Clergy/Leaders’ Mail-list No. 2-206 Sunday 20 Oct 2002

Reading: Psalm 130 – OUT OF THE DEPTHS

‘Step out beyond anxious waiting and into the storm of events’ (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 1906-45).

Martin Luther calls this, the sixth of seven penitential psalms, a ‘Pauline psalm’. We are introduced to the prayer leader conducting the congregation in worship which has both personal emphasis and corporate application, as with most psalms of this group. Many of us may follow the time-honoured adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication formula in prayer. These are good and solid guidelines. But, looking at prayer in a different way, we can learn from this psalm and observe four clear elements.

* Passion. ‘Out of the depths, I cry’ (v 1) reflects both the honesty and the urgency of worshippers who are prepared to plumb the depths of their lives and circumstances. Are we? In the psalm, these depths are unexplored. Maybe we can fill in the gaps, speaking honestly to the God who loves us deeply, so he will reach parts of our lives that other influences and voices cannot. John of the Cross speaks of contemplation like this as ‘a living thirst … the urgent longing of love’.

* Realism about sin and identification with fellow sinners (vs 2,4).(Neh 1:6,7) The “I’m OK, you’re OK” philosophy has left us curiously short-changed. These verses, Craig Broyles writes, ‘strip each of us of any presumption that we are all right'(Psalms, NIBC; Paternoster).

* Patience (vs 5,6). What does it mean for us to wait on God, in an age when to wait and hope are seen as weakness, lacking in that fashionable assertiveness that gets you up the ladder?

* Holy optimism (vs 7,8). This element is not based on blind faith, but on the assurance of forgiveness and the completeness of Christ’s redemption.

Look at some of Paul’s prayers and discover the above elements. How will these help you to build your prayer life today?

– David Blair

Copyright Scripture Union, 2002

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