Read Psalm 70:1-5. 1Make haste, O God, to deliver me! O Lord, make haste to help me! 2Let them be put to shame and confusion who seek my life! Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt! 3Let them turn back because of their shame who say, “Aha, Aha!” 4May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, “God is great!” 5But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay!
Psalm 70 is a prayer sandwich. A petition for God to make haste serves as the two slices of bread, and God is great serves as the meat in the middle.
This is the same prayer sandwich we feast on in Christ. Maranatha – Come Lord Jesus, is the bread of our prayer sandwich. It is the Christian’s prayer of faith in every situation. Paul prayed this simple prayer in 1 Corinthians 16:22, writing it in Aramaic, the language of Jesus himself. The canon closes with this same prayer – Yes, I am coming soon. Come, Lord Jesus (Rev. 22:20).
Make haste. Come quickly. Hurry up. I need you. This is our very breath.
But in our waiting for Christ’s return we must also pray the meaty middle – God is great!
The false teachers of Peter’s day saw Christ’s delay in returning as evidence of his inability at best, and wickedness at worst. But Peter saw Christ’s delay as evidence of his greatness. The greatness of his love and compassion for sinners like you and me.
2 Peter 3:9. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
To live is Christ is a life of pleading for the return of Christ as the greatest good we can ever experience, while trusting the greatness of God’s patience in waiting so that we can live as a light of his glory that all might reach repentance.
You: Do you pray for Christ’s return? If not, why not?
You in Christ: How does your union with Christ give you confidence to pray for his return?
Christ in you: How can Christ in you motivate you to declare God’s greatness, even on hard days?
Pray: Jesus, come quickly. This is my prayer every day. But I trust your timing, and I love your love for a lost and dying world that you long desperately to save. Amen.
To Live is Christ 