Prayer of Destitution

He will listen to the prayers of the destitute. He will not reject their pleas.

Psalm 102:17 (NLT)

Being destitute (without anything) is mostly a foreign concept in the United States. Yes, we have homeless people in every city, but they generally have access to clothing, food, and even some sort of shelter due to the generosity of others. They aren’t without everything, generally speaking.

However, there are truly destitute people that live on this planet. They have no clothes or shelter. There are people that have to walk dozens of miles each day just to fill up a water jug that will hopefully provide enough drinking water for the day. (Sometimes, they have to make multiple trips.) There are humans that don’t have access to any food. They have no bank account, and no money of any kind to pay for any type of service or product.

When destitute people finally receive something of value, such as clothes, food, or money, the gratefulness that they experience, and demonstrate, is truly genuine. They are so very thankful that goodness has come into their life.

This is the concept that the Psalmist is trying to get across when he says that God “will listen to the prayers of the destitute.” But, he isn’t talking solely about those who have no possessions. He is talking about those that realize that apart from God, they are nothing.

Without God, we don’t have life – He is the “breath of life.” We owe Him everything. Our very existence is reliant on the fact that He called us into existence. Without Him, we are dead, nothing, destitute.

As we approach God in prayer, asking for His wisdom, counsel, healing, leading, saving, do we approach Him with an attitude of destitute or entitlement? The first, destitute, is an act of humility, submission, where we realize that He is God and we owe Him everything. The second, entitlement, is when we approach God to ask for something as if He owes it to us. Today, and every day, as you approach God in prayer, do so with a humble, destitute heart, realizing that we owe Him our very lives, and He owes us nothing. Praise Him for the good things He has done, and those that He promises to do.