One of the remarkable things about the Psalms – and David’s writing in particular – is the intimacy being expressed. The use of “I” and “You” represent two concepts previously unexplored in ancient literature: the personal voice and the intimate God. This is the same kind of deep intimacy we encounter in the prayers of Jesus.

As we wind down our time in the Psalms and our study of prayer in genera, this prayer by David from Psalm 86 seems to sum up many of the touch points in prayer we’ve visited.

Hear, O LORD, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.

² Guard my life, for I am devoted to you.
You are my God; save your servant
who trusts in you.

³ Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for I call to you all day long.

⁴ Bring joy to your servant,
for to you, O Lord,
I lift up my soul.

⁵ You are forgiving and good, O Lord,
abounding in love to all who call to you.

⁶ Hear my prayer, O LORD;
listen to my cry for mercy.

⁷ In the day of my trouble I will call to you,
for you will answer me.

⁸ Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord;
no deeds can compare with yours.

⁹ All the nations you have made
will come and worship before you, O Lord;
they will bring glory to your name.

¹⁰ For you are great and do marvelous deeds;
you alone are God.

¹¹ Teach me your way, O LORD,
and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.

¹² I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart;
I will glorify your name forever.

¹³ For great is your love toward me;
you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.

¹⁴ The arrogant are attacking me, O God;
a band of ruthless men seeks my life—
men without regard for you.

¹⁵ But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

¹⁶ Turn to me and have mercy on me;
grant your strength to your servant
and save the son of your maidservant.

¹⁷ Give me a sign of your goodness,
that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,
for you, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

Prayer Exercise
Much like the Lord’s prayer, this covers a wide range of human concerns. Take some time to pray through this Psalm much like we practiced with the Lord’s prayer, using it as a kind of outline. This is much longer than the Lord’s prayer, so you may want to select four or five verses that seem particularly striking to you and use those. If it helps, you could print it out double-spaced, and then write in the margins your own similar prayers alongside David’s.

As Christians it’s common to think we’re not allowed to pray for ourselves and, even worse, we sometimes think our prayers are always supposed to be upbeat, thankful and grateful.

David knew better. He understood that prayer is supposed to be a raw form of communication with God, stripped of all pretense, and accordingly, he made good use of the ancient Jewish practice of lament. Consider Psalm 6:

¹O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.

² Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint;
O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony.

³ My soul is in anguish.
How long, O LORD, how long?

⁴ Turn, O LORD, and deliver me;
save me because of your unfailing love.

⁵ No one remembers you when he is dead.
Who praises you from the grave?

⁶ I am worn out from groaning;
all night long I flood my bed with weeping
and drench my couch with tears.

⁷ My eyes grow weak with sorrow;
they fail because of all my foes.

⁸ Away from me, all you who do evil,
for the LORD has heard my weeping.

⁹ The LORD has heard my cry for mercy;
the LORD accepts my prayer.

¹⁰ All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed;
they will turn back in sudden disgrace.

This is a classic prayer of lament. It taps into a tradition of that goes deeper than mere cathartic self-expression, rather it dares to remind Yahweh of his own oligation to be faithful. Old Testament scholar Walter Bruggeman notes:

“As doxology celebrates the peculiar character of Yahweh as faithful, so complaints [or lament] insists upon Yahweh’s faithfulness and protest against Yahweh’s refusal to be visibly and effectively faithful.”

Lament gives a necessary voice to the pent-up frustration of a world gone mad, or the exhaustion of a life lived in senseless trial and suffering. Against such atrocities as war, exploitation, slavery, and rape the reverent prayer of assent (”thy will be done”) is often an affront to the God whose main attribute is hesed, or “lovingkindness.” Unto a God who claims to be the source of extravagant mercy, grace, and love, only a passionate plea for vindication is appropriate in certain circumstances.

These are bold and courageous prayers, the kind that take chances and risk disappointment, but which acknowledge the the Old Testament God who is moved by reminders of his own character and covenant promises.

Prayer Exercise
What do you need to lament? Set aside enough time alone to pray through the frustrations you have using Psalm 6 as a outline and touch-point, much like we’ve learned to do with the Lord’s prayer.