Persevering Through Prayer

In February of 2023, there were three of us who went down to Wilmore Kentucky to see what the Lord was doing at Asbury University. There had been a worship service that continued after one of the chapel services. Where a group of students stuck around to just worship the Lord. It was a worship service that didnt end for 16 days. It only took a couple of days, before the world took notice. Ten’s of thousands of people began to hop on planes, and travel to come see what the Lord was doing. While we were there, I remember being struck by the amount of people, but specifically, that they were coming from all over the country and beyond.

I remember thinking, “This is what it is like when the family of God comes together to worship. When there is no other reason, nothing else to do, just time that is set aside to be together before God’s throne.”

We are in our series on the Psalms of Ascent and what we see in these Psalms is a picture of the family of God coming to Jerusalem from all over Israel and beyond. They are coming for one of the three major festivals and the primary purpose is to come in order to worship. As they arrive in the city, there is no where else to go, nothing else to do. It is a set aside time to fixate all of their attention on the Lord.

As human beings, our deeper purpose is to be in relationship with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. God created us to know Him personally, walk with Him, and be strengthened by Him. We come to Him with brokenness and needs, and He meets us where we are. The Psalms of Ascent reflect determined worship regardless of personal context and we see it through a pattern:

The these 15 Psalms are structured as 5 sets of 3. Each set of three or each triad follows the same pattern.

The first Psalm in each triad shows that bringing our pain and sorrow to the Lord is a form of worship.

The second Psalm highlights asking the Lord to meet our needs as an act of submission to His healing.

The third Psalm celebrates and praises His name, rejoicing in all He has done.

Through this pattern, we learn that life's deeper meaning and purpose are found in turning to God at every corner.

Today, we are in Psalm 129, The 1st Psalm in the fourth triad. We find our Psalmist, struggling with trauma. Coming from a place where he is deeply wounded, tears may be rolling down, a lip that quivers as he speaks. Yet able to see the Lord’s hand at work.

Psalm 129 (ESV)

A Song of Ascents.

1 “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth”— let Israel now say—

2 “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me.

3 The plowers plowed upon my back; they made long their furrows.”

4 The Lord is righteous; he has cut the cords of the wicked.

5 May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward!

6 Let them be like the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up,

7 with which the reaper does not fill his hand nor the binder of sheaves his arms,

8 nor do those who pass by say, “The blessing of the Lord be upon you! We bless you in the name of the Lord!”

One breathtaking reality of Israel’s history is the immense pain and affliction they have endured from other nations. Despite exile, slavery, and repeated oppression, their continued existence is remarkable. From the family of Jacob moving to Egypt and becoming a great nation, to being enslaved for 400 years, their struggles began early. Their history includes conflicts with Egyptians, Philistines, Syrians, Assyrians, Canaanites, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans.

After pointing out some of the major sufferings, Warren Wiersbe said it this way, “Israel has suffered more than any nation in history, yet Israel has not been destroyed!”

You see the Lord made a promise to the people of Israel, that He would go before them, that He would multiply them, that they would be a nation. Which means, that the Israelites can cling to the promise that though the pain is unbearable, though the suffering seemed to have no end in sight. They could claim and know that there is light, somewhere at the end of this very long, dark tunnel. Because God’s promise was one of preservation.

It is hard when you are in the thick of it. It is hard when you are experiencing deep pain. There affliction came from those who were against God. Not just against the people, but coming against the people because they were against God.

Very few of us can relate to this type of affliction. Yet, we all have experienced pain. We have all felt it as a result of broken world. We have received pain from others around us. We have all caused pain.

The pain in our lives has greatly shaped us personally, but for many of us, it would be true that the pain in our lives has shaped relational connection with those around us.

Have you ever stopped to consider why pain is so significant?

In our pain, we have all...

acted out of character

Increased sensitivity: reacting strongly to perceived slights or criticisms.

More irritable: Responding with abruptness and harsher tones.

Trust issues: Pain caused by betrayal or abuse can lead to all kinds of difficulty in trusting others.

Blamed someone who was not at fault, ultimately because they are projecting their pain on to others.

Withdraw from social life.

It’s almost as if when significant pains of life come, we are willing to allow it to color our perspective for a time. Not giving notice or credit to the way it is actually blinding us.

How should we respond to pain in our lives?

Notice how the Psalmist handles himself and others around him as he calls for them to repeat his very words.

Psalm 129:1–2 (ESV)

1 “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth”— let Israel now say—

2 “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me.

He doesn't run from the depth of pain. He readily identifies that this pain didn’t just knock the people of Israel off balance, it knocked them down. They were hit hard and they went down in the fight, “Greatly have they afflicted me.” But the pain was ongoing. He says, “From my youth.” Meaning it was a prolonged period of time, where pain and suffering were a fixed reality.

Three weeks ago, as we walked through Psalm 126, I said this to you,

“We ought to look back at the Lord’s provision and we out to be emboldened by it. Because we need to take bold steps of faith today in order to be built up for whatever tomorrow holds.”

It doesn't matter what your context is today, your response to your context will always impact tomorrow. This is why we must make a habit of seeking the Lord and surrendering to Him. Because when the choppy waters come, we need to have a habit of running to the Lord built into our lives. Otherwise, we will run without the Lord, blinded by our pain.

The Psalmist says, “Yet they have not prevailed against me.” Meaning, that there has been an appropriate response in the pain. Take a look at verses 3-4

Psalm 129:3–4 (ESV)

3 The plowers plowed upon my back; they made long their furrows.”

4 The Lord is righteous; he has cut the cords of the wicked.

Let’s consider this image for a minute.

Consider what a plow does to a field. It digs up the soil that is underneath and uses it to bury the soil that was on the surface. It destroys root systems, kills plants, and leaves long rows from one end of the field to the other.

The image of the suffering is their whips dug into the skin like the plows in the field. The wounds ran deep in the skin from one end of the back to the other.....

But the Psalmist made it through. He has not been consumed by the present pain or the suffering that has been placed on Him.

Not because he overcame. Not because he was able to bear the burden. Not because he was able to be wise about every move that he made.

Because the Lord is righteous.

Then he says, it’s because the Lord is righteous that I am freed from pain. “He has cut the cords of the wicked.”

We need to give attention to the fact that this is the central hinge of the passage. What comes before is a recognition of a life lived in suffering and accepting it. Not complaining, not trying to run from, not resisting. But accepting that the Lord is sovereign and He has allowed this to happen, so I will receive it.

I will not be apathetic about it by downplaying its affects on my life.

Nor will I be dramatic about it by giving it too much emphasis or draw unnecessary attention.

So the first response to handling pain is that He does is accepts it as his lot in life. That though it hurts - God has a reason for it, a purpose.

Secondly, he invites others who have been hurt to join him in accepting it. So that they will not be left to themselves.

Thirdly, with determination, not allowing himself to be ruled by his emotions he deliberately turns to God and says,

“I will walk forward, proclaiming that even in the midst of my harsh reality, God is righteous.”

In his case, he can say, “Praise God in heaven because in His righteousness, He saw it fit to eventually cut me free.”

Theologian, Millard Erickson defines God’s righteousness this way,

His righteousness is seen when “God’s holiness is applied to his relationships to other beings. The righteousness of God means, first of all, that the law of God, being a true expression of His nature, is as perfect as He is.”

God's righteousness is perfect. The law He gave us isn't an impossible goal but a reflection of His nature.

This raises the question: If God is righteous, why does He allow suffering? It's a complex issue, but here's a perspective.

In His righteousness, God shows us incredible mercy and grace. Sin, falling short of God's law, deserves spiritual death and torment. Every single one of us falls short of God’s law.But God, in His perfect love, sent Jesus to take our punishment, freeing us from what we deserve. Scripture tells us God desires everyone to come to Him and that none should perish. But we have to come to Him and receive His forgiveness and invite Him to be Lord of our lives. By believing in Him, we receive forgiveness and life with God, escaping the punishment we deserve.

Despite our pain and struggles, we can trust God because He is perfectly righteous and does no wrong. He has not given more suffering than I deserve, in fact, its just the opposite.

He gave us the perfect law out of himself and he upholds it. Meaning that when we suffer, we can trust Him because He upholds the perfect law we see that He is trust worthy. Also, because He made a way for us to be free from punishment, we know that He has our best interest in mind. God's perfect nature assures us that we can rely on Him, even in something so deep, and so personal as pain.

Because the people have learned to trust God in this way, they are now able to move away from the review mirror and focus on what is coming down the road. So they begin to pray.

Psalm 129:5–7 (ESV)

5 May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward!

6 Let them be like the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up,

7 with which the reaper does not fill his hand nor the binder of sheaves his arms,

This is a imprecatory prayer which means it is praying against other people, literally it would mean to call evil upon them. You might be asking, “how can that be? Wasn’t it Jesus who said, Matthew 5:44 “44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”

Was Jesus saying that we can pray a curse over them?

The nature of imprecatory prayers are raw, they are filled with strong emotions of anger and justice. One might assume it means we should curse people who cause us harm. Or to pray that God would bring upon them the punishment that I believe is suitable.

No, imprecatory prayer is not about revenge or my sense of justice. Rather, it is meant to be an expression for us to understand how their actions are evil, sinful, detestable to the Lord.

Imprecatory prayer calls for God to intervene in a way that reveals His sovereignty over those who are against God. Showing the world that even His enemies are under His authority.

What we find is that these prayers are an honest expression before God’s throne that are meant to be left at His feet. Trusting that God in His righteousness will deal with them according to His heart and His standard, not mine.

Meaning, that it is a way to give our deepest pains with honest expression to God when it relates to people who are actively against the Lord. But the key is, that by bringing it to the Lord in this way, it is an act of trust in that we leave it at His feet knowing that He is sovereign and we don’t need to try and control the outcome.

Even in how it is prayed in these verses we see a longing for those who are against God to be for God. Take a look at verse 5.

Psalm 129:5 (ESV)

5 May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward!

He is praying for a type of shame in their life that would cause them to turn and go backwards. Right now they are working against God, meaning that for them to go backwards is a prayer that they would feel the shame of their sin, confess it to the Lord, and start being for God and His people.

The author is praying for repentance to take place.

Psalm 129:6–7 (ESV)

6 Let them be like the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up,

7 with which the reaper does not fill his hand nor the binder of sheaves his arms,

The context of the day is helpful here. During this time in history the roof was flat and made with logs and sticks which were then sealed with mud. Occasionally, seed from the fields would blow up onto the roof and there would be a very small harvest.

This harvest would not last. It would not have the appropriate nutrients or depth of moisture. So, the grass that grew on the housetops, provided little yield.

Where as what grew in the field was the opposite. It had everything it needed to produce a large harvest.

The prayer of the Psalmist here is “do not allow my afflictions to grow like the harvest in the field. Keep my afflictions small, like the harvest that comes from the roof. Don’t allow the roots to dig deep or for the burden to multiply.

Psalm 129:8 (ESV)

8 nor do those who pass by say, “The blessing of the Lord be upon you! We bless you in the name of the Lord!”

He is praying that the Israelites would not feel tempted or compelled to pray for blessings from God to come to those who are against the Lord and His people. Meaning that to pray the blessing of the Lord over someone is appropriate for those who love the Lord, who are seeking after Him, who have been claimed as His very children. But to pray blessing over those who are against God is actually wrong.

We can think of it this way, the Psalmist is praying that the people would have the discernment to realize what is actually good from what appears to be good. He didn't want to accidently support something evil because it appeared good in the moment.

It is a prayer for clarity of right and wrong.

The heart of the Psalmist is that he longs to embrace God’s righteousness. So He prays against those who are enemies of God, by saying,

“Lord, show them the depths of their wickedness, allowing their shame to cause them to turn away from their sin and toward you.”

“Lord, don’t allow their affliction on your people to multiply. Keep the affliction limited in scope.”

“Lord, help us to discern right from wrong as you do.”

In 1873, seeking a respite from their hardships and hoping to assist with evangelistic campaigns in Europe, Spafford planned a trip for his family to England. However, due to a last-minute business issue, he had to stay behind, and he sent his wife and four daughters ahead on the SS Ville du Havre.

On November 22, 1873, the Ville du Havre collided with another ship, the Loch Earn, and sank rapidly. All four of Spafford's daughters—Annie, Maggie, Bessie, and Tanetta—were lost. His wife, Anna, survived and sent him a brief, heartbreaking telegram: "Saved alone. What shall I do?"

Spafford's Response

Upon receiving the devastating news, Spafford immediately set sail for England to join his grieving wife. As his ship passed near the spot where his daughters had perished, Spafford was inspired to write the hymn "It Is Well with My Soul." The hymn reflects his deep faith and the peace he found in God despite his overwhelming sorrow. The first verse reads:

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,

when sorrows like sea billows roll;

whatever my lot, though hast taught me to say

it is well, it is well, with my soul.

Despite their immense personal loss, Horatio and Anna continued to trust in God's plan for their lives. They had three more children, but their son Horatio died of scarlet fever at the age of four. Despite these further trials, the Spaffords remained committed to their faith and their charitable work.