"But I Give Myself to Prayer"

[Psalm 109]

What kind of person does God use?

Yesterday, while exercising at the YMCA, I was listening to a lecture in MP3 format by the president of Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte. In it, he spoke about Moses, and something he said really struck a chord in my heart. He divided Moses’ 120-year life into three stages, helping me understand how God gradually prepared Moses to be used by Him. It was both enlightening and challenging:

1. When Moses was in Egypt for 40 years, he thought he was SOMETHING.

2. When he was in Midian for 40 years, he came to realize he was NOTHING.

3. And when he led the Israelites for 40 years in the wilderness, he learned that God uses those who are NOTHING.

As I listened, I reflected on where I currently am in this process. I think I fluctuate somewhere between stages (1) and (2). At times, I’m deceived into thinking I’m something. And in those moments, God—because He loves me—teaches me that I’m really nothing. That false sense of being something stirs up greed and pride in me. But each time that happens, God gently leads me into the wilderness to humble me.

He makes me be still before Him in solitude, and during prayer, He reveals the sins in my heart through His Word and leads me to repentance. I receive comfort and strength through the tender voice of God (Hosea 2:14). I’m reminded of Mark 9:29:
“...only by prayer...”
Just as Jesus taught that certain demons could only be driven out by prayer, I’ve come to believe that there is no other way to empty myself of greed, pride, and other sins except through prayer.

In Psalm 109:4, David says,
“In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer.”
This means that while David loved his enemies, they opposed him in return. In such a situation, David simply responded, “But I give myself to prayer.”

So how did David’s enemies oppose him?

They used evil words. Look at verses 2–3:
“For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues. They encircle me with words of hate, and attack me without cause.”
David’s enemies hurled harsh and destructive words at him (“wicked mouth”), and sought to harm him with false and deceitful speech (“deceitful mouth”).
Even further, they falsely accused him, even though he had done nothing wrong ("attack me without cause").

As commentator Park Yoon-Sun explains, they oppressed David unjustly.
They repaid his goodness with evil, and his love with hatred (verse 5).

The tongue is indeed useful, but it also has a scary side. The tongue has a beneficial side, of course, it can spread the gospel, good words, and words of grace that comfort and encourage others, but the scary side of the tongue is that it can hurt and wound others’ hearts with our tongues, and it can also slander and slander, and spread lies and rumors, and even bury that person. Recently, CNN Internet News reported on the suicide of a 13-year-old girl in Missouri. Meagan Meyer (13), a girl living in Missouri, USA, met a boy named Josh Evans (16) on Myspace, an American ‘online relationship’ site. He sent Meagan a “sexy” message to seduce her, and she eventually fell for Josh. They continued to exchange messages, but Josh suddenly said he was leaving, and Meagan kept begging him to come back. However, Josh sent a note saying, “The world would be a better place without you,” and Megan hanged herself 20 minutes later. Megan’s parents later found out that Josh was actually a woman from the same neighborhood named Laurie Drew (49) (Internet). This incident is about a friend’s mother who pretended to be a boy and dated the girl on an internet site called “My Space,” and later hurt her deeply with abusive language and malicious comments, which ultimately led to the girl’s suicide. I think this incident is a warning about the dangers of malicious rumors and malicious comments that are rampant on the internet. That’s why the apostle James says: “But the tongue can no man tame. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8).

David’s enemies opposed him with tongues that were “unceasing evil, full of deadly poison.” They loved to curse and wore cursing as if it were their clothing (Psalm 109:17-18). They did not delight in blessing others. Instead, they delighted in cursing. Why did David’s enemies love to curse David so much? David says the reason is this: “Because he had no thought of showing mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy and the brokenhearted, to kill them” (v. 16). David’s enemies were people who had no thought of showing mercy to the poor and needy and the brokenhearted. Instead, they persecuted the poor and needy and the brokenhearted, to kill them. These cruel people opposed David. They cursed him with their tongues as they opposed him. When David was in this situation, he prayed to God. The NIV translates the words, “I am a man of prayer,” while the NASB translates them as “But I am in prayer.” In other words, David says, “But I am in prayer,” in a situation where his enemies are cursing him with their evil tongues and trying to harm him. The direct translation of the original Hebrew is, “I am a prayer.” This means that David himself is a prayer. In other words, his life is a prayer (Park Yun-seon). So what was the content of David’s prayer? There are two main thoughts (Park Yun-seon):

(1) David prayed for God’s judgment to come upon his enemies (verses 6-20).

David prayed to God, asking Him to control his enemies through the wicked (verse 6). They deserved condemnation, and since their prayers were not true prayers of repentance but merely temporary flattery, they could only receive condemnation rather than God’s response (verse 7). The prayer in verses 8-16 is David asking God to punish his extremely wicked enemies with ruin and destruction (according to Park Yoon-Sun). Then, in verses 17-20, David prays for God to repay those enemies who delighted in cursing him (verse 20).

(2) David earnestly pleaded with God for salvation (verses 21-31).

David’s prayer for salvation was a plea for God to look upon his pitiable and miserable condition with mercy and save him (verses 22-25). He said he was poor and needy, with a broken heart (verse 22), growing weak like the shadow of the evening (verse 23), and had become gaunt from continual prayer (verse 24). Therefore, trusting in God’s mercy, he pleaded for help and salvation (verse 26). David prayed that God would save him and make his enemies realize that it was God who had delivered him (verse 27). He was confident of salvation (verse 28). He firmly believed that God would stand at his right hand and rescue him from his enemies. David also prayed that even if his enemies poured curses on him, God would turn those curses into blessings (verse 28). Moreover, he prayed that his enemies, who “put on curses like garments” (verse 18), would be clothed with their own shame like a robe (verse 29). Trusting in God’s mercy, David prayed with confidence that God would answer him. So, he resolved: “I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth; yes, I will praise him among the multitude” (verse 30).

No matter what difficulties, hardships, or unjust situations we face, let us pray like David. Even if our enemies try to harm us with evil words, let us always say, “But I am praying,” just as David did. God will discipline our enemies and deliver us from their hands. Therefore, with our mouths, we will give great thanks and sing praises to God.

“But I am praying,”

Pastor James Kim
(Trusting in God’s mercy)