PSALM 70

To the Chief Musician. [A Psalm] of David. To bring to remembrance. [Make haste], O God, to deliver me! Make haste to help me, O LORD! 2 Let them be ashamed and confounded Who seek my life; Let them be turned back and confused Who desire my hurt. 3 Let them be turned back because of their shame, Who say, “Aha, aha!” 4 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; And let those who love Your salvation say continually, “Let God be magnified!” 5 But I [am] poor and needy; Make haste to me, O God! You [are] my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay.

PSALM 70:1-5

QUICK PRAYERS

Sometimes we have a lot to pray about. We take our time going over our prayer list. We make intercession for others. We pray for the events of our day. We ask for guidance and direction. We go on in our adoration and praise. We are grateful for God’s kindness, His goodness, the small things we see, the things we don’t see, the marvels of our world, etc. We have the time, we have the thoughts, we enjoy prayer and so it flows long. There isn’t anything wrong with long prayers…. but then there are the quick prayers. Prayers that get to the point. Prayers that don’t have time to follow the Lord’s prayer line by line or to follow the Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication formula or whatever other model you may use… The prayers for help and relief because you need help and relief QUICKLY!

Praise God for the quick prayers! Sometimes the quick prayers are based on the longer prayers we have already been praying. Much like the quick prayer of Nehemiah 2:4 was grounded in the prayer of Nehemiah 1:11. Or maybe they arise because of immediate trouble we find ourselves in like Peter who cries out, “Lord, Save me,” while sinking at the feet of Jesus in Matthew 14:30.

Yet, as short and as quick as these prayers may be, they all share one thing in common… The Lord is the only one who can answer. It is not for a change of wind, a different course, a different place, a different time that we pray, but we ask for God’s grace or God’s will in our very present circumstances and we go boldly, rashly, briskly, quickly, to ask what we need, for he alone can grant it! Oh the clarity that comes when we pray quick prayers! “Lord I need you!”

Praise God for how he answers! Sometimes even quicker than we have issued the request His ear has been to hear our plea. He has sent help, long before we asked, and His grace appears at just the right moment. We don’t always get the answers we want, but we do get the grace we need. There is no shame in praying quick prayers.

PRAYER

Father, Help! I am so utterly dependent on you! I am so grateful you hear our quick prayers. I am so grateful that you have grace and sovereignty even for the moments where I sense the most anxiety. I rest confidently in uttering my quick prayers, knowing that you hear. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

I’m reading and blogging the Psalms Through The Summer. I’d love for you to join me. You can find out a little more here.