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Day 88 Psalm 88 Ps 88:1 < O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee: 2 Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry; 3 For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draws nigh unto the grave. 4 I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength: 5 Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou remember no more: and they are cut off from thy hand. 6 Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. 7 Thy wrath lies hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah. 8 Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth. 9 Mine eye mourns by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee. 10 Wilt thou show wonders to the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah. 11 Shall thy loving kindness be declared in the grave? Or thy faithfulness in destruction? 12 Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? And thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? 13 But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee. 14 LORD, why cast thou off my soul? Why hide thou thy face from me? 15 I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted. 16 Thy fierce wrath goes over me; thy terrors have cut me off. 17 They came round about me daily like water; they compassed me about together. 18 Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness. Many times through life we feel hopeless, as though God is far away and can’t be found. We pray, but our prayers go unanswered and we fear death because nothing is achieved when we die. So we keep praying and pleading for God to hear us and help us. Herman the Ezrazhite penned this psalm, not as a means of showing God is faithless, and is not concerned about his people, but to show that no matter what the circumstances look like God has not abandoned them. As Christians, we know there are three answers to every prayer: yes, no, and wait. We know God has a purpose and timing in everything, and even though life looks hopeless, it isn’t. God is in control. Life isn’t easy. Satan does everything he can to cause trouble and make us believe God has abandoned us. However, we need to get rid of Satan, and let him know he has no control over us. When we do, we might find God’s answer has been there waiting for us all along. We just needed to be patient and wait for it. Let’s pray: Father, life looks grim. I find myself wondering which way to turn. Help me look to you in everything and know you have kept your promise and have not left me or forsaken me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 15 June 2016 by Valerie Jean Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay