Psalm 22:19-21 – The Believing Prayer
In verses 19 – 21 we turn away from the terrible brutality of crucifixion to see that in spite of all that had been suffered, not just the physical pain, but especially the withdrawal of God’s felt presence, the Lord Jesus prays. His prayer in such circumstances is a pattern for us in our times of trial and difficulty, and it encourages us when we are weak and in distress. He prays for two things:
He prays for God’s presence – vs 19. This is no surprise because he had previously lamented the felt sense of the presence of God. The lesson for us here is that even when we do not have the comfort of God’s presence, we can confidently pray for his presence on the foundation of the promise that God has made to his people on many occasions – Heb. 13:5,6. In spite of that terrible cry of dereliction the Lord Jesus knew that God was with him and would be with him to the end.
He prays for God’s help – vs 19-21. When all physical strength had gone, he knew that God was his strength, and that he would give all needed strength to complete the task before him. When he prays for deliverance, it is not that he would be delivered from the cross for he had already rejected that; the deliverance for which he prayed, and which was granted, was that the mission upon which he had set out when he left heaven’s glory would be brought to a conclusion for the honour and glory of God.
The Christian believer often passes through times of trial, times of confusion, and times of pain and suffering. There are times when the way ahead is not at all clear and we don’t know which way to turn. In such time we need to learn from the teaching of this psalm, that our Saviour in the time of his greatest trial, when there was no-one at all to help, prayed to know the presence of God and to be helped by the power of God.
Questions
- Why does prayer sometimes seem to be the last thing we turn to in trouble?
- Why is it important to pray according to the promises in the Word?
- What sort of deliverance should we pray for ourselves and others?
Prayer Points
- Pray for real sense of God’s presence.
- Pray for deliverance from fear and doubt.
- Pray for strength to glorify God day by day.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.