Afflicted Prayers?

          Afflictions are a part of life—everybody has them at some point or another. Reading the Psalms written by David offers hope to Christians who are struggling. Psalm 102 is one of my favorite go-to Psalms when I’m feeling “afflicted.” The honesty that pours out through David’s prayers to God seem close to my heart. I sometimes feel, like David, that God has hidden his face from me in my “day of trouble” (vs. 2, NASB). In my mind I know that he wouldn’t ask me to pray if he had no intention of listening (Matt. 7:7). I know that if I pray for something that lines up with his will in Jesus’ name, he will do it (John 14:3). I know that sometimes when I’m experiencing trouble, I ask with wrong motives that just don’t accomplish anything (James 4:3). Considering all this, I like David’s plain-spoken request to God: “Incline your ear to me; in the day that I call, answer me speedily” (Psalm 102:2b). David gives good reason for his desperate cry; his days are “consumed like smoke,” his bones are “burned like a hearth,” and his heart is “stricken and withered like grass” (vs. 3-4). At this point, I have to admit that I lose the ability to relate to David. He is so afflicted that he forgets to eat and he groans so much that his bones cling to his skin (vs. 3-4). In contrast, when I’m afflicted, I seem to want to eat all the time, and when the affliction lasts long enough, I dare say gaining a few pounds is a definite possibility. However, the Bible is full of encouragement for me when I seek it, and David’s Psalms alone cover a wide realm of possible afflictions for modern-day believers. In this Psalm David is yearning for God’s favor and mercy on Zion, but the words he speaks about God hearing prayers are reassuring:
              “He shall regard the prayer of the destitute, and shall not despise their prayer.
               This will be written for the generation to come, that a people yet to be created
               may praise the Lord. For He looked down from the height of His sanctuary;
               from heaven the Lord viewed the earth, to hear the groaning of the prisoner,
               to release those appointed to death, to declare the name of the Lord in Zion,
              and His praise in Jerusalem, when the peoples are gathered together, and the
              kingdoms, to serve the Lord” (Psalm 102:17-22).
I am one of that generation to come that David spoke of and I want my prayers to be honest and honor God. I want my prayers to be effective and fervent and accomplish much (James 5:16). I just have to remember that affliction is normal, but afflicted prayers shouldn’t be!