PSALM 28:1–2 When God Is Silent
READ: PSALM 28:1–2 (HEBREWS 4:14–16)
v. 1 “Be not deaf to me.”
Do you sometimes feel that God is distant, not answering your prayers, not speaking to you? You are not the only one. Many Christians have had this experience, and so did believers in the Old Testament. In our text we hear King David crying out to the LORD, “To you, O LORD, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit.”
Sometimes God did not speak to his people because they were disobedient and living in sin (Deut. 1:45). At other times, however, God did not answer the prayers of his people even if they were faithful in their walk of life. If we read Psalm 28, we have no reason to suspect that God was silent because David was living in sin. David is presented as a faithful believer who seeks the face of the Lord earnestly.
In the second part of the psalm the tone shifts to praise. Apparently, the Lord has heard David’s pleas for mercy. David sings the Lord’s praises and he proclaims to God’s people that the LORD is their strength and refuge. The message is: it might seem like God is not answering your prayers, but take courage and wait for the Lord. He will definitely answer your pleas for mercy.
If we compare our situation to David’s, we are privileged because God has spoken to us through his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:1). He is our chief Prophet and Teacher who has revealed to us everything we need to know about the way of salvation (Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 12). If we want a word from God, we can go to the Scriptures and be instructed.
But there is more. Our Lord Jesus Christ has entered the heavenly sanctuary in order that he might intercede for us always. Because Christ is there, we have assurance that God will answer.
What remains for us is to examine ourselves to see whether we earnestly seek the face of God with pleas for mercy. Our life is hidden with Christ in God, the apostle Paul says (Col. 3:1). Therefore, we must seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at God’s right hand. If we do so, we will certainly be heard. Let daily prayer be a priority in your life!
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