I am crying out to the LORD.

Today’s Scripture: Psalm 142:1, NKJV- “A Contemplation of David. A Prayer when he was in the cave. I cry out to the LORD with my voice; With my voice to the LORD I make my supplication.”

Somehow God surprises me every day. The living word of God meets us wherever we are. David wrote Psalm 142 while hiding in a cave from King Saul. We can also find ourselves in dark places and even fear for our lives.

Yet, we can cry out to God at any time and any place. God surprises me with the thoughts that pop into my mind and soul when I am praying. In turn, His Word speaks to those thoughts. Scanning though the almost 29,000 affirmations I have collected to date since 2009, God brought my attention to a post from Psalm 142:3 where I had posted “When my spirit is overwhelmed within me, God knows my path.”

Even though it was October 1, 2009, when I posted that I can still feel and remember the emotions of capturing that promise. I do not even remember if I was overwhelmed at that moment but based on the vivid recall, I imagine I was feeling overwhelmed. Most likely this was a cave of my own making.

I had been sober since June 14, 2007 and had a young man in an AA meeting change my life because he said his life had been forever changed because he hit his knees every morning and thanked God for keeping him sober yesterday and asked him to keep him sober today.

That moment changed my life forever. On January 9, 2008, God said to me, “Tom, every affirmation you will ever need is found in my word. From that day to this day, I have been capturing affirmations from God’s Word. I am surprised I have never posted I cry out to the LORD, or I am crying out to the LORD.

David also said “I cried to the LORD with my voice, And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah” in Psalm 3:4 (NKJV) and this was when he was fleeing his own son Absolum. We all have a voice. We can cry out to the LORD fleeing our own predicaments.

It is comforting to know God hears us when we cry out to Him. In Psalm 28:1, David said “To You I will cry, O LORD my Rock.” (NKJV) In Psalm 28:2, David asked God to hear his cries for mercy and help as he lifted his hands toward God’s Most Holy Place. (NIV) In Psalm 30:2 David shared with us what the young man in the AA meeting had found. “O LORD my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me.” (NKJV) When we recognize we are poor in spirit we can learn what David expressed in Psalm 34:6 “This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.” (KJV)

It has been my experience that out of our poverty we find the riches of God every morning. The Sons of Korah also expressed this in Psalm 88:13 “But to You I have cried out, O LORD, And in the morning my prayer comes before You.” (NKJV) There is no better way to begin each day than to cry out to God.

In Psalm 107, it was reiterated by posting the same verse three times in one chapter. Verses 6, 13, and 28 all state “Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, And He delivered them out of their distresses.” (NKJV) Even though I am surprised to see that this same verse was repeated three times, I know it is no accident.

We can do as Psalm 119:145 declares “I cry out with my whole heart; Hear me, O LORD! I will keep Your statutes.”

Will you cry out to the LORD today?

Today’s Prayer: Heavenly Father, I am crying out to You now. Thank You for blessing us! Thank You for hearing, healing, and saving us. Hear our voices in the morning LORD and help us to keep Your statutes. You are our rock. Amen.