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Psalm 70 reads as follows from the NIV version of the Bible: Hasten, O God, to save me; O Lord, come quickly to help me. 2 May those who seek my life be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace. 3 May those who say to me, "Aha! Aha!" turn back because of their shame. 4 But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, "Let God be exalted!" 5 Yet I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay. The emphasis within this psalm is on prayer itself and repeatedly the palmist is asking the Lord to answer him speedily There can be a feel with prayer, from some circles, that more effort gets more results. If I labor in prayer for weeks, months, years, I might breakthrough and get that specific answer. There is the parable in the gospels of the persistent person, who knocks on the door at night to borrow loaves of bread, who when at first rebuffed, comes back with another knock and is giving what he is asked for because of his persistence. Luke 11 verses 5 through 8 say: 5 Then Jesus said to them, "Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.' 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity] he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. While there is a brief delay in the answer, it is still a speedy answer. He is getting the loaves in the same night and for the purposes he wants to fulfill. The person in is this parable is getting what he either wants, needs, desires, wants to make use of, within the framework or context of the timeframe for which he wanted these things. He is not being put off into another time zone down the road. So even in this parable about persisting in prayer, or dialogue as words are exchanged, there is an answer that is positive within the context of the time frame he is asking, he is not asking for the next night, he is asking for this night. The friend, for whom he wants to give some bread, is hungry now and a loaf of bread a day later will not suffice. And even though he is initially rebuffed, it is with an answer, he isn't getting no response and there is an exchange of words on what is being discussed right from the get go. Monica, prayed about the conversion of her son St. Augustine for 20 or more years, and this is given as a model of persistent, never let go prayer, but there are many issues that relate to a time frame that is quite specific and current, and even in this psalm, an uprising of anemones can be regarded as an imminent threat for which the psalmist is asking for immediate, quick or speedy answers. Luke 18.7 says: And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? The context of this passage is that there is a good relationship with the Lord, as the you in the parable is approaching as a friend for a friend. You want to keep this friendly discourse and dialogue of prayer going, whatever disappointments and setbacks do unfold, try to keep them from intruding on the prayer life itself as prayer is to be maintained as vital and central. The psalmist, in repeatedly brining up that he is looking for speedy and quick answers, is doing this probably on the basis of the Lord having answered in this manner previously, and it is not just a matter of asking for speed, it is that speed is already evident and whether it is specifically asked for, the request is actually a reflection or mirror of what is already there. The psalmist is reflecting reality in his prayers and it is understood that the Lord does answer quickly in maybe cases and this is what actually does happen so why not incorporate it into requests of concern includes those of containing more immediate and pressing matters. It is understood that there are angels and they can and do help and intervene in the moment and even in the split second moment. It is a matter of discernment in listening to understand that the Lord is also acting with timing and this is sometimes a sign as well. If you get an immediate answer to a prayer rather than way down the road, it might be an extra strength signal that this matter is important and carries with it up front importance and priority. Your suspicions might say, for the timing to be this precise is so low odds that it has to be of a supernatural origin. If several things coalesce in terms of timing, quite low odds of something happening, this might also be a sign of the Lord intervening with special timing Prayers also are given with timing; you don't pray for your team after the game, either during or before is the timing for what you are praying for. Interceding for the outer environment, including of course people but also places, things, conditions and so forth is possible and you might see your prayers actually manifest in answers out there, in ways that involve timing that is visible and tangible. It is important to realize that while prayer in an interior journey, is also can powerfully involve what is out there and affect what is out there, as in the case of this psalm where the psalmist is asking the Lord to quickly subdue enemies and enemies might not only be say people but any lurking troubles of significance in the outer world. Things like this amount to evidence that helps the faith walk and part of the watch of prayer is to ready for the unexpected and this can occur with timing and often with speed. The outer environment might also affect you directly, Jesus calmed the seas immediately. The word immediate is found an astounding 42 times in the gospel of Mark. The Lord might respond immediately or quite soon to some requests and always has something immediate for you. A lot of issues today revolve around the theme of lack, lack of financiers, lack of good health, lack of good relationships and friendships and so on In the later verse of this psalm, he is describing himself as being needy, and no matter how well situated anyone really is, it is still a fragile state of affairs and we can all are needy and you can't wall off from everything out there which makes things to a degree risky and one of the things we need is the help and protection of angels, who act with precise timing. I Corinthians 3 verses 5 and 6 say from the King James Version of the Bible: Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. With the issue of lack, there can be help and intercessions but if there is to be an increase, it is from the Lord. How much of an increase is needed, wanted, or to be given, might be specific but most often it is an unknown amount and from maybe unknown origins, so wherever and whenever you are interceding for lack with yourself or others, use this verse and ask the Lord for the increase, and other then maybe add in specifics. If you are praying for someone who needs more money for example, you don't know what increase precisely they might need 2 Samuel! 2.8 says, He gave your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. David, overstepped, transgressed mightily in the case of stealing Beersheba and sending her husband on to the front line so he would be ambushed. The Lord had given him a lot and is that wasn't enough; there would be more upon request. He should have realized that before taking liberties outside of the providential presence of the Lord, who was already given him whatever he wanted, is tremendous abundance. There might be other inputs that carry some weight but not the bulk, as the Lord has the increase and the more is there is to be and more if there is to be an increase and a more. Centrally this psalm is not about being demanding in prayer, it is more so about being discerning and reality based, that the Lord and the angels he dispatches on our behalf do operate in ways that involve timing and speed and therefore we can reflect and mirror that reality in our prayers as this timing and speed of answers sin something that we can see, grasp and discern as to underlying meaning. And perhaps, a speedy answer, a supernatural timing of events, does give more prominence to the issue that is being addressed in the answer and this also is a matter of discernment, While we do look for answers down the road, it is important to keep the eyes and ears open for the quick answer, right about now.
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