But sometimes I am in need

"Hasten, O God, to save me;
    come quickly, Lord, to help me."
Psalm 70:1

So lately I've been really cynical about prayers like this. Like, why should God help me, if he regularly lets bad things happen to innocent people? Why should I even pray to a God like that? Isn't it kind of terrible to even expect him to do something- like "hey God, please treat me better than you treated my brothers and sisters who experience stupid tragedies..."

Yeah...

But lately, I actually am in need. New job, new city, new apartment, new friends- dude I just moved to China and sometimes stuff is confusing. Seriously. I really can't handle it by myself. I want help...

And I remember, long ago, when I had problems, what did I do? I used to pray, about EVERYTHING. So I've been trying that again.

I mean, I still don't have an answer for how it could possibly be okay to pray to a God who lets bad things happen to good people. So either this is faith, trusting God and acting on it, without all the answers, or I'm ignoring my conscience and doing something I know is wrong.

Okay then.

Image source.

One other thing I want to point out about Psalm 70- verse 4. "But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who long for your saving help always say, 'The Lord is great!'" Kind of odd to find this in a little 5-verse psalm about "hey I desperately need God's help." The rest of this psalm is so focused on the psalmist's own individual personal needs- and then there's this line, where he remembers his brothers and sisters and prays that God would bless them too.

So that's how I'll pray. I'll give this whole "praying for my own needs" thing a shot, and also pray that God would bless others. Bless my friends and family and everyone. Amen.

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This post is part of a link-up on the topic of Psalm 70. To read other people's posts, click here: Lowering our Shields and Searching for Help.