Useful Bible Studies > Songs of Ascent Commentary
Last part: Psalm 123
The Bible often describes God’s people as the servants of God. But many of God’s people do not want to be his servants! They are grateful that God has saved them. But they do not want to obey him. Even their prayers may sound as if they are giving instructions to God! They act as if they are the masters now!
God does want to hear his people’s prayers and requests. The Bible teaches that people should pray constantly (Colossians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:17). Jesus taught that we should pray always. We must not give up (Luke 18:1-8). It gives God honour when we make our requests to him. By such prayers, we confess that we need God’s help. We cannot rescue ourselves. And by such prayers, we declare that we depend completely on God. Only he can help us. We trust him.
It brings God pleasure to help his people. He shows that their trust in him is not in vain. He is not ashamed to be called their God (Hebrews 11:16).
When God answers his servants’ prayers, often he gives instructions to them. Sometimes that is how God answers prayer. First God’s servants pray. Then they watch and wait for God’s reply. When God replies, they obey. And then they find that God acts powerfully on their behalf.
Next part: Psalm 123 as poetry
See the word list for explanation of words with a *
Please use the links at the top of the page to find our other articles in this series. You can download all our articles if you go to the download page for our free 450 page course book.
© 2015, Keith Simons.