Barely Able To Pray-Psalm 6:1-10
Psalm 6:1-10, 2-3a
“Have compassion on me, Lord, for I am weak. Heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony” (Ps 6:2, NLT). “…my whole being is shaken with terror” (Ps 6:3a, HCSB). “…my soul is in deep anguish” (Ps 6:3a, NIV).
Theme: Before God, it’s perfectly OK to feel completely broken down, weak, vulnerable, helpless and powerless to overcome sin or temptation, and to be unable to do anything to get out of our difficult or impossible situation.
Confidence, peace, joy and agony. From the last few psalms, we considered confidence before many enemies (Ps 3:6), peace under pressure (Ps 4:8) and joy amid liars (Ps 5:11). In the midst of trouble and distress the psalmist experienced confidence, peace and joy. But in Psalm 6, he was virtually in agony, suffering grief and terror, likely because of his own sins (Ps 6:3), and also because of his difficult situation on account of his foes and adversaries (Ps 6:7). Life is hard, even for a man after God’s own heart.
Penitential psalms. Psalm 6, a lament psalm, is also regarded as a “penitential psalm,” along with Psalms 32, 38, 51, 102, 130 and 143. These psalms express repentance. From reading several commentaries on Psalm 6, similar and different titles for this sermon came to mind that all seemed proper and appropriate to this psalm:
- Crying in Helplessness.
- Praying in Weakness.
- Grieving Prayer.
- Agonizing Prayer.
- A Troubled Conscience.
- Feeling Helpless and Hopeless.
- Shaken by Weakness.
- Broken and Shaken.
- Overwhelmed, Yet Triumphant.
- From Defeat to Defiance.
- From Desperate Need to Great Assurance.
- From Depression to Elation.
Barely able to… All of the above considerations and titles are, I think, all meaningful and relevant. Finally, I settled on what I think might be a not uncommon scenario among Christians: Barely Able To Pray. Because of our sins or our despair or our own difficult situation, we are barely able to enter God’s presence (cf. Ps 5:7), barely able to confess our sins or face our sins or ourselves, or barely able to face the church or anyone else.
Notice the following stages in the psalmist’s prayer, especially in times of weakness, trouble, personal sin, or God’s discipline:
- Terror (1-5).
- Weeping (6-7).
- Answer (8-10).
To put this Psalm in some practical personal context, suppose that you:
- hate and loathe your current life situation, or your job, or your (lack of) job prospects.
- are filled with worry and anxiety about your very uncertain and murky future.
- are single and rapidly getting older with not a single person as an even remote possibility for romance or marriage.
- are tortured and tormented by some recurrent besetting sin.
- are consumed by guilt because of your past or present sin(s).
- feel that you are being greatly tempted and about to fall into sin at any moment.
What then would you do?
Questions:
- What are the four petitions of David’s prayer (1-2)? Why does he sound so desperate and shaken to the depths (3; 32:3-4)? What is the basis of his plea (4; 5:7)? What would happen otherwise (5)? Have you ever felt so troubled and devastated?
- How evocatively does David express himself (6-7a)? What is the source of his distress (7b)? Do you remember times of weeping, weariness and weakness?
- What was the result of David’s weeping prayer (8-9)? What was David confident of (10)? Have you experienced going from desperate need to great assurance, or from depression to elation?
References:
- Motyer, J Alec. The Psalms. New Bible Commentary. Downers Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity Press, 1994. Great Need, Great Reassurance.
- Kidner, Derek. Psalms 1 – 72: An Introduction and Commentary. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity Press, 1973. Prayers and Tears:
- Turn, O Lord (1-5)
- My Weeping (6-7)
- The Lord has Heard (8-10)
- Zemek, George. Road Maps for the Psalms: Inductive Preaching Outlines Based on the Hebrew Text. Valencia, CA: The Master’s Academy International, 2006.
