Do you find it hard to believe that one year ago this month the world closed down and locked in? “Sheltering in place,” “social distancing,” PPE and COVID-19, racism in America and the 2020 Presidential Election all coincided in one.crazy.year.

Back in late February when the country began to shelter in place, I started memorizing Psalm 86—a psalm of lament. Today’s post passes on five lessons I’ve learned about God and prayer from Psalm 86.

1. Even when we are at our worst, God hears us

As I slowly worked my way through each verse I was struck by the author’s transparency. He described himself as poor and needy, his circumstances as troubling and frightening—evil men were out to kill him. He pled for grace and mercy and at the same time expected God to answer:

Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day. Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace. In the day of my trouble, I call upon you, for you answer me (Psalm 86:1–7).

 At first, I read this psalm per usual—almost passively. But, as I recited this psalm over and over, my exercise of memorization became a lesson in lament and, even more powerfully, a Master Class about God. Over the past year, when I would lie awake at night, I began to pray using Psalm 86 as my template. I prayed for the first responders and the victims of COVID19 all over the world. I prayed for the families and friends of Ahmed Arbury, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and so many others. I prayed for kids who were missing school and for Amazon, UPS, USPS, FEDEX essential workers. The psalmist reminded me that even though I am poor and needy, I can implore God to listen, to answer, to give grace, to gladden our souls and to take action—here in Durham, North Carolina and also in Syria, China, Africa, Korea, Italy and beyond.

2. God is good and forgiving and abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon him

The psalmist counted on God’s goodness and forgiveness and his steadfast love to all who call upon God. He banked on the fact that God will answer in the day of trouble. Let me be clear here, God, Creator and Sustainer of all things is the one we call on in the day of trouble—the God who authored the true story of the whole world. We do not trust in the activity of prayer we trust in the God who hears our prayer (yes, I’m trying to make a point here). The psalmist affirms:

There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours.
All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God (Psalm 86:8–10).

3. We don’t look for answers from the universe or in coincidences nor do we put our hope in prayer. We put our trust in the one true God

God exposes the worship of pagan gods in numerous places in the Bible. These gods—man-made imposters and lifeless idols—are nothing like the God who spoke the world into existence. God sits as King over heaven and earth and over all the nations. God’s works are outstanding and awesome—he alone is God.

When we pray to the God of the true story of the whole world, we call on the one true God who actually listens and responds. We plead with the God who created us in his image, we seek God who knows everything about us and everything about what is going on around us.

We do not pray to an arbitrary entity like, say, the universe. We do not look for answers in coincidences nor do we put our hope in prayer —we put our hope and our trust in God who is great and does wondrous things.

 4. We hold our current reality in tension with what we know about God and press on to know him more

When we juxtapose the words of this psalm with our current reality, we may be tempted to feel helpless, sometimes horrified and even hopeless. We can wonder, does God really care, does God listen? Is he able to mend the divide or make sense of the mess? Here the psalmist holds in tension what he knew about God with a longing to know and experience more. He continues,

Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol (Psalm 86:11–13).

5. Prayer is an urgent call for God’s intervention in the face of antagonism and hatred

Importantly, as I have stated a few times already, prayer is not a passive religious exercise, but instead an active call for God’s intervention and a humble willingness to learn and to follow God’s lead often into very hard situations. The last stanza of Psalm 86 gives us insight into the psalmist’s turmoil and his request for a sign of God’s favor! I find that encouraging to be honest—we often need reassurance and affirmation when we are surrounded by antagonists and enemies. Fascinatingly, the visible sign of God’s show of favor and help is what puts his enemies to shame.

O God, insolent men have risen up against me; a band of ruthless men seeks my life and they do not set you before them. But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant and save the son of your maidservant. Show me a sign of your favor that those who hate me may see and be put to shame because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

 Join me today and ask God to teach you his ways so that we can walk in truth. Let’s ask God to unite our hearts to fear his name against all odds.