Praying when Defeated

Read Psalm 60.

2 Samuel 8:14 states, "And the LORD gave victory to David wherever he went."  But not this time.

While David engaged in battle in the north, an invasion occurred in the south.  Defeat was not in something he experienced very often.  Because he depended upon God for decisions and direction, this failure pointed to a spiritual problem.

1. His feelings. (vv.1-5)
In prayer, David poured out his honest emotions before God.  He felt God had rejected the nation.  He sensed God was angry with them.  The circumstances were hard and stunned them.  The LORD knew all this a long time before David realized it.  Prayer is not for God's benefit but for ours.  It is a good thing to release those emotions to God.  But to stop there is mere complaining against the LORD and not helpful at all.  There was more to his prayer.

2. His facts. (vv.6-8)
David knew the word of God.  He was able to quote God's own words back to Him in prayer.  Praying according to God's will is dependent upon knowing what God has said.  "And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him." (1 John 5:14-15)

3. His faith. (vv.9-12)
If God does not intervene there is no one else to whom he can turn.  He prayed for help.  He prayed for deliverance.  He prayed with confidence that the LORD would lead them to victory.

No matter how bad the situation, there is always hope for those who have placed their faith in the LORD.
"With God we shall do valiantly."