Our prayers don’t have to be “polite”. If we are talking to someone important on earth, we have to try and speak respectfully and calmly. Although God is so Almighty and very great, He is still our Father and so we can tell Him exactly how we feel.
David has waited patiently (v1), but he still wants the Lord to act quickly: “O Lord, make haste to deliver me.” Some of us have waited a long, long time for the Lord to fully answer our prayers and it is okay to tell Him that we want Him to answer quickly. He knows our hearts anyway, so we can be honest with Him about how we feel.
In the next two verses, he tells the Lord about his enemies (v14-15); they are attacking him and delighting in his trouble, and David asks the Lord to turn their evil back to themselves. This feels strange to us as Christians who are called to love our enemies. But again, David is being honest about the anguish that these people are causing him.
Yes, we are called to be patient, and we are called to love our enemies, but that doesn’t mean we find it easy, and it doesn’t mean that we have to pretend to the Lord that we’re okay.
If you’re struggling with the Lord’s delay in answering your prayers, tell Him. If you’re struggling with people and situations, tell Him just how you feel.
He wants to hear, because He cares for us. “Cast all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:17). “Come to Me all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28).
The best is yet to come 