Praying the Psalms: A Meditation on Psalm 5

Give ear to my words, O Lord;
    consider my groaning.
Give attention to the sound of my cry,
    my King and my God,
    for to you do I pray.

Psalm 5:1-2, ESV

Father, sometimes I come to you like a little boy who has learned a new trick and wants his father’s approval. I say, “Daddy, watch me!”

Sometimes I turn away from you, like an awkward teenager with her first pimple. I say, “Dad, don’t look at me!”

Sometimes I come to you like a married man arguing with his wife: “Please. LISTEN to me!”

That’s how David is in these verses. He is the spouse in pain, pleading to his soulmate, saying, “Would you please just listen?”

Father, what was David groaning about? Why was he crying? Thank you for giving me the answers in the next verses. He is surrounded by the “boastful”; “evildoers” who “speak lies”; by “bloodthirsty and deceitful men” (v. 4-6)

In this Psalm, David models how to turn from pain to pain; from despair to declarations. Father, help me to speak truth about You back to You:

³ O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice…
⁴ For you are not a God who delights in wickedness…
⁷ But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
    will enter your house.

Psalm 5:3,4,7

Oh Father, what confidence this gives me!

• Confidence that when I’m the little boy who wants to make my Father proud, you delight in watching me!
• Confidence that when I am the ashamed, blemished teenager You will not turn away from me, even when I ask You to.
• Confidence that when I am groaning in pain, you listen to me with kindness and steadfast love.

Thank You, dear Father, that I can claim the truth of the last two verses:

¹¹ But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
    let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
    that those who love your name may exult in you.
¹² For you bless the righteous, O Lord;
    you cover him with favor as with a shield.

Psalm 5:11-12