O God, why do you cast us off forever? Why
does your anger smoke against the sheep of
your pasture? Remember your congregation,
which you have purchased of old, which you
have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage!
Remember Mount Zion, where you have
dwelt. Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;
the enemy has destroyed everything in the
sanctuary! (Psalm 74:1-3)
This is a powerful, heartfelt prayer born from
a painful, hurting situation. God’s
people are crying out for Him
to remember them. Maybe
you can relate to this feeling
of abandonment. Have
you ever felt forgotten
by God? If so, what did
your prayer sound like?
When you stop and
consider the words
of Psalm 74:1-3, they
sound a little bold. To
essentially say to the
omniscient God of the
universe, “Do you even
remember us?” is quite
surprising. However, the issue
is not whether God has literally
forgotten His people. Rather, this is
God’s people calling on God to be faithful to
the promises He has made. That’s what the term
“remember” means.
As God’s people, we know that God is faithful and
that He will keep His promises. When we pray, we
are bringing those promises before God and asking
Him to show Himself faithful in a particular way.
This kind of prayer is pleasing to God, and it’s found
throughout the Old Testament. For example, in
Exodus 2, when God’s people were slaves in Egypt,
they cried out to God for rescue and it says that
God “remembered”:
“And God heard their groaning, and God
remembered his covenant with Abraham, with
Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of
Israel—and God knew.” (Exodus 2:24-25)
God had not forgotten His covenant promises
made through Abraham. No, this is a reminder
that God does not forget His people, that He will
be faithful to His promises. We’re reminded of
what Mary said when she learned that God would
send the promised King in David’s line through
her:
“He has helped his servant
Israel, in remembrance of his
mercy, as he spoke to our
fathers, to Abraham and
to his offspring forever.”
(Luke 1:54-55)
God’s people are
right to call on
Him to keep His
promises, for He is
faithful. How much
more should we pray
this way today, since
we have seen God’s
promised redemption
fulfilled through the death and
resurrection of Christ. Regardless of
how abandoned we feel, we can be confident
that God will never forget us.
PRAYING IN LIGHT OF TODAY’S PASSAGE
Pray on behalf of the persecuted church across
the world, that they would rely on God’s promises when they feel forgotten and abandoned.