He shall regard the prayer of the destitute, And shall not despise their prayer. Psalm 102:17
In this chapter, the psalmist pours out his heart to God. The psalm begins with “Hear my prayer, LORD; let my cry for help come to you.” Reading through the verses, we see that he recognizes his frail and helpless condition. He fears that he has been cast away by God and man. He lists out the physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual distress he is going through. But in the middle of his prayer, we see hope budding and blossoming into praise.
With this hope that comes from a strong assurance in God, the psalmist says- ‘He shall regard the prayer of the destitute’. My dear, how many times do we face this familiar situation in our lives? A time of frailty, vulnerability, and brokenness. When we have no human help or support, protection or defense. God reminds us to pray. Charles Spurgeon said- “Pray until you can pray. Pray to be helped to pray, and do not give up praying because you cannot pray. For … when you think you cannot pray, that is when you are most praying.”
Our God loves the prayer of the upright. It pleases him. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes of his people. He says, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven’. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. He shall not despise their prayer.
Let us praise the LORD as in verses 16 and 21 from the same chapter: “For the Lord will rebuild Zion and appear in his glory. So the name of the LORD will be declared in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem.”