“ROLL-OVER PRAYER”
Psalm 69
Have you ever come close to drowning (or at least THOUGHT you were drowning)? I can remember as a young boy, swimming in a big tire tube as it rolled over and pushed my face into the water so that I could not raise my head. I could not move forward or backward and was caught with my face under water. There was a dreadful feeling that I was not going to be able to break free.
King David had a similar happening but Psalm 69; Listen to David’s Dangerous Dilemma:
Ps. 69:1 Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. 2 I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me. 3 I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God. 4 Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me. I am forced to restore what I did not steal. 5 You know my folly, O God; my guilt is not hidden from you.
In some cultures, when people were suspected of a crime, a vigilante group might grab the person, tie him up, and throw him in a river. The river would overcome the suspect one way or another and sweep him away: No trial, no imprisonment, a swift river would mean a swift solution to a problem.
Now David found himself in this type of situation: He was not bound and thrown into a raging river, but the emotional and spiritual accusations and turmoil had pushed him to a point that he FELT he was drowning.
Whether you are drowning physically, emotionally, or spiritually, what are you thinking and feeling? You are desperate, you feel like the end is very near, you want a way out, you want a way to safety, you want the threats to leave, you want help, you NEED help!
David’s dilemma was not of his own doing, and most of the time, our dilemmas are not because we are guilty of wrong doing either, even though we are all sinners. Verse 4 and 5 spell that out: “Many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me… You know my folly, O God; my guilt is not hidden from you.”
David felt like his life was out of control and we can feel the same way sometime. The nasty rivers of life, the mire and muck that may bog us down in our everyday occurrences, the deep waters and floods (the extremes of life) that come close to overtaking us are often a result of circumstances beyond our control. We have to realize that there is only so much that we can control in life. We can’t control other people (and shouldn’t try because we are only responsible for ourselves), and we can’t control circumstances as hard as we might try.
Remember: God is in control but there is also a war going on, and if you don’t realize that there are other forces at work against God’s Sovereign plan, you misinterpret at least half of what is going on I the world and in your own life. You will keep on questioning God when things do not go as you anticipate they should.
Listen to David’s Sacred Solution in verse 13: “But I pray to you, O LORD, in the time of your favor; in your great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation.” The very first thing to do is to pray to God, not to people. If God is Sovereign, in control over all, He would be the one to go to first of all.
1Peter 5:7 says: Cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” The word for “cast” is derived from two root words which mean: to throw over and it has the inclination to DO IT QUICKLY. Older saints such as Charles Spurgeon, Amy Carmichael and the great missionary Hudson Taylor would use the term “to roll over all your cares on Him”. The mental image is to release all your troubles into God’s care and just walk away from the situation. “Lord, I want to roll this problem over to you. You take care of it.”
That is exactly what Jesus promised to do, to be our BURDEN BEARER. He is the one you can trust with your dilemma because He is Sovereign, all-powerful, infinitely wise, merciful, completely righteous, and He has an eternal love to give you…so you can certainly trust Him with your cares.
The second thing to do is to trust in God’s timing; that’s what “in the time of your favor” means. It does not mean that you have to wait to roll over your cares but you may have to wait for a change of circumstance, learn to draw on God’s grace through the circumstance, or wait to be released from the situation. But you can trust that God’s timing will be best, no matter what happens.
The second half of verse 13 paints a beautiful picture: “In your great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation.” While you may not appreciate your situation, you can Be Lavished in God’s Love. I especially like the way the King James Version puts this line: “O God, in the multitude of thy mercy, hear me.” If God delights in giving mercy, why wouldn’t He give you mercy in abundance when you need it most?!?!
It means that while you are waiting, God’s love and mercy can be your realization, and not the flood waters, not the danger. Have you ever had that? I’m sure you have. Haven’t you ever been in a crucial situation, a doctor’s appointment, an interview, maybe even a confrontation or meeting that you really would rather avoid, and you give God a roll over prayer, and then all of His love and grace flooded into your heart, and all of the apprehension was washed away? That is exactly what God wants to do for you: replace the danger with His peace and security.
Look at verse: 14 “Rescue me from the mire, do not let me sink; deliver me from those who hate me, from the deep waters. 15 Do not let the floodwaters engulf me or the depths swallow me up or the pit close its mouth over me. 16 Answer me, O LORD, out of the goodness of your love; in your great mercy turn to me. 17 Do not hide your face from your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in trouble. 18 Come near and rescue me; redeem me because of my foes.” (God’s justice prevailing)
You would not ask something of someone unless you thought they could help you. David knew His God and His abilities, and so, fourthly, he petitions God’s power and purposes: His power and purpose is to comfort, sustain, rescue, save, and redeem.
In Psalm 23:4, David wrote: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Did David forget that God was with him this time? That could be. The fact is: We don’t only have one uncomfortable situation in life. (That would be great though, wouldn’t it, if we only had to go through one trial and then know that was it?) But God is there to comfort and sustain in EVERY circumstance, even if we face death; we just have to be reminded, don’t we?
The promise and the power for God to rescue is a very widely prevalent principle in His Word; In Isaiah 46:4 He tells us: “Even to your old age and gray hairs, I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; (You’re too tired to go on, no problem for God! But you have to LET HIM carry you.) I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” As much as we may tire of challenges and rough circumstances, God doesn’t tire of sustaining and rescuing us during those times.
Here are some other encouraging passages: Isaiah 41:10: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 43:2: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”
Isaiah 49:25 “I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save.” (That’s an example of God’s eternal prevailing justice!)
Jesus taught us the pattern of prayer in The Lord’s Prayer, (as we looked at last week). How does this Psalm, and specifically, how does “rolling over” your burdens in prayer fit into that model? Well, this prayer is actually a very good example of Christ’s Kingdom Cause, as He, Himself, modeled His own life…and death.
It is no surprise to anyone who is fighting the Heavenly Kingdom battle that there is opposition to Christ’s Kingdom. In Psalm 69:11 David said: “People make sport of me.” You don’t have to think very long about how people mocked Jesus, and they will mock you too, for following Him. It comes with the territory, as the saying goes.
In Psalm 69:8, we read: “I am a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my own mother's sons.” In John 7:5 we read of Jesus: “For even his own brothers did not believe in him.” His brothers abandoned Him.
Probably the worst scenario that would ever be possible DID happen to Jesus, and that is that even His own Heavenly Father forsook Him when He cried, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (The Greek actually means to desert or abandon someone who you had always cared for.) (In verse 3 it says: “I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. (Remember the words “I Thirst?) My eyes fail, looking for my God.”
*The one who had been the recipient of everyone’s rolled over burdens, prayers and sins became the sinful burden…so that God’s Kingdom might come. He was rejected so that we might be accepted. He was NOT delivered so that we might be delivered. He was shamed so that we might be redeemed. The one who said, “Cast all your burdens on me,” became the burden bearer. He was slain so that we might be sustained. (Vs. 5 says, “My guilt is not hidden from you.)
No wonder verse 6 follows these words: “May those who hope in you not be disgraced because of ME, O Lord, the LORD Almighty; may those who seek you not be put to shame because of ME, O God of Israel.” There was no roll-over prayer for Jesus because He had to be the Living Bread that would die. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." (John 6:51).
Jesus would be the one to forgive US and deliver US. He could not roll-over our burdens to anyone else. To use the words of verse 15; He had to bear them until the floodwaters engulfed him and the depths swallowed Him up, and then the pit of death closed its ugly mouth over Him.
The greatest roll-over prayer went like this: “MY Father in heaven, Holy is your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth (RIGHT AT THE CROSS) as it is in heaven.” Jesus rolled over His own will totally to His heavenly Father so that God’s Kingdom WOULD come.
Psalm 69:29- “I am in pain and distress; may your salvation, O God, protect me. 30 I will praise God's name (ALL THAT HE IS!) in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. 31 This will please the LORD more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hoofs.(PRAISE IS MORE important than sacrifice.) 32 The poor (actually means “the humble”) will see and be glad-- you who seek God, may your hearts live! 33 The LORD hears the needy and does not despise his captive people.”
Jesus is still the burden bearer for all those who will roll-over their sin and their burdens, and their lives to Him. MAY HIS ARM of SALVATION PROTECT YOU.
I. David’s Dangerous Dilemma
A. David FELT he was drowning.
B. David’s dilemma was not of his own DOING.
C. David felt like his life was out of control.
II. David’s Sacred Solutions
A. Pray to God not people.
B. Trust in God’s timing.
C. Be Lavished in God’s love.
D. Petition God’s power and purposes: comfort, sustain, rescue, save, and redeem.
III. Christ’s Kingdom Cause
A. There is opposition to Christ’s Kingdom
1. People mocked Jesus.
2. His brothers abandoned Jesus.
3. His own Heavenly Father forsook Him.
B. There was no roll-over prayer for Jesus because He had to be the Living Bread that would die.
