Straight to the Father's Knee

"Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for 

his steadfast love endures forever!" (Psalm 107:1) 

This poem revolves around four human predicaments: "Some wandered in desert wastes" (4). "Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death" (13). "Some were fools through their sinful ways " (17). ”Some went down to the sea in ships" and encountered gut-wrenching storms (23).  

                   

Loneliness, depression, guilt, anxiety. In each situation, the answer is the same: “They cried out to the LORD and he delivered them from their distress" (6,13,19,28). 

Prayer is the spontaneous, irrepressible, and sometimes inarticulate, cry of a heart under duress. "God, help me!" is our primal prayer. When our troubles overwhelm us, when our resources fail us, when our hearts are broken, "the natural thing is straight to the Father's knee" (George MacDonald). 

There we are given what no other person, place or thing can deliver: God’s relentless love (107:1,8,15,21,31,43). 

David Roper 

10.6.17