“Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.”
– Psalm 61:1
Hi James and Ellen,
Do you talk with God? If you talk with God, when do you talk with God? If you talk with God, what do you and God talk about? If you talk with God, do you think of God as being like a bottled up genie who has to have her bottle opened up before she can grant you your wish? If you talk with God, are you always feeling like you need to go through some kind of ritual with God before God will grant you the wish that you have asked Him to grant you? If you talk with God, do you feel like you must point skyward to where you believe God is for a request that you asked God to fulfill takes place as you had hoped? If you talk with God, do you give God the same thanks for not answering an explicit wish like you might do when God fulfills one of your unambiguous requests? If you talk with God, do you just talk to God at specific times in the day – such as before a meal or right before you go to bed, or do you talk with God all day long? If you talk with God, do you talk with God about anything and everything or do you only talk to God when you want a desirable result in something – like whatever it might be that you hope that your dad and ma will get for you, for a good grade on a test, to find something that you have misplaced or lost, to hit a golf ball into the hole and/or . . . if you try to talk with God, do you wonder if God questions why you are wanting to take up His time? If you try to talk with God, do you wonder why God would want to listen to you? If you try to talk with God, do you wonder if God is interested at all in talking to you? If you try to talk to God, do you wonder if God has the time to talk with you? Is there a reason why you would want to talk with God?
Have you ever tried to pull a David? Do you know why David talked with God? Do you know how David talked with God? Do you know when David talked God? Do you know what David talked with God about when he and God talked together? A psalm song that David scribed – Psalm 61, is a master talking guide for a guy, gal or kid to have a meaningful dialogue with God. David begins in verse 1 saying, “Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.” David was not timid about asking God to listen to him. David did not hesitate in asking God to stop ignoring his calls or pleas for help. David tells God that he has not stopped asking Him to be his shelter and strong tower. David shares with God that he longs to always dwell in His tent. David reminds God that he vowed to let His wings be his refuge from the guys who do not fear His name. David asks God to let him remain alive so that he can sing praises to Him. David petitions God to appoint the love and faithful spirits to protect him. God – as God the Father, is not to David an abstract, unapproachable God; David personally knows God to be a caring, always present Father Who is just fine with a guy, gal or kid approaching His throne of grace in a non-formal, direct way. David seems to always be literally interacting face to face with God.
David had this thing about scribing a psalm song to express to God his true heart feelings. This psalm song’s backdrop is David’s kid Absalom usurping his dad’s anointing and his inauguration to be the second king over the Israelite people groups guys and gals. David may have been hiding in a cave – trying to escape his fool of a kid from killing him, when he scribed this psalm song. David begins this psalm song with what sounds like a very desperate plea to God for His help. David ends this psalm song with a sincere vow to always give praise to God for His help. Have you ever felt like you have reached the end of your rope? Have you ever felt like you have run out of places to hide? Have you ever felt like you just want to turn around because you are scared to go any further? The first time that your grandmaa flew someplace in one of SAMAir’s Cessnas, your grandmaa asked your grandpaa if he would tell the pilot – who was Joe Kemper, that she wanted him to turn the small airplane around to go back to Santa Cruz. SAMAir is the flying arm of South America Mission in Bolivia and Peru. Your grandmaa and grandpaa were living in Santa Cruz, Bolivia as missionaries with South America Mission’s field missionary team. Joe Kemper was the director of SAMAir. Joe was flying to the Lomerio with your grandmaa, grandpaa and Jim Davidson. Jim was the Field Director for the South America Mission field missionary team in Bolivia. Your grandmaa, grandpaa and Jim were flying to the Lomerio to meet with indigenous Chiquitano guys and gals who were living in communities in the Lomerio region. When your grandmaa asked your grandpaa if he would ask Joe to turn the Cessna 206 around to go back to Santa Cruz, your grandpaa told your grandmaa that they were already halfway to the Lomerio so they might as well continue on to the Lomerio. Your grandmaa – after making that first flight in a small plane, found that she did not find flying in a small plane as scary as flying in a large plane. When your grandmaa and grandpaa flew at night back and forth to and from the United States in a large plane, your grandmaa always had the light lit that was above her seat – at times being the only light lit in the entire interior of a large plane. Your grandmaa even though she really does not like to fly will still get in a plane to fly to wherever it is that your grandpaa wants to go. Your grandmaa and David have one thing in common. Just as David would always put himself in God’s hands to help him, your grandmaa always trusts God to help her when she gets on an airplane. Are you trusting God to help you?
Psalm 61 (1047)