Today’s psalm returns to the pursuit of David by the then king Saul. The account behind this psalm is that David had gone to Zion to hide from Saul. This was a place not that far from where David’s family lived. David had helped the people of Ziph to fight their enemies: the Philistines, but afterwards they betrayed David to Saul. Hence why in this psalm David is beseeching God to rescue him from his attackers.

In verse 1 we read ‘because of your name’. This means because of all that Gods name means, in other words because He will give help to His servants and because His name is a stronghold in which we can all take refuge when we are under attack or perceive that to be the case. This meaning of God’s name is apparent through verses 1 to 4.  Then in verses 4 to 7, by which point we can surmise that God has indeed been faithful to David and helped him as David requested, as David is now praising the name of God.

This is one of David’s shorter psalms and yet it is packed with such language as to communicate to the reader and to God the desperation of the situation and demonstrates to us today how totally and utterly reliant  David was on God. I learned the acronym FROG many years ago, which means to Fully Rely On God. I am still trying to perfect the art of doing so.  It’s quite odd that it seems to be easier at some times than others. David, however, had learned that it was the best and safest way to live. Jesus Christ himself is our one and only true and perfect example of One who is indeed fully reliant on God.  Another acronym I use is PUSH which is to Pray Until Something Happens. There are times in life when we cry out to God for, a particular situation we find ourselves in, or another individual who needs God to intervene. Often God’s response isn’t immediate. Nevertheless, we should pray persistently until our prayers are answered. A prayer diary can be a useful tool in such circumstances. It always amazes me when I look back over things I have prayed about years ago; sometimes repeatedly prayed. Only now with the benefit of hindsight can I see the answers God gave me. It’s not always the answer I may have expected but they are all always answered.

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Heavenly Father Thankyou that you always hear and answer my prayers even when I don’t see your answers immediately. You are indeed a good God all of the time. Amen.