August 11 — Psalm 102

“Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come to you. Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call. For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace. My heart is stricken and withered like grass; I am too wasted to eat my bread. Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my skin. I am like an owl of the wilderness, like a little owl of the waste places. I lie awake; I am like a lonely bird on the housetop. All day long my enemies taunt me; those who deride me use my name for a curse. For I eat ashes like bread, and mingle tears with my drink, because of your indignation and anger; for you have lifted me up and thrown me aside. My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass. But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever; your name endures to all generations.” (Verses 1-12)

Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come to you.

Some commentaries call this Psalm the “Psalm of the lowly”. Of course, you cannot read lines like “I eat ashes like bread and mingle tears with my drink” without getting some sense of the plight of the writer. Whether this is the writing for an individual or for the people collectively is unknown. I would say it really doesn’t matter for this devotion, for the importance of prayer is the lesson for today.

We all hope that the Lord hears our prayers. The biblical witness tells us that Jesus prayed, and prayed often. He prayed at his baptism, he goes on top of mountains to pray, he teaches his disciples how to pray. Prayer was important to Jesus, and he expected his prayers were heard. Of course, prayer has been a consistent theme in the Psalms, like the 71st which reads: “Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel. For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth.” (Verses 4-5)

But we cannot confuse “Hearing” with “Answering”. We trust G-d hears our prayers, but the answers we receive cannot be controlled by our human desires and wants. Notice that even in this Psalm the writer notes the timelessness of G-d (you O Lord are enthroned forever). We trust our prayers are heard, and the answers are up to the Lord — we may never receive an answer, we may receive an answer immediately, or our patience in waiting may be rewarded. No matter, we should always lift up our joys, our thanks, and our needs to G-d in prayer.

Let us pray:

Lord God, while our days vanish like shadows and our lives wear out like a garment, you are eternal. Although our earthly lives come to an end, help us to live in Christ’s endless life and at length attain our home, the heavenly Jerusalem, where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever.

Amen.