Just do it!
by Pastor Stephen Abraham
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I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer (Psalm 17:6).
There are certain relationships that allow for ‘imperative verbs’!
What is an imperative verb? These are commands like those given by a superior, like a parent to a child, ‘pick up your clothes’, or a teacher to a student, ‘one, two, three, eyes to me’. They can also be urgent requests between people who trust each other, for example, team players on a field or friends troubleshooting a mechanical problem.
When my son and I go hunting, we work together like a well-oiled machine. There are times we each give each other commands because we trust each other; one can see some quarry that the other cannot, and a whispered command or hand signal is all it takes to indicate where it is and what to do. In my worship band, we follow each other’s cues and direction: ‘You sing lead; I’ll do harmony’, ‘cut the guitar till verse two’, or ‘pick it up; the speed is dragging!’.
Look for the imperatives in today’s psalm. Does the writer start with a wishy-washy apology like, ‘Er, excuse me. I’m sorry to bother you, God’? Do they begin with some flowery words of love and devotion like, ‘Oh, I love you, beautiful Saviour …’? Nope, it’s straight to the urgent issue at hand – no holds barred! These imperatives are not commands (because who are we mortals to command the Almighty!), but they are urgent appeals.
The psalm begins with pleas for God’s attention:
- ‘Hear me, Lord’
- ‘… listen to my cry’
- ‘Hear my prayer’
- ‘Turn your ear … hear my prayer’.
And then, the writer gets more specific with the help they need:
- ‘Show me’
- ‘Keep me’
- ‘… hide me’.
These are urgent requests by someone who trusts the living God. It takes boldness to pray like this. It is not for the faint of heart, and it is not to be done in arrogance or selfish conceit.
But I believe there are times we should pray this way, using psalms like this as a model. We are part of God’s team. When times are desperate, we need to be able ‘boldly approach the throne of grace’ (Hebrews 4:16). As a priesthood of believers, we can appeal to the Father. We make urgent requests using imperative verbs because we are God’s baptised children, clothed in Christ Jesus. So let us do that right now. Think of someone you know who desperately needs God’s help, and let us pray together with boldness.
Hear us, Lord God Almighty! Hear the cries of your people. Hear the words we speak now in our hearts to you. Hear the names of the people we know need your help right now [name them]. Shelter them, Lord. Ease their suffering and hardship. Rally us to help them where we can. Bring them your peace. We pray, with boldness, in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Stephen Abraham is a retired Lutheran pastor and musician who served as a school pastor and church planter in Mawson Lakes, South Australia. Stephen retired early due to a spinal injury, leaving him largely housebound with chronic pain (documented by Lutheran Media on its Messages of Hope YouTube channel in 2014). When Stephen can, he still preaches, takes school chapels and serves his local church. He also writes and records personal songs, worship songs and Christian meditations, which he shares on his YouTube channel (youtube.com/StephenAbrahamMusic).
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