Psalm 130 The Passion Translation (TPT)
Out of the Depths
130 A song of the stairway
A1 Lord, I cry out to you out of the depths of my despair!
2 Hear my voice, O God!
Answer this prayer and hear my plea for mercy.
3 Lord, if you measured us and marked us with our sins,
who would ever have their prayers answered?
4 But your forgiving love is what makes you so wonderful.
No wonder you are loved and worshiped!
5 This is why I wait upon you, expecting your breakthrough,
for your word brings me hope.
6 I long for you more than any watchman
would long for the morning light.
I will watch and wait for you, O God,
throughout the night.
7 O Israel, keep hoping, keep trusting,
and keep waiting on the Lord,
for he is tenderhearted, kind, and forgiving.
He has a thousand ways to set you free!
8 He himself will redeem you;
he will ransom you from the cruel slavery of your sins!
This Psalm describes the making of an intercessor, one who prayerfully contends for God's promises. It includes elements of identification, agony, and authority.
Identification: David connected his personal despair and need for God with Israel's despair and need for God. When you’re walking in your identity as an intercessor you realize that your life is no longer about you. Your life is a part of something bigger than yourself.
Agony: David directed his anguish to the Lord and diligently waited for the Lord to answer him. He would not be comforted apart from God for he understood the need to submit to the Lords process of redemptive suffering. Your struggles are not your struggle, but they are a means by which we identify and intercede.
Authority: By humbly submitting to God's process, David gained spiritual authority in prayer for the nation. As an intercessor Your life is now hidden in the Lord and it is no longer you who live but Christ who lives in you. Therefore, intimacy with the Lord becomes your only concern, whether in blessing or suffering. There is no longer anything left to pray, except for these sacred words which we offer to the Lord in faith. “God, just make my life count.”
Rom. 8:28 - For we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God's perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose.
God is looking for intercessors like David that will share in the identity of Israel's pain and struggle, the agony of Jesus' heart for her salvation, and will pray with spiritual authority for her redemption.
How could God use your personal struggles and despair to bless you with more spiritual authority to pray f or others? Have you considered how your personal redemptive story fits into the larger story of Israel's current struggles and redemptive future? Does it change the way you feel about personal adversity if it means you could pray with more authority for God's purposes?