Psalm 28: According

Have you ever read a verse of Scripture that made you uncomfortable? Some verses make us uncomfortable because they convict us, some make us uncomfortable because we don’t understand them, but there are also at least a few, that when we read them, we just don’t know what to do with them. Psalm 28:4 is one of those verses for me. David was still calling on God in fear for his life and overwhelmed by the presence of his enemies. David referred to God as his “Rock”, meaning his strength, his safety, his source of salvation. He asked God not to be deaf, but also not to be silent. David desired to be heard by God, but also to hear from God, he was asking for a conversation. Conversation is one of the greatest gifts that we’ve been given. It’s how true relationships are built, how problems are solved, how wounds are healed and how errors are corrected. Conversation requires not only a desire to be heard, but to hear as well. A conversation is never when we want to get something off our chest, make a point, or straighten something or someone out. A conversation requires give and take; it is the language of compromise because it is where two people share their hearts with each other. If the words of the person you are speaking with are not just as important as the words you are speaking, then you are not having a conversation. David shows us in verse 1, that while fear was present, and in some ways, it seems like panic was setting in, his heart was in the right place. He was aware that he didn’t just need God to listen and change his situation, he needed God to speak and change his heart, his beliefs and his perspective.

That prayer for conversation then leads us to verse 4 and the request I struggle with. David refers to his enemies as “the wicked” in verse 3 and he defines them as “the workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors while evil is in their hearts.” If I can go off track for a moment, our enemies are not always wicked, those we disagree with are not always wrong, and those present in places we stand against are not always absent from God. We must be careful about assuming wickedness in those who oppose us or oppose what we believe God stands for. The assumption of wickedness can lead us to a desire for judgment, even a thirst for condemnation. That’s what I believe happened to David in Psalm 28 and we see where it leads in verse 4. He prays not for, but against his enemies, “Give to them according to their work and according to the evil of their deeds give to them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward.” If you’ve ever hoped that someone got what they deserved, then you’ve felt like Psalm 28:4.

The problem is that this prayer might express how David feels, but it doesn’t match who God is. It might be how we want God to deal with our enemies, but it is how we want God to deal with us? The beauty of God’s unchanging character is that He is always faithful to Himself, He doesn’t change according to our prayers, our faith or our desires. He is not bound to answer us according to our zeal, but He is faithful to listen to us, even when our prayers are much more about our feelings than His truth. Have we ever stopped to think that if our enemies get what they deserve then we are bound to get what we deserve as well? We love forgiveness when we are receiving it, but giving it seems to cause it to taste much different. Because God is faithful, we must learn, even in our praying, that if He answers us in the lives of others, He must then answer equally in our lives. If God moved according to David’s request, if He treated his enemies according to their sin, then He would have to treat David according to his sin as well.

The verse makes me uncomfortable because it’s not God’s heart, but sometimes it is mine. It’s not God’s character, but too often it’s been mine. It’s not what God has ever spoken to me, but I must confess it is how I have, at times, spoken to God. I hear myself in David’s prayer, but I don’t want to. I want to begin to hear God in my prayers. David asked God to give those who were threatening his life what they deserved, Jesus asked the Father to forgive those who were taking his life. David asked God to do away with his enemies, Jesus taught us to pray for our enemies. David prayed for God to quickly change his situation, Jesus taught us to keep asking, keep seeking and keep knocking, to not ever give up heart. The great news today is that our wrong prayers don’t change God’s good character. If we pray for the wrong thing, He’s not bound to answer it, but He’s also not willing to hold it against us. He simply continues to be who He is, full of grace and truth, longsuffering toward us and not willing that any should perish but longing to bring all to repentance. When you pray today, remember to not just share your heart, but to ask God to share His and then, in the places where your prayers don’t match His Words, repent and move forward. The truth is that God doesn’t treat us according to what we deserve, He treats us (and by us, I mean you and I, but I also mean our enemies) according to His character of goodness, love and righteousness. He offers us redemption and forgiveness through the blood of Jesus according to the riches of His glory. He supplies all our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. He strengthens us according to His glorious power. He saves us according to His own purpose and grace. He treats no one according to what they deserve, He relates to all of us according to His love, His mercy, His longsuffering and His eternal desire that none would perish. Let’s not pray for God to act outside of  His character, let’s ask for His character to change our prayers.