Urgent Prayer

“O God, come quickly to save me; Lord, come quickly to help me… But as for me, I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; Lord, do not delay” (Psalm 70:1, 5).

This past Thursday, I heard the news on TV about the death of the famous American singer, Michael Jackson. Hearing that he died at a relatively young age—in his fifties—I became curious about how he could have passed away so suddenly. The news reported that it appeared he had died from a cardiac arrest. I read in an online article that cardiac arrest is a mysterious and silent killer disease, claiming between 200,000 to 300,000 lives each year in the United States alone.

A heart specialist interviewed on the news explained that if someone suffers cardiac arrest and does not receive an electric shock to the heart within 10 minutes, they will die. However, after noticing symptoms, calling 911, and waiting for an ambulance, it typically takes more than 10 minutes. That is why the chances of survival are not high. It is truly a terrifying condition.

As I listened to this news, I thought of my friend’s father. According to my friend, his father suffered a heart attack and, in great pain, died in his wife's arms before the ambulance could arrive—it was too late. As I indirectly heard about this urgent situation through my friend’s words, I began to wonder: if I were in such an urgent crisis, how desperate and anxious would my heart be? I then asked myself: Do I have any prayer requests that I offer to God with such urgency?

In today’s passage from Psalm 70:1 and 5, we see the word “quickly” used three times. The fact that David, the psalmist, repeated this word three times in his prayer shows how earnestly and urgently he cried out to God. David offered a prayer that could wait no longer—a truly urgent plea to God.

What was the content of David’s urgent prayer? His pleas were: “Come quickly to me,” “Come quickly to help me,” and “Come quickly to deliver me.” Why did David offer such an urgent prayer? It was because there were people who sought his life (verse 2). They were those who delighted in his suffering (verse 2). David was afflicted and impoverished because of them (verse 5). So he offered this urgent prayer to God.

Even while praying urgently, David acknowledged in faith that God was “my help and my deliverer” (verse 5). With that faith, David yearned for God's help and salvation, concluding his urgent prayer with, “Lord, do not delay” (verse 5).

Like David, we must also earnestly desire God’s help and salvation in times of crisis and offer Him urgent prayers. We need to more deeply sense the necessity of urgent prayer. To pray casually and leisurely in a time of urgency is to commit the sin of negligence before God (Jeremiah 48:10).

Realizing that there is little time left to love, I want to earnestly pray to God: “Help us to love one another.” I want to recognize the importance and urgency of saving souls and offer God my urgent prayers. I pray that each day, God will use us to bring comfort and help to brothers and sisters who are in urgent situations.

Longing to seek God, who answers swiftly, through urgent prayer,

Pastor James Kim’s Reflection
(upon seeing in himself a spirit of prayer that has become too passive and lazy)