ride them.
And I believe the first skill required for riding those waves is “the prayer of the heart.”

Henri Nouwen described this prayer of the heart as
“like a stream that whispers unceasingly beneath the many waves of daily life.”
A constant whispering beneath the waves—like the calm currents flowing deep beneath the surface.

This kind of stillness, I believe, reflects the state of a soul that rises toward God in the midst of solitude.
In that solitude, we can approach God just as we are, in spiritual nakedness.
We can quietly pour out our hearts.
Like Hannah, we can come to God with anguish in our hearts, weeping and praying fervently (1 Samuel 1:10).

And in that space, we come to a surprising realization:
God's longing for us is far greater than our longing for Him in the midst of solitude.
In other words, God desires to listen to our prayers even more than we desire to hear His voice.

In Psalm 17, the psalmist David lifts up a prayer to God.
It was a prayer that God inclined His ear to hear.
This was a prayer that came from “lips free of deceit” (v.1).
In other words, David prayed with honesty and sincerity.

How was David able to petition God with such integrity?
We can draw three lessons from this.

First, it begins with “my judgment.”

Look at Psalm 17:2: “Let my judgment come forth from your presence; let your eyes look upon justice.”
David’s judgment comes from the presence of the Lord.
David was surrounded by “my deadly enemies” (verses 9 and 11) who were extremely arrogant (verse 10), filled with crafty schemes, strong like lions, and possessing beastly cruelty.
In the midst of this, David prayed honestly to God with righteous judgment that came from Him.
His righteous judgment was to take refuge only in God, the Savior, amid the severe persecution by his extreme enemies (verse 7).
David’s judgment relied on the just God in an unjust situation (verse 2).
David believed that the Savior God would judge fairly between him and his deadly enemies, so he pleaded with God.
Also, his judgment included faith that God would answer his prayer, and he pleaded with God on that basis (verse 6).
Furthermore, David believed that God would protect and watch over him like the apple of His eye, and he pleaded with God with that faith (verse 8).
It was with this judgment that David prayed to God.

Secondly, “my determination.”

Look at Psalm 17:3: “You have tested my heart; you have visited me by night; you have tried me and found nothing; I have resolved that my mouth will not sin.”
The Hebrew original of this verse can be translated as: “Though evil thoughts come into my heart, I restrain them and do not let them escape through my mouth” (Park Yoon Sun).
David made a special determination to not sin with his mouth while crying out to God.
So, he lived according to that determination and prayed to God.
Although the oppressors and deadly enemies around him “spoke arrogantly with their lips” (verse 10), David was determined not to sin with his lips.
To such an extent that the Lord, who examines David’s heart, “found no fault” in him (verse 3).
Usually, those who sin with their thoughts also tend to sin with their mouths, but David did not sin with either his lips or his heart.
He pleaded with God with a sincere heart and lips free of fault.
We can imagine how difficult it was for David to stand firm in such a determination even in extreme situations.
Around him, his deadly enemies spoke arrogantly, but David decided not to sin with his lips while hearing their proud words and acted on that decision.
Though he could have sinned in his thoughts, how did he overcome evil thoughts in the battle of his mind and refrain from sinning with his lips?
Because he had the ability to restrain evil thoughts.
That ability is the power of the Word and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Considering that one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is self-control (Galatians 5:23), the Holy Spirit, by the Word of God, controlled David’s thoughts and enabled him to overcome evil thoughts with good thoughts (Romans 12:21).

Thirdly, “my steps”

Look at Psalm 17:5: "My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped."
When a person faces suffering, adversity, or crisis, there is a great risk that their steps will falter.
Ultimately, they may fail to keep their faith and commit sin.
Therefore, to avoid sinning, we must strictly follow the word of God (Park Yoon Sun).
In the midst of crisis and adversity, David drew even closer to God's word.
In that context, he “followed the words of your lips and kept myself from the paths of the violent” (verse 4).
He carefully guarded himself and did not walk in the ways of sin but walked only in the way of the Lord's word.
David walked a righteous and honest path based on the word.

What was God's response to David's honest prayer?
We can consider two aspects.

First, "my salvation."

Look at Psalm 17:13: “Arise, Lord, confront them, bring them down; with your sword rescue my soul from the wicked.”
When we kneel and offer God an honest prayer, God rises up and defeats our extreme enemies.
No matter how much the wicked and oppressors surround us, God frees us from them (verse 9).
And God protects us like the apple of His eye and hides us under the shadow of His wings (verse 8).

Second, "my hope."

Look at Psalm 17:15: “As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.”
The hope of believers is only in God (Park Yoon Sun).
The hope given to us is to enter the hereafter and see God.
Whether at death or at the Lord’s second coming, we will enter heaven through the Lord’s righteousness and be satisfied with His likeness.

Like David, we must offer God honest prayers based on “my judgment,” “my determination,” and “my steps.”
When we do so, we can enjoy the blessings of “my salvation” and “my hope” as answers to our prayers.
In fact, many of us may have already experienced these blessings in our lives.
Therefore, we praise God’s salvation and rejoice in hope.
No matter how many waves of daily life rush into our lives, by offering honest prayers from the heart to God, we can enjoy the grace of salvation and with a heart overflowing with hope and gratitude, offer praise to God.

Praying and studying in the school of prayer,

Pastor James Kim shares
(Wishing that by offering honest prayers to God, you may enjoy even more of God's salvation and the blessings of God's hope)