Woe is me? Or How Blessed I Am?

    O LORD, God of my salvation;
        I cry out day and night before you.
    Let my prayer come before you;
        incline your ear to my cry!...   

       Every day I call upon you, O LORD;
        I spread out my hands to you....

     But I, O LORD, cry to you;
        in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Psalm 88:1-2,9,13 

If you read it in its entirety you will see that the one who penned this Psalm was in dire distress. He felt abandoned by his friends, his best friend, and even the Lord Himself.  But what did he do?  He cried out to God day and night, spreading out his hands in submission to the God of his salvation.

When is it that we tend to pray the most diligently?  When do we cry out to God with the most earnest hopes?  I'm afraid that my prayer life really comes to life when I feel that I am the most in need.  "Help!" seems an easier word to say than, "Thanks!"  "Please," slips off the tongue more readily than, "Praise."  "Woe is me!" appears to be a more often spoken phrase than, "How blessed I am!"

I'm not absolutely certain about this, but sometimes I wonder if God allows trials in our lives so that we will commune with Him.  Would He rather hear our "helps," and "pleases," and "woe is me," than nothing at all?  It seems that eventually those cries to God lead to praise, whether the prayer is answered as we desire it to be or not.  Just spending that special time with Him brings us back to the understanding that He is in control, that He works for our good, and that our Advocate is at hand whenever we need Him.  Praise the Lord!  (You see, just the thought of His sovereignty brings praise to one's lips!)

Today if you have needs, by all means go to the Lord in diligent prayer.  And don't forget to thank Him, to praise Him, and to cry out, "How blessed I am!"  We can go to Him in prayer with our every need.  That alone deserves our utmost devotion and praise.

How blessed I am,

Gloria