He will listen to the prayers of the destitute. He will not reject their pleas.
Psalm 102:17 (NLT)
Do you ever get a Facebook friend request from someone you have no clue about? Not only can you not figure out who they are, but their profile page seems to be lacking in serious detail – as in, there is a profile picture and name only. If you’re on Facebook, you’ve received those types of requests, no doubt. It’s pretty easy to figure out that it is a spammer trying to get you to accept their request so they can flood your Messenger and news feed with links to everything from pornography to a super sale on sunglasses.
Of course, then there are those Facebook friend requests that seem OK on the surface. The name is somewhat familiar, and they have a few mutual friends on the social media site. They also have filled in some family, job, and hobby information. They have several pictures up, so it looks legit. It seems easier to accept their friend request. After all, the request seems genuine. So, we click on that accept button. A short time later, here comes the spam! They too were looking for a sucker, they just put a little more effort into their con game.
Sometimes we play this game with God. No, we don’t send Him a friend request in a literal Facebook sense. We come to Him with an agenda – we want something from Him that we believe we need. So, we try to make deals: “God, if you give me this, I’ll do this for you.” Or, we are in a jam, and have no where else to turn, so we cry out to God. Then, shortly after He leads us out, we forget He exists. We come to Him with an agenda, a motive.
That’s why I love this lyric from the Psalms (our verse today), “He will listen to the prayers of the destitute. He will not reject their pleas.” I don’t believe the Psalmist was only speaking about those who have no resources (which is what the word destitute means). I believe it goes deeper. Being destitute also means we have no agenda, no con game to run. We have nothing but our relationship with God. So, when we approach God as a destitute, we aren’t trying to trick Him into giving in to our demands. We are talking with a friend, asking advice, seeking counsel, desiring healing, all within the context of that relationship. So, today, and every day, drop the agenda and deepen your relationship with God. Be destitute. Be a real friend. Be a sinner in need of a Savior.
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