A Prayer for Strength in Times of Sorrow: Psalm 119:25-32

A Prayer for Strength in Times of Sorrow

Psalm 119:25-32

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless, 
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
"How Firm a Foundation" 

Abraham Lincoln wrote, “In this sad world of ours, sorrow comes to us all.” We live in a sad world, a broken world, cursed and marred by the fall of Adam. It is not only sad as if there could be no happiness, but it remains true that sorrow comes to us all. Sin has left its mark on this world and on each one of us. We all know someone walking a sorrowful road, or perhaps we are on one ourselves. For the believer, we too know sorrow, but we also know the Man of Sorrows, who is acquainted with grief. Not just grief in general, but He is personally, intimately acquainted with our grief. We do not carry this burden of sorrow alone. "Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried" (Isaiah 53:4 NASB). Our Lord walks this road with us in those times when we feel as the psalmist felt: clinging to the dust and weeping with grief (Psalm 119:25, 28).

In Psalm 119:25-32, we see the psalmist fight against the despair that his sorrow has brought upon him. He says his soul "clings to the dust" and "melts away for sorrow." We do not know what has led to these intense feelings of despair, despondency, and feeling cast down. But the psalmist recognizes that only one thing will truly revive his soul. He knows he needs the Lord's work through the Lord's Word, and so he cries for the Lord to give him life according to His Word (119:25). In his sorrow, he pours out his heart to God. He speaks to God truthfully about the hard way he has walked, and God answered him (119:26). Facing grief, he turns to the Lord to teach him His ways and understand His precepts (119:27). He wants to understand God's ways and purposes for his sorrow. As he is weeping for grief, he cries out to the Lord to strengthen him, to raise him up from the dust. The strengthening he asks for is a strengthening according to God's Word (119:28). "The Word of God is most precious to the man who lives most upon it" (Spurgeon). To the believer, sorrow can lead to a sweeter and deeper dependence and love for the Word of God and that is the result for the psalmist. The psalmist knew that the answer to his despair and sorrow would be found in the strength which God supplies. Having asked the Lord to graciously teach him, he declares that now he will cling to God's Word (119:31). At the beginning of this section, his soul was clinging to the dust. Now, he clings to God's testimonies. He refuses to let go of the Word of God. With intensity, he now states that he will run in the way of God's commands when God enlarges his heart (119:32).  Enlarging his heart means opening it wide. He recognizes his need for God to create more room in his heart and affections for the Word of God. A deeper love for God and His Word will lead to a deeper and more intense pursuit of faithfulness to the Word, even in times of deep sorrow.

Are you in a time of sorrow? God is not asking you to stoically persevere through your suffering. The emotions and depth of them that we feel are given to us by God. The psalmist did not say it was sinful to weep in his grief, but he did show us what to do and where to turn when our grief and sorrow bring us low. We must cling to the Lord and His Word. "Occasionally, weep deeply over the life you hoped would be. Grieve the losses. Feel the pain. Then wash your face, trust God, and embrace the life that he's given you" (Piper). Let your sorrow cause you to cling to the God of all comfort. Let your grief cause you to rest in the everlasting arms of our gentle Savior. Let the confusion and weightiness of suffering cause you to turn your attention to understanding His ways all the more. "Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame" (Isaiah 49:23 NASB). If in your sorrow you cling to Christ and His Word, you will not be disappointed or ashamed. Trust Him. He will be with you, sanctifying to you even this deepest distress.

Let's pray through Psalm 119:25-32 for His strength in times of sorrow and grief. 

Begin this time of prayer by praising Him that Christ is the Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief, specifically our own griefs. He bears our sorrows and carries our grief. We do not walk this road alone.

119:25-26 My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word! When I told of my ways, you answered me; teach me your statutes! 
Pray:
▫️What sorrow and distress are you or a loved one experiencing right now? Take some time to speak honestly to the Lord about it. “Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:8 NASB).
▫️In the distresses we poured out to the Lord, He would bring His life according to His Word in each situation. The hard experiences would draw us and our loved one into a more intimate relationship with the Lord.
▫️The Lord would answer our cries for help and mercy. Speak to the Lord about your desires in this situation. 
▫️The Lord would teach us His ways in the midst of this hardship. His comfort would abound toward us, and He would be with us.

119:27-28 Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous works. My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word! 
Pray:
▫️The Lord would help us understand His purposes on this hard road. If we are confused about why this is happening or how it could be in any way good, He would strengthen our hearts to trust His good and holy character. He is doing and will do what is right for each one of us.
▫️We would be able to meditate on His wondrous works. When our anxious thoughts are multiplying, He would settle our heart and mind with His truth and show us ways He has wonderfully worked before in order to strengthen our hope.
▫️He would strengthen us according to the surpassing greatness of His power and this strength would come through the nourishment of His Word, especially when we are feeling that our soul “melts with sorrow.”

119:29-30 Put false ways far from me and graciously teach me your law! I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I set your rules before me. 
Pray:
▫️The Lord would root out any sinfulness in us or our loved one that has become apparent during this trial. The Lord would graciously teach His law and we would submit all our ways to Him.
▫️We would choose the way of faithfulness. Sorrow and grief can tempt us to despair. Ask the Lord to replace your feelings of despondency, anger, bitterness, or cynicism with His joy, hope, forgiveness, acceptance, and peace.

119:31-32 I cling to your testimonies, O Lord; let me not be put to shame! I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!
Pray:
▫️We would cling to His testimonies so that we will be nourished with His Word.
▫️As we walk through times of sorrow, we would not be put to shame as we seek the Lord and hope in Him despite our circumstances. Our continued faithfulness to the Lord in our sorrow would be beautiful evidence to those around us of the sufficiency that is found in Christ.
▫️The Lord would open wide our hearts, increasing our love for Him, deepening our affections. The increase of our love would strengthen our resolve to keep His ways and honor Him by how we walk through this suffering.
‭‭
May the Lord do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, for His glory and our good. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All right reserved.

Photo credit to andriklangfield

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