Psalms 6:1-10

Sometimes things “pile up” in our lives.  Bad news is followed by more bad news and things can go from bad to worse.  The book of Job is a clear example of this and in this Psalm we see David in a very difficult situation.  David seems to be facing three problems in this Psalm.  His first problem seems to be a guilty conscience over some sin in his life. We are not sure when this Psalm was written so it is hard to know which of David’s sins was bothering Him.  His poor health seems to be his second problem.  It seems as if he felt like he was about to die and cries out to be spared.  David is also very distressed because of the other people around him who seem to be rejoicing because of his problems.  When we face these times of trial, we can take a lesson form the life of David and respond to all of them with prayer.

WE SHOULD PRAY IN TIMES OF SINFULNESS: Guilt is one of the most debilitating emotions we experience.  When we sin or first tendency is to try to cover up our sin and/or pretend that it did not happen.  We will rationalize our sin and make excuses about why we had to sin in an attempt to relieve ourselves for the torment of guilt.  Of course these measures are ineffective and usually just make things worse.  Fortunately, in Christ we have an effective means of dealing with guilt.  He died for our sins and through faith in Him we can have forgiveness.  We can find relief from guilt by admitting our sin, confessing it to the Lord, turning from it in repentance and then rejoice in faith that we are forgiven through the blood of Christ.  Sin will always bring the wrath of God, but that wrath was poured out on Jesus so that we can have fellowship restored with our Lord.

WE SHOULD PRAY IN TIMES OF SICKNESS: There are many reasons that we get sick.  Sometimes our sickness does come about as a result of sinfulness as a means of correcting us.  Other times we get sick because God is forging or character and teaching us humility and dependence on Him.  Other times we get sick because the leftovers had been in the refrigerator too long or someone sneezed on us.  Sickness is part of living in a sin cursed world.  Not all sickness is a result of our own personal sin, but sickness does provide us an opportunity to evaluate our walk with the Lord, examine our conscience and it affords us time to fellowship with the Lord in prayer.  David is sick and uses his own praise to the Lord as an argument to God for healing.  David had committed his life to the worship of God and, more importantly, to leading his people in worship.  His argument with God is that dead people can’t write Psalms.  We can learn to pray to and praise the Lord in times of illness.

WE SHOULD PRAY IN TIME OF SADNESS: David’s heart is full of grief because of being sick and the guilt of his own sin but another source of great sadness was his enemies who were happy about his terrible situation.  There are those who take pleasure in the misfortune of others and that can cause us a great deal of sadness and grief.  David’s enemies may have felt vindicated by his current state of weakness, but their joy was short lived.  God turns David’s sadness into rejoicing because he is forgiven and healed through the power of prayer.  David’s enemies are put to shame and now face the troubles that come from sinfulness and being disloyal to the king in a time of need.  God responds to our prayers and in the business of transformation.  He transforms sinners into saints, sickness to soundness and sadness into singing.  Prayer is the key to unlocking God’s transforming power.