Cry Out to God

I cried to the Lord with my voice, And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.
(Ps. 3:4-5)

In the third division of Psalm, we are in the presence of a prayer of David in a time of distress. David is running from Absalom, his son, who has stolen the hearts of the men of Israel (2 Sam. 15). David feels the pressure of his adversaries all around him, as they increase in number. In Psalm 3:2 David says, "Many are saying of me, 'There is no help for him in God'. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!" David has explained the situation in verses 1-2 of the third division of Psalm.

At the time, many people in Israel allowed their emotions and senses to guide them. From what they could see, it appeared God had abandoned David and Absalom was the new favorite. In verse three, David says, "But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory, and the lifter of my head." David begins by identifying what is going on, but that is not his confession. David confesses God as his Shield, the One who protects him from all attacking danger; his Glory, the One who gives him honor, dignity, riches, splendor and reputation; the Lifter of his head, the One who gives him victory and will raise him high.

Do not allow any situation in your life to change your confession of who God is and what He is capable of doing. In verses four and five, we see exactly what David was doing. David was crying to the Lord with his own voice and God heard him from His Holy Hill. The transliteration of the phrase, "I cried to the Lord", is correct to be past tense but it is also reoccurring or repetitious. This means David was continually crying to the Lord, he did not stop with a couple of cries (prayers). Of note, David cried with his own voice. In this situation, David had a fellowship with God and did not have someone go to God for him.

We have the ability today to have such a fellowship with God. The Holy Hill is referring to the temple. Although David was not in close proximity to the temple, God still heard him. God hears you wherever you are. David then says what he did after his continual crying, "I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me." David had such a comfort, peace and confidence in who God is and what God can do he was able to sleep with ten thousands of people against him.

Whatever enemy you are facing in life right now, do what David did. Identify the enemy, confess who God is and what He can do against it according to His Word, continually cry out to God in heartfelt communication (prayer), and saturate yourself in his peace, His comfort, and rest.