Psalm 30:10 gives us a prayer of David -“Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me; O LORD, be thou my helper”
Psalm 30:11 records God’s answer to David’s prayer- “Thou has turned for me my sackcloth and girded me with gladness”.
Two specific prayer requests from David are listed in the passage:
- O LORD, Be gracious to me
- O LORD, be thou my helper
Background:
God chose David as the king of Israel due to the disobedience of the first king of Israel -Saul. However, though David was chosen and anointed by God to become the next king, he had to wait for a long time to inherit the throne. David was hated by Saul and tried to kill him on several occasions to keep his throne safe. David had to ran away from the presence of the king Saul to protect his life from danger. David was a person who trusted the Lord fully and completely from his very young age. God honored his trust, faith and patience in waiting for a long time to inherit the throne. David never retaliated or threatened Saul. While David was waiting for God’s time to fulfill the plan, he had to go thru untold miseries. The books of Psalm explains the miseries and heartbreaks he had to go through. The prayer cited above could very well be one of his constant prayers during this season of fear, loneliness and painful experiences. Sackcloth is a coarse, black cloth made from goat’s hair during the severe painful times and people wearing sack cloths signaled the severe weeping and mourning time in a person’s life
Interpretation:
During this severe mourning and testing time, David called upon the LORD- “be gracious to me and be my helper”. This is what we can also do when we face miseries in our life. In fact, this is what God want us to do when we go through difficult times. Remember, few of the Verse 11 says, in response to David’s prayer, the Lord turned his sack cloths and the Lord girded him with gladness. In short, the Lord delivered David from all his sorrows and troubles. What a marvelous deliverance!
Application: God reminds us in the Bible that there are different seasons in our life. There is a time for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:2). The secret to peace is to accept God’s pre-ordained seasons in our life. Resenting or doubting God’s timing in our life is danger. Instead of resenting, we have an option to cooperate with God and give Him the freedom and liberty to exercise His sovereignty in our personal lives. Is this a season of mourning for you? If so, I know one thing for sure. The LORD is near to you more than ever. God knows very well what you go through in this season. He has a perfect plan for you. He didn’t let David down and He will never, never let you down either. When you and me face painful times in our life, let us not trust in our ability or power to overcome the difficulties. Instead, kneel down and pray to the Lord and submit your pain and frustration in to the hand of the all powerful Lord. Do you know God promised his deliverance several times in the Bible? Refer Psalm 50:15? “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.” Also refer Psalm 91:15-16, “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him”.
