The Voice of My Plea

The Plea

Purpose

This is a simple request for God to hear his prayer.

“Be not deaf to me, lest you if you be silent to me...”

“Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy”

“When I cry to you for help...”

We see this prayer repeated over and over again in the Psalms, but why? It is essentially asking God to do what He has already said He would do.

Gary Miller - “When we actually look at what the Bible teaches about prayer, it is surprisingly simple: to pray is to ask God to do what He has promised to do through Christ.”

We already know that prayer is not about informing God. He is all-knowing.

Praying for the things God has already said He will do is a sure way to pray for the will of God.

But we need to stop and think for a moment. What else is there really to pray for? Are we going to pray for God to not do the things He has said He will do? Are we going to pray for God to do something He has said He wont do?

We can really boil down our requests to the Lord in two phrases:

Lord keep me from this...

Lord help me through this…

Posture

“I lift my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.”

In different cultures different postures communicate different things.

For David these lifted hands represent a posture of worship. It communicates that he is doing everything he can to be sincere in his prayer.

The Request

Separation

v. 1 “Hear my prayer so I don’t join them in the grave.”

v. 3 “Don’t lump me in with the wicked...”

Justice

Again He is simply asking God to do what He has already said He will do.

This is an appropriate prayer.

The Answer

Praise

Psalm 28:6 “Blessed be the Lord! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.”

Note the framing of this Psalm. The request in v. 2 “Hear the voice of my pleas...” leads directly to the answer in v. 6 “He has heard the voice of my pleas.”

Key take away: David is praising God not for a prayer answered, but a prayer heard. We have every reason to praise God for answering our prayers but we shouldn’t lose sight of the incredible fact that our prayers are heard at all.

Protection

As David revels in the reality of prayer he reminds himself of these key facts about God.

“The Lord is my strength and my shield...” The results of which David says are:

In Him my heart trusts

I am helped

My heart exults

I give thanks

The Example

David’s Prayer

2 Samuel 15:31 “And it was told David, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O Lord, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.””

Context: David’s son Absalom betrays him. Ahithophel who was once one of David’s counselors.

David’s Act

2 Samuel 15:32–34 “While David was coming to the summit, where God was worshiped, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat torn and dirt on his head. David said to him, “If you go on with me, you will be a burden to me. But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king; as I have been your father’s servant in time past, so now I will be your servant,’ then you will defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel.”

David sends Hushai to spy on Absalom and to sabotage the counsel of Ahithophel.

Ahithophel’s Counsel

2 Samuel 17:1–4 “Moreover, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue David tonight. I will come upon him while he is weary and discouraged and throw him into a panic, and all the people who are with him will flee. I will strike down only the king, and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride comes home to her husband. You seek the life of only one man, and all the people will be at peace.” And the advice seemed right in the eyes of Absalom and all the elders of Israel.”

Ahithophel is probably right and if Absalom follows this counsel David would have been defeated.

Hushai’s Sabotage

2 Samuel 17:7–9 “Then Hushai said to Absalom, “This time the counsel that Ahithophel has given is not good.” Hushai said, “You know that your father and his men are mighty men, and that they are enraged, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. Besides, your father is expert in war; he will not spend the night with the people. Behold, even now he has hidden himself in one of the pits or in some other place. And as soon as some of the people fall at the first attack, whoever hears it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom.’”

2 Samuel 17:10–14 “Then even the valiant man, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will utterly melt with fear, for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and that those who are with him are valiant men. But my counsel is that all Israel be gathered to you, from Dan to Beersheba, as the sand by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in person. So we shall come upon him in some place where he is to be found, and we shall light upon him as the dew falls on the ground, and of him and all the men with him not one will be left. If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we shall drag it into the valley, until not even a pebble is to be found there.” And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” For the Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring harm upon Absalom.”

Strategically this makes no sense. It amounts to “lets wait until David can defend himself and then attack him.”

God’s Answer

2 Samuel 17:14 “And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” For the Lord had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the Lord might bring harm upon Absalom.”

It is very subtle. God doesn’t strike Absalom and Ahithophel with fire or lightning from heaven, even though we know from other passages of Scripture He can do that very thing.

In this scenario God uses the prayers and actions of David to providentially bring about His desired end. Which, because David was walking with God, was also the end that David desired and prayed for.