To you I call, O LORD my Rock;
Do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you remain silent,
I will be like those who have gone down to the pit.
Hear my cry for mercy
As I call to you for help,
As I lift up my hands
Toward your Most Holy Place.

This writer (David) was clearly in tough! What was it that had his trajectory traveling towards “the pit?” An enemy army? Pagan Philistines plotting his demise? A famine? Plague?

“… those who do evil, who speak cordially with their neighbours but harbour malice in their hearts.”

The problem is Tony (or Tina) Two-face—nasty neighbours who smile to your face but are stirring up trouble for you in their hearts. David was the target of misinformation and ill will.

It’s one thing to have someone who doesn’t know you malign you, but to have someone who lives beside you or has worked with you run down your character—it cuts deep. We are (I am!) tempted to strike back. Instead of using his hands to gesture or fight or type and email (or Tweet) in response to their betrayal, David lifts his hands to God. Hands lifted up (along with standing) is the standard Jewish posture for prayer. I’m not sure how that developed. It seems to be a gesture that says “See, I have nothing to help fix this. I can’t change this situation or the malice in my neighbour’s heart but I can turn to you, Maker of Heaven and Earth, and you can fix this. My hope is in you.”

I’m not sure what hardship you may face this day, but I know that you have options about how to respond. How about praying instead of whatever else it is that you’re thinking of? You could counter-attack—surely a warrior like David could have—but he realized “this kind can only come out with prayer.”

Praying with you this day!

Andrew