Mensa Otabil - Give Ear to My Words (11/01/2025)
Welcome to a brand new week. We’re going back to the Psalms as we consider the prayer of the people of Israel, particularly the prayer of King David. The Psalms were very important in the life of the Old Testament Christians and actually in the New Testament, because some of the prayers that Jesus prayed were from the Psalms. The Psalms served as the prayer book and the hymn book of the early church, as well as of the Old Testament. So, there’s a lot to learn about worshiping God and prayer in the Psalms.
We are in Psalm number five, and I start from verses one and two: «Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my meditation. Give heed to the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for to You I will pray.» I like the way this Psalm begins because it directly addresses God with an urgent appeal, and you get the impression that this is an urgent prayer. It starts by saying, «Listen to me, Lord,» or «Give ear to me, O Lord.» Unlike many of the prayer formulas we learn, where people say you must start with thanksgiving and praise and worship, as if you need to go through all these protocols before talking to God, there is a place for protocol in prayer. However, when it’s an urgent matter, you pray like David and go straight to the topic to talk to God.
Sometimes in prayer, we speak directly to God. There are phrases he uses in this Psalm and these two verses that I want to draw your attention to. The three progressions of thought are as follows: first, he says, «Give ear to my words.» The words of David were very important in prayer, and our words are very important in prayer too. David prayed to the Lord using clear, understandable words. Words play an important role in prayer; you can’t just say anything anyhow. Your words have to be scriptural; your words have to be appropriate; your words have to express exactly what you want to say. At this level, David shows us the importance of using clear, understandable words in prayer: «Give ear to my words, O Lord.»
Then he moves on a little and says, «Consider my meditations.» Meditation is not just a word; it’s a thought. It involves our thoughts, our sighs, our hopes, and our inward feelings. More or less, we will call that our meditations. When David was talking about words, he said, «Listen to my words.» When he talks about meditations, he says, «Consider them.» In other words, he’s saying, «Lord, there are things I’m not even saying. There are things you don’t hear me talk about, but I want you to consider them. Let them also be part of my prayer.» So, I’m not only praying when I use words to God; I’m praying even in my thoughts and sighs. Inwardly, I have things on my mind that I’m talking to God about. He says, «God, consider them.»
So, God gives ear to our words in prayer; He also considers things we don’t say-things that are internal to us: our meditations, our sighs, our hopes, our intentions. All of these, God considers. The third thing he talks about is, «Give heed to the voice of my cry.» He refers to my words, my meditations, and my cry. My cry is a bit more intense than meditation and voice because " cry» here represents loud sounds of agony. He’s talking about when he screams to God or makes a loud noise. He says, «Lord, listen to that too.» So, God listens to our words, our meditations, and our cries. That is how David positions his prayer to God in Psalm 5.
Then he addresses God as " my King and my God.» God is the sovereign ruler over his life. I pray that these thoughts will help you as you learn to pray and bring your requests before the Lord. Let us pray. Say with me: Heavenly Father, You are my God and King. Listen to my prayer, hear the cry of my soul, and help me in Jesus' name. Amen and amen.