Week 23: Psalm 86:5-7

Psalm 86:5-7: For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace. In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me.

• This is one of my favorite psalms to pray and think about.  The faithfulness of God is clearly shown here in David's psalm.  Like many others, this was written when people were attempting to kill David, and his fear is implied, although his trust in God trumps the fear.
• Good and forgiving.  What if God wasn't good?  What if he wasn't forgiving?  We see different cultural mythologies of malevolent gods, lording over a people scared and joyless.  They fear that a single mistake could upset their god, who then in turn would strike them down (or curse them).  Thankfully this is not how Yahweh is.  No, our God is infinitely filled with love, and He pours it out on us.
• Like the previous point, what if God didn't listen to our prayers?  What if He ignored us?  How horrible would that be, to be ignored by God?  Again, this is not who Yahweh is, even though we may sometimes feel this way.  Our God is attentive to us and hears us when we pray.  He listens to us, and not only does He listen, but He answers...