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A PRAYER WHEN YOU ARE HURTING (Psalm 10)

When you think of the Psalms, you think of songs. That typically means joyful notes and lifted hearts. But many of them are actually prayers, and Psalm 10 is a perfect example of that. It is a prayer for hurting people.

Verse 1: “Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?”

That is the number one question we ask when things are not going right and we are having a hard time. We want to know, “Lord, why is this happening to me? Why do I have to go through this? Why are you allowing it? Why does it seem as though you are so far away and not helping me?”

I love the fact that instead of using the “why” in this psalm to talk about God to others, the psalmist used it as an entry point to talk to God Himself. Each of us should do the same. Bring your “why” into the presence of God.

Psalm 10 becomes a prayer. He laid it all out before God, and by the end of the psalm, there were answers. The only answers you will ever find are in the presence of God.

From a historical standpoint, this psalm fits in the time of Babylonian captivity. The people of God had been hauled off to a strange country, to a foreign land, and they were troubled. Many Bible teachers put Psalm 10 chronologically at the end of Daniel 7, which describes the visions Daniel saw of what God would do to the Gentile nations and of all the judgment that was coming. Note the final verse in that chapter, verse 28.

“Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.”

In other words, “I thought about all this. I got troubled. I got worked up. My countenance fell. I kept the matter in my heart.”

Are we tempted to do that when we have struggles? Some of you have questions and hurts today, and you are so worked up on the inside, but you try to hide it from everybody else. You keep the matter in your heart; although you don’t know it, your countenance has changed. Those bitter thoughts on the inside start to show on the outside.

When that happens, do what Daniel did. He was a man of prayer, as was David. Whoever wrote Psalm 10 did the right thing in bringing his questions to the God of truth. He brought his trouble to the only One who could bring triumph out of it.

Psalm 10 can be divided into several parts. Verses 2-6 describe the wickedness that was all around.

“The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined. For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth. The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them. He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.”

That sounds like the world we live in today. Wicked men do terrible things and think they are getting by with it, living in ease. Where is God in the midst of all this? If you think you are the first person to ask that question, you are wrong.

Verses 7-10 describe the wicked as filled with cursing and vain things, lurking in secret places, murdering innocents, working against the poor, and waiting like a lion to snare his prey in the net. Verse 11 reveals their belief that God has forgotten and will never see or know about it.

Notice the plea in verse 12. “Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.” Do you see the great contrast between the proud and the humble? Into which group do you fall today? Remember, God brings the proud low but comes near the humble.

Verses 13-15: “Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? He hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it. Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless. Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.”

Here is the shift from describing the wicked to talking to a holy God, who is described in verses 16-18 like this: “The Lord is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land. Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear: To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.”

Historically, Psalm 10 points to people having a hard time in captivity who brought their hurts to God. It also describes God as one who takes care of the fatherless and the afflicted — the most defenseless and helpless people on the planet, those for whom no one else speaks. God says, “I am going to take care of them.”

Isn’t that wonderful? I love that. You do not have to convince God to care. He cares more than you care, and He loves more perfectly than you and I could love. And for the record, He is the king forever and ever. He sees, He knows, and He will take care of it.

What is the application here for us? Let me challenge you to do two things.

Stay humble before God. As I read Psalm 10, God convicted me of my own pride. It is easy to spot everybody else’s pride; we need to always be concerned about our own pride.

Bring your hurts to Him. Never forget this when you are hurting or having a hard time. The psalmist not only prayed for his own needs but also for the needs of others, including the fatherless and the afflicted.

You may know someone who is struggling and want to commiserate with them, but you think, “I don’t understand why.” Maybe not, but one thing you can always do for hurting people is pray for them. Bring their needs to God and watch God come to them. Learn to intercede for the needs of hurting people all around you.

Psalm 10 is a prayer for the poor and the oppressed. Maybe that is you today; maybe it is someone you know and love. Either way, humble yourself before the Lord and bring it into His presence. He is the King. He does all things well and He loves perfectly. You can trust Him in the midst of your hurt.