The Prayer of an Old Man

The Prayer of an Old Man

Today Reading Psalm 71-75

Psalm 71

                  The older we get, the easier it is to become the proverbial old grouch. We reflect upon the changes in the world, and we become cynical and bitter as we see the world continually descending into the abyss of sin. We reflect upon a time when TV shows upheld moral values and compare it to the onslaught of programs that today promote values that attack the very values we believe in. When we raise our objections, we are ridiculed as being “old-fashioned, legalistic, and outdated.”  We long for the days of Mayberry while lamenting that we live in the age of  “South Park,” which mocked religious followers and institutions.   However, in many ways, the nostalgia of the past is a remembrance of a myth, for we overlook the sins of the past while failing to see God’s activity in the present. The result is that we lose sight of God’s activity in the present.

                  In Psalm 71, the writer sees the world through the eyes of an old man. He sees the onslaught of sin and the attack upon his faith. He looks back upon his life and reflects upon the troubles and distresses that have afflicted him in the past as well as the present (verse 20). Those who surround him mock his faith and ridicule his trust in God (vs 10-11). In such an environment, it is easy to withdraw, to become silent and passive, waiting for death to come and God to deliver us from the sin-filled world in which we live.  

                  As the psalmist reflects upon those who attack his faith, rather than withdraw, he prays for the unimaginable. Instead of cowering in a shell of silence, he prays that God will give him greater boldness to praise Him. In an increasing hostile world, he becomes more inspired to share the hope that he has in God. He reflects on his life, including the tribulations and distresses he has experienced. As he looks back at all his hardships, he sees that it was part of God’s plan and activity (verse 20). But these events were not God’s judgment, but the opportunities God used to display his righteousness and comfort (vs 20). Instead of merely waiting for God to end his life and deliver him from this broken world, he reaffirms his commitment to “praise God yet more and more” (verse 14). In his prayers, he silences those who attack him, and he affirms that he will “utter God’s righteousness all day long” (vs 24).

                  As our world increasingly embraces post-modernism and rejects the belief in absolute truth, our natural tendency is to withdraw and become silent. We retreat behind the church walls and pray for the return of Christ. However, as long as we have breath on this earth, we still have a mission, and that is to proclaim the salvation of God all day long (vs 15). In this Psalm, the writer gives us the prayer of an old man. Not the prayer that God will remove him from this world, but the prayer that he will continue to proclaim the salvation of God to those around him. Thus he prays, “And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to all who are to come.”   His prayer is that he can be a witness to the next generation. May this be our prayer today, and may we embrace the mission to continue to proclaim the salvation of God with boldness to the next generations, a mission that we are given until we draw our last breath. God does not call us to retirement and retreat; he calls us to advance the kingdom of God with boldness. May this be our daily prayer, whether we are 95 or 25.