S154P3 – Sincerity in prayer: David

Psa. 119: 81-84

My soul longs for your salvation; I hope in your word.  My eyes long for your promise; I ask, “When will you comfort me?”  For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, yet I have not forgotten your statutes.  How long must your servant endure?  When will you judge those who persecute me?

There are certain kinds of training people endure that push them to the brink.  Two arenas which come to mind immediately are professional sports and the military.  Even within those arenas, there are different levels of roles which require different levels of training.  To be truly elite in your field requires something more, and it is not something easily obtained or discovered.  The hope for the one training is that the coach or trainer knows what the limit is.  The goal is to be pushed to the very edge of that cliff to bring out the best performance possible without being broken.  It is a process of developing and extracting every ounce of ability to make sure that performance is at the peak level.

The wineskin in the smoke is in a precarious position.  If not left in the smoke long enough, the wine in the skin will not mature.  If left in the smoke too long, the skin can become too dry and shrivel up.  The window of time would seem to be short for the process to be done just right.  David here feels like one of those wineskins, surrounded by the smoke and heat and waiting for the process to end.  He seems to be concerned that it will go too long, that he will be pushed past that precipice.  He sees no end to what he must endure, so he asks to know when that end will come.  I do not think he seeks a specific date or time, but he longs to see it.  His is a desperate need for revelation from the Lord.

David’s prayers throughout this chapter laregly consist of confessions of faith along with questions.  I would not characterize his questions as being doubtful because he professes the truths on which he relies.  His hope and faith are in the Lord, and he is asking for relief because he believes that it will come.  He knows God is making him into something.  He knows there is a process happening here even if it seems endless.  Despite seeking relief, he trusts in the process because he trusts that the Lord knows how much must be and can be endured.  Father, help us to pray not only in sincerity but also in faith, trusting that You will do a great and necessary work in the process.