Listen to my words, LORD; consider my sighing. Pay attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for I pray to you. – Psalm 5:1-2, CSB

Can you imagine standing before a king and asking him to listen to what you have to say? Or better yet: can you imagine standing before a king and telling him to listen to what you have to say?

This is what David did, but he did this to God.

The Hebrew word for “listen” literally means “to cup the ear” or to “bend an ear toward someone.” And to “consider” David’s sighs? He is asking the LORD to not only hear what he is saying but to understand the intent behind his anguish and pleas for help.

This would be one thing if David were speaking to an earthly king, a friend, or someone on the side of the road. But he knows who he is directing this to. He’s speaking to his King and his God. He begged for God to “cup his ear” toward him so that God would hear every word that David cried out to him. He was expecting God’s undivided and focused attention. He begged God to look into the depths of his soul to understand the motivations and intentions behind his cries for help.

The audacity of David.

How unbelievably entitled did he see himself that he would feel the freedom to come before God, the King, in this way?

Or maybe he was on to something.

David continued his prayer to God:

In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you and watch expectantly. – Psalm 5:3, CSB (emphasis added)

Every morning David would call out to him. Every morning David would plead his case before his God and King, knowing that he was heard. And then he would “watch expectantly” because he knew that God would answer him. I do not believe this was an entitled expectation but rather a humble anticipation. David knew he was not the king. David knew he was not worthy of God’s intervention, nor was anyone else, because of their evil and wicked hearts (see Psalm 5:4-6; and this applies to us and all of humanity as well). He recognized God’s authority as God and King, but he also knew he was invited into God’s presence because of God’s faithful love toward him. And when he was in God’s presence, he came to him humbly.

But I enter your house by the abundance of your faithful love; I bow down toward your holy temple in reverential awe of you. – Psalm 5:7, CSB (emphasis added)

So what do we do with this?

We do the same thing as David. We become as audacious as David in coming before our King and our God, humbly expecting an audience with him, all because of the grace extended and his desire for us to cry out to him in raw honesty to find help in our times of need (Hebrews 4:16). And when we trust that what we cry out for and the prayers we cry out to him are heard and acted upon, we continue to come to him and cry out David’s final words in this psalm of praise and pleading:

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them shout for joy forever. May you shelter them, and may those who love your name boast about you. For you, LORD, bless the righteous one; you surround him with favor like a shield. – Psalm 5:11-12, CSB

Your God and King is listening. He is bending his ear toward you, giving you his undivided attention. Be audacious enough to cry out to your King. And then hold on as he responds and acts for his glory and for your good.

What a King! What a God!

---

Blog on Spotify.