Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies
To the leader. A Psalm of David.

1    How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2    How long must I bear pain in my soul,
and have sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

3    Consider and answer me, O Lord my God!
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
4    and my enemy will say, “I have prevailed”;
my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.

5    But I trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6    I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.

via Psalm 13 (NRSV) – Biblia.com.

“How long, O Lord?” is a prayer that we have all prayed. Sometimes it seems like God has forgotten. We pray and pray, but heaven is silent. We wonder, “How long will I have to wait? How long will I have to hang on?” We want to trust God. We want our faith to be strong. Sometimes it seems impossible. We believe if God doesn’t answer soon, we won’t be able to make it.

Allow this Psalm to speak into your situation. Allow David’s pain to become your own. Don’t stop there however. Notice how David ends his prayer. Even though he has no idea how long it will take for God to answer, he trusts in God’s steadfast love and will continue to sing to him.

It’s easy encourage others to have the same attitude as David. It is much more difficult to have David’s attitude when it seems like God has forgotten you, or perhaps just doesn’t care. Those who, like David, are able to hang on even when the heaven’s grow silent, are the ones who, like David, discover how steadfast God’s love really is. God has not forgotten. Keep singing to the Lord! Hang on! Don’t give up….don’t give in!