Psalm 30  (NKJV)

The Blessedness of Answered Prayer

A Psalm. A Song at the dedication of the house of David.

I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up,
And have not let my foes rejoice over me.
² O Lord my God, I cried out to You,
And You healed me.
³ O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave;
You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

⁴ Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His,
And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
⁵ For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But joy comes in the morning.

⁶ Now in my prosperity I said,
“I shall never be moved.”
⁷ Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong;
You hid Your face, and I was troubled.

⁸ I cried out to You, O Lord;
And to the Lord I made supplication:
⁹ “What profit is there in my blood,
When I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise You?
Will it declare Your truth?
¹⁰ Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me;
Lord, be my helper!”

¹¹ You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
¹² To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

Meditation

Reflection

Demi Lovato recently performed one of her latest songs “Anyone” at the 2020 Grammys. Her long, voluminous white dress in the thumbnail caught my attention on YouTube trending list, so I decided to listen. The verse builds up to the hook and theme of the ballad:

I feel stupid when I pray

So, why am I praying anyway?

If nobody’s listening

Anyone, please send me anyone Lord, is there anyone?

I need someone

Anyone, please send me anyone Lord, is there anyone?

I need someone… 

Her song expresses gaping emptiness, confusion and hopelessness. There are 150 Psalms which expresses human emotion from the highs to the lows but not one leaves the listener with a feeling of dejection, Demi Lovato’s song certainly does.

The Psalms and the entire Holy Bible always point to the God of Heaven, Creator of the Universe. Even in despair, the Psalmist calls out definitively to HIM, not “anyone”. Deep, clinging despair will set in unless we recognise that the God of the Universe, loves us and hears us and, He is able and willing to turn our “mourning into dancing”.

Our Father has sent Someone not just anyone. He has sent His only begotten Son, Jesus the Christ, because all of humanity resonates with Demi Lovato’s heart-wrenching cry.

One of my favourite authors puts it this way in her book, The Desire of Ages

In the hearts of all mankind, of whatever race or station in life, there are inexpressible longings for something they do not now possess. This longing is implanted in the very constitution of man by a merciful God, that man may not be satisfied with his present conditions or attainments, whether bad, or good, or better. God desires that the human shall seek the best, and find it to the eternal blessing of his soul.

Ellen G. White

Let us pray for the people in our lives who are feeling this sense of futility. Let us pray for Demi Lovato and her fans who identify with her cry for “anyone”.

• Lord turn our mourning into dancing; put off our sackcloth of hopelessness and despair and clothe us with gladness,
• I pray that the end that our glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.
• O Lord my God, we will give thanks to You forever

Amen