S100P9 – The cry in faith: a confession of faithfulness
Psa. 22:25-26
From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows. The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise him— may your hearts live forever!
The faithfulness of God can be a focus of many prayers. Some people find it easy to trust in him when the rubber meets the road. Other people are waiting for the results of that prayer to make their decision on the matter. We know, however, that God’s faithfulness is not dependent on anything. He is just faithful. We, on the other hand, have a more difficult time with that. We come to God and confess that He is the one true God and that we will honor and follow him just because He is God. We make no conditions in that initial confession. Then, we start to live our lives with him, and things can change. If we are not careful, our faithfulness starts to be conditional. All of a sudden, the way we love and treat God is based on much more than the simple fact that He is God.
David has been pleading for a great deliverance. His prayer is not even finished yet, so we know that God is yet to deliver him. Despite this, David begins to speak of his own faithfulness. He does not know exactly how God is going to answer him, but he certainly knows that he still will be praising God. He knows that he still will fulfill every vow he has made regarding his faith. God is faithful in feeding those who hunger for him, and David will be faithful in honoring that faithful God. If God allows him to be devoured by those lions, that will not change anything for David. If God lets the dogs tear him to pieces or the swords pierce him, David’s faithfulness will remain. God’s answer to this prayer will not be the reason why David is faithful to him.
God’s answers to our prayers should not be some kind of measuring rod that we use to determine how well we will live these Christian lives. There is nothing God needs to do to prove that He is worthy of our loyalty. He is worthy of our faithfulness because He is God. We must remember in our prayers that God’s answer is no test and no measure of proof. Confessing this reminds us that we do not pray with a results-driven mentality. Regardless of his answer, we still honor and love him. Regardless of his answer, He still is worthy of complete faithfulness, worship, and praise. Father, correct our hearts so that we do not approach our prayers as if your answer will change how or whether we follow You.