Psalm 5 is often called a Psalm of Lament. In other words, the Psalm reveals a desperate cry for help, written and sung during a time of distress when David poured out his heart to God. Let’s look at just the first three verses from this Psalm:

“Listen to my words, O LORD, and consider my lament” (vs. 1).

Although David knew that God heard his prayers, in this Psalm, he is essentially telling God that “this is so important that I’m counting on you to listen.” And he wants God to consider his “lament,” which can also be translated as “sighing” or “groaning.” I’m pretty certain that “sighing” and “groaning” describe some of your own prayers to God. Likewise, David was desperate to hear from God and have Him intervene in his situation. And so, he went on to say:

“Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray” (vs. 2).

I have said many times that there is one 4-letter word that God always responds to, and that word is H-E-L-P! You don’t even have to spell it out because He already knows your need – we just need to lift up to Him a desperate cry for HELP. God knows our desperation and our need. Asking for HELP is a sign of humility, expressing the fact that we need to God to intervene in the situation, and if He doesn’t, then all will be lost! And then David acknowledged that he is crying out to the One who is the “King” of his life, the One whom he has trusted as the LORD of his life, and sovereign over all he says and does. And then he adds another important line to his psalm:

In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly” (vs. 3).

In this verse, David reveals the time of his daily meditation (we call it a daily quiet time) and it was in the morning before the busy-ness of the day began. When there were no other voices around to distract David from his prayers, so God is listening intently to us when we pray in the quietness of the morning. He wants to hear from us; He wants us to express our requests because He is good and gracious and wants to respond to our prayers.

Please take notice of the final part of this verse where David says that he will wait “expectantly” for God to answer. I like to think that God’s response to our prayers can be either: “Yes, I’ll grant your request now;” or “Yes, I’ll grant it, but it’s best that I wait for a while;” or “No, I’m working out another plan that is even better than your request.”

I know that waiting is tough. It’s also tough for God to say “NO!” But if we really trust in the wisdom and goodness of God, we should be able to handle those times when we think that God isn’t listening to our prayers. He is listening, and He is sorting out the best response for you and for your loved ones and friends. And so, as we pray, let’s trust Him, and wait “expectantly” for Him to respond.

May the LORD bless you as you continue to pray and lay your requests before Him.