Read Psalm 69:1-6. 1Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. 2I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. 3I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God. 4More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. What I did not steal must I now restore? 5O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you. 6Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, O Lord God of hosts; let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel.
The work of prayer in our lives moves us from outside, to inside, back to outside.
Notice how David moves from pleading for salvation from his external suffering, drowning in a flood at the hands of his enemies (v.4), to his internal struggle with his own guilt (v.5), and then back out again to its impact on others (v.6).
Our suffering should always make us look within to find the folly of our own hearts, knowing that God already knows every hidden wrongdoing. This honesty with God allow us to then look outward to the effect of our sin upon God’s people, for our sin is never simply a personal problem. It impacts the entire community.
This is especially true in Christ. All who are in Christ are members of one another. We are one body, sharing one spirit – the Holy Spirit of Christ. Our folly, our wrongs, even the ones we try so desperately to keep hidden, are impacting the body of Christ. No one sins alone.
It is union with Christ alone that allows a person to move along this prayerful journey. The journey from suffering to confession of sin, and from confession of sin to commitment to the community of Christ.
Does your prayer life take you on this journey of self-reflection and repentance? Or do you just pray for the removal of your suffering? Do your prayers lead you to a deeper desire for holiness, not for you own sake, but for the sake of others? Do you pray for to live is Christ?
You: Do you practice self-reflection when you pray?
You in Christ: How does the confidence of our union with Christ allow us to practice such self-reflection?
Christ in you: Take some time this week to let your prayers take you into your own heart and then back out toward others.
Pray: Father, let my prayers take me into my own heart and into your heart for me. May I never be a cause of shame for the people of God. Amen.
To Live is Christ 