Pleading with God
Psalm 74:1–23
Arise, O God, defend your cause. Psalm 74:22
Psalm 74 is a model for prayer because of the way it pleads with God. Or, as Charles Spurgeon said, it is an example of how we can pray to God with arguments. The psalmist wants God to take his hand out of his pocket and act boldly to rebuke his enemies and reestablish his people in their land (vv. 9–11). But the psalm is not merely a plea that God would do this. It is also a listing of reasons why he should.
1. God should act because the people who are suffering from his harsh but righteous judgment are but sheep (v. 1). That is, they are poor, silly, and defenseless things.
2. God should act because he has already purchased these poor people for himself (v. 2). That is, he has already expended a great deal of effort on them, and they were no better when he first redeemed them than now.
3. God should act not merely because the people have suffered, but because his temple has been devastated and the prescribed formal worship of God by his people has ceased (vv. 3–8).
4. God should act because the people’s case is hopeless otherwise (v. 9). Signs and prophetic speaking have to come from God.
5. God should act because the mocking by Israel’s enemies is really a mocking of God (vv. 10–11). It is his name that is being reviled, and his name must be honored above all else.
6. God should act because he has acted powerfully and with wonderful compassion in the past (vv. 12–17). It is his nature to make his greatness known. Why should he not do so again? Why should he not do so now?
7. God should act because he has entered into an everlasting covenant with his people (v. 20), and the terms of that covenant call for God to be with them forever. True, the people have been unfaithful. But “what if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? . . . Let God be true though every one were a liar” (Rom. 3:3–4).
8. God should act because it is fitting that his enemies be rebuked and the poor and needy praise his name (v. 21).
9. God should act because it is his cause and not a mere man’s that is in jeopardy (vv. 22–23). It is God’s purposes that are being opposed by Israel’s enemies.
If you are having trouble praying about something important in your life, why not do what Asaph, the author of this psalm, does? Make a list of why God should answer your prayer and plead those reasons. Either God will answer, or you will find that your prayer is not a good one and you will pray for something better.
Taken from Come to the Waters by James Boice ISBN 9798887790954 used with permission from P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg NJ 08865
Scripture quotations are from the ESV (the Holy Bible English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.