Pray the Psalms: Psalm 44

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Hi. It’s Rick Hamlin. And this is Psalm 44. There is a paradox to prayer. God knows what we want and what we need, and yet, we’re asked to pray to Him. We need to tell Him what we want and what we need. Well, you wonder, why do we have to do that if He knows already? I think it’s because He needs to hear us say it, and we need to say it ourselves. 

In a relationship with your spouse, with your children, with your colleagues, with your friends, you need to tell them what you’re thinking, what you need. No matter how much they love you, they need to hear. There’s a beautiful phrase here in this psalm, and it’s a very long one, but God knows the secrets of our heart. He knows the secrets of our heart. And yet, here’s the language– do not forsake me, do not be far from me, Lord, make haste to help me. So even knowing the secrets of our heart, He needs to hear us say those things, like our loved ones need to hear from us. It’s communication. Prayer is communication. And when we have a long prayer like this, it’s to communicate so much that is in our heart even though He knows the secrets of our heart.