I remember a time I sat down for coffee with a friend thinking I was at the end of my rope. I was walking through an incredibly difficult season and it just seemed the hits kept coming. One after another my cry for desperation landed me in front of a latte and a mini-intervention. During the course of our chat, I concluded my lamentations with the statement, “Maybe I’m just finished. Maybe it’s over for me.”

His response is one that has stuck with me and I’ve used it numerous times throughout the years. He said, “Luke, you’re 24 years old. You’ve got years of praying for things to change left ahead of you.” Mark that response down! Not only was I way too young to be thinking my life was over, but I also lost track of my calling in times of struggle… prayer. Prayer is our refuge and safe space with the Lord. When everything is falling apart, prayer is the space where it all comes back together. Prayer is the place where God’s oil of satisfaction fills our lamp and lights our path. Prayer is where the Holy Spirit is strengthened and strongholds are broken. Prayer changes things.

As David drives home this amazing psalm of lament, rehearsing in his mind the evil he’s endured and the hopelessness in his forecast, he drops a line in verse thirteen that should compel us to keep going. David declares, “But I keep praying to you, Lord, hoping this time you will show me favor in your unfailing love.”

David is shouting, “God, I’m still here, and all I need is a touch of your favor!”

Whatever it is that you’re going through, it’s not beyond the touch of God’s favor, and if there is breath in your lungs you’ve got prayers to pray to see God change it. Your testimony might sound a lot like the first twelve verses of Psalm 69, but don’t let that keep you from the action of verse thirteen, “But I keep praying…”