Human Response 373: Cry unto the Lord

Judges 3:15 But when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised them up a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded.

Here the Spirit describes the typical pattern of the cycle recorded in Judges: Sin, Misery, Prayer, Deliverer. This time, when the people of God cried out, the Lord raised up Ehud as their deliverer. At other times, the same pattern repeats with a different enemy and a different judge.

A similar cycle repeats itself in our own lives as well: we sin and drift away from God, spiritual enemies attack in a wide variety of ways, we pray for forgiveness, help, and relief, and God raises up Jesus, the Great Deliverer. Pride and unbelief prevent us from seeing our sin as the cause of our problems until things get so bad that we cry to the Lord. Then the Lord responds to save. We need the Lord to reveal to us that I am the problem and Jesus is the solution. Sinful deception reverses that truth.

Prayer is the key response. Crying out includes: repentance, seeing our sin and taking responsibility; faith, turning to the Lord and trusting Him; and prayer, presenting requests for a very present help in time of need. But we don’t have to wait until things get bad before turning to the Lord in prayer. Our response can be to pray without ceasing, and Jesus breaks the cycle so that life can be enjoyed on a more even keel. Forgiveness is instant and constant and Jesus is always present to deliver us from evil.