Psalm 138:3

“On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.”

This Psalm is written by David as one of thanks and gratitude before the Lord. David writes of the love and faithfulness of the Lord. He praises Him for all that He does for us and the favor He has on His children. As I came across this Psalm the other day, and I was blown away by the praise that David gives the Lord. I read verse three and was reassured of  how the Lord hears me when I call out to Him. I was reminded that the Lord strengthens my soul and that He is all I will ever need. This past week, I’ve been feeling discouraged and having the thought that God doesn’t really hear me when I cry out to Him because it is mostly the same things and situations I need strengthening in. I was listening to the lie of God not caring about me and that He had more important things to do than listen to me cry out the same things again. Instead of bringing this lie before the Lord and clinging to His truth, I wallowed in self pity and sadness. The Lord then brought me back to this Psalm and reminded me that no matter what, He never gets tired of me, and he always hears when I cry out to Him. It is such a simple truth that carries so much weight in our lives and followers of Christ. God has been teaching me a lot in this time in Uganda that the knowledge I have in my head has to be more than that, I have to let Him infiltrate my heart and bring those truths in. A lot of the times it isn’t in the way that I want it to go at all, it is through a hard week or just a circumstance that kind of forces me to really walk out and understand in my heart that truth that I know in my head. God is also teaching me more and more about the importance and power of prayer and how it really does affect our walk with Him. David cried out to the Lord no matter how he was feeling. Even if he was frustrated or sad or even joyful, he cried out to the Lord and continued to praise Him through all things. Prayer really is an intimate thing between the Lord and His children and I find that a lot of the time, I don’t take it seriously and truly coming before the Lord and praising Him. When I call upon the Lord, He hears me and answers me, maybe not always in the way that I want, but He does hear and answer. He strengthens my soul for the tasks placed before me so that I get to glorify Him above all other things. God is still teaching me what this truth really means in my heart, deeply and intimately, but I have confidence in Him and I know that through Him and Him alone can I do all things. I won’t ever do it perfectly, because I’m still human, but He is gracious and knows me and loves me just the same. My application is to have Caroline keep me accountable to crying out before the Lord and really being consistent in my prayer life.