- Regard Prayer
Psalm 102:17
He will regard the prayer of the destitute,
And not despise their prayer.
If you are destitute, then the Lord will regard your prayer. This does not mean you have to make yourself destitute before God regards your prayer, for He hears the prayer of everyone who comes to Him, but it is better when you regard yourself as destitute, empty, helpless, poor and needy because this is what you are. When you see yourself as destitute you are simply being honest. You approach Almighty God with the attitude of being nothing, having nothing, being a beggar; you approach God bringing nothing in your hands but clinging to the cross.
I am already destitute and beggarly and I have no power to change or affect my situation by myself. I, the sinner, am completely at the mercy of God, which is where God wants me to be. When you sense your poverty and feel your emptiness then you take hold of this promise: the Lord will pay attention to my prayer and He will not despise your prayer; He will not ignore you.
Even if the Lord does not give me the answer I think I want, I can rest assured He will receive my request, think it over and come up with the right response. When I sense my need and turn to the Lord the worst fear I have is that He will ignore me, my prayer doesn’t reach past the ceiling, and the heavens on which I am knocking are bronze. This is worse than God’s giving me an answer I don’t want to hear. As long as I know He regards my prayer I am satisfied. He does more than “not ignore:” He receives me; He hears me, He knows my need; He cares about it; He looks favorably on my request; He comes up with and designs the best response possible.
If I do not believe this promise I probably do not pray; if I am not destitute I may not feel the need to pray; if I think I should be taking care of the problem myself I probably won’t pray for help. If I do not pray my life will surely be lacking the fullness and abundance my gracious Lord wants for me. But if I do believe this promise, “He will regard the prayer of the destitute,” I will pray. I am empty; God is full. I am poor; God is rich. I am a beggar; God is a donor. I am a sinner; God loves sinners.