Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:
Psalm 13 (NIV)
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? 3 Look on me and answer, Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, 4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall. 5 But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. 6 I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.
What are the three stages of this uphill prayer?
Glorious Savior, through Your death and resurrection, You gave me direct access to talk to You through prayer. How often to I forget to pray when I’m busy or when things are going well. Forgive me, Lord. You must feel abandoned when I ignore you. And then there are times when You feel far away. When pain is personal, when people hurt me, when I am struggling, when what is happening to me is unpleasant, and I want to be done with it. During those times I cry out to You in desperate prayer. How long, Lord, do I have to suffer? Where are You, Lord? I feel abandoned. But You hear my voice as I to reach out in prayer to You. When I pour out my heart and express all of the emotions that I am feeling, I am submitting to You. As I empty my heart to You, I am trusting that You are with me, You have a plan and that You will guide me. Trusting in Your faithfulness gives me the ability to rejoice in Your unfailing love and salvation in the midst of all situations. No matter if I have an answer to my problems or not, I will worship You. I will praise You for all that You have done for me. I will praise You for all that You will do for me. Let my heart expose all my joys and all my pains to You daily. Let me trust in Your ways and worship You today and every day, during the good times and in bad. Thank You, Lord, for never abandoning me. Amen