Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Psalm 109:1-5

109:1 Be not silent, O God of my praise!
2 For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,
speaking against me with lying tongues.
3 They encircle me with words of hate,
and attack me without cause.
4 In return for my love they accuse me,
but I give myself to prayer.
5 So they reward me evil for good,
and hatred for my love.

The silence of God is one of the scariest things in this life. Silence in general can be a very good thing. It can refresh you. When we lived in Oakland we lived on a street that was a cut through for the hospital, the police department and there was a fire station a block away. It was very loud. Returning to Seattle, our neighborhood, Ballard is very quiet. At first the silence was unsettling but then I got used to it and it allows me to sleep better.

The silence of God can do something else to us other than just scare us. That is focus us. God uses unanswered prayer and silence to get my attention and to lead me into paying more attention to what is happening around me. It is never something that I want to experience, yet it can be turned into a good thing in our relationship with God.

This struggle and silence from God leads the Psalmist into something else that is positive. More prayer. Nothing is more frustrating than doing something good for someone and having them spit in your faith. So this prayer can encourage us to pray especially when we are dealing with wicked people.

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