Word of Encouragement (6/2/2026)

To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary (Ps. 28:1-2)

There are essentially two petitions in this section: 1) that God would hear him (“be not deaf to me”; “Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy); 2) that God would not be silent to him (“if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit”). We can understand how important these two are in our communion with God.

Communion is a two-way street: it is two people (or more) sharing themselves with one another. An important part of communion is having a conversation, in which they share what is in their minds and hearts. We can see why prayer is such an important part of our communion with God. “Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies” (WSC, #98).

What a wonderful blessing it is that we can offer up our desires to God! Sometimes, we need to vent; we need a listening ear to confide in and unload the heavy burden we feel. God is compassionate and merciful. He knows we are but dust. He invites us to come to Him and cast all our cares on Him because He cares for us (1 Pet. 5:7), Also, when there is a need, we seek help. When we are desperate, we appeal to anyone and everyone we come across. But prayer is a privilege God granted us to come to Him with our deepest concerns. God is not only willing and ready to listen to us, but also able to meet our needs and do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.

Of course, when we offer up our desires to God, it is not because God doesn’t know unless we tell Him. He knows what we need before we ask Him (Matt. 6:8). Then, why does He want us to pray to Him? Because prayer is an acknowledgement of our helplessness and our desperate need for God. Someone who believes he is self-sufficient or should be self-sufficient would not pray. This is truly a foolish way of thinking. We live, move, and have our being in God (Acts 17:28). “What do you have that you did not receive” (1 Cor. 4:7)? Apart from God, we can do nothing (John 15:5). When we acknowledge our neediness and helplessness, we are not humbling ourselves unnecessarily for God’s sake; rather, we are coming to terms with our true condition before God.

In Jesus Christ, we don’t have to fear that God will not listen to us when we pray. By His costly sacrifice, Christ has removed the barrier between God and us—our iniquities and sins (Isa. 59:2). So, we have the promise, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13). What a great loss it is, then, not to pray!