(A prayer for someone who hurts and needs to ask the Lord for help.)
A Prayer in Time of Trouble
1I pray to you, Lord!
Please listen.
2Don't hide from me
in my time of trouble.
Pay attention to my prayer
and quickly give an answer.
3My days disappear like smoke,
and my bones are burning
as though in a furnace.
4I am wasting away like grass,
and my appetite is gone.
5My groaning never stops,
and my bones can be seen
through my skin.
6I am like a lonely owl
in the desert
7or a restless sparrow
alone on a roof.
8My enemies insult me all day,
and they use my name
for a curse word.
9Instead of food,
I have ashes to eat
and tears to drink,
10because you are furious
and have thrown me aside.
11My life fades like a shadow
at the end of day
and withers like grass.
12Our Lord, you are King forever
and will always be famous.
13You will show pity to Zion
because the time has come.
14We, your servants,
love each stone in the city,
and we are sad to see them
lying in the dirt.
15Our Lord, the nations
will honor you,
and all kings on earth
will praise your glory.
16You will rebuild
the city of Zion.
Your glory will be seen,
17and the prayers of the homeless
will be answered.
18Future generations must also
praise the Lord,
so write this for them:
19“From his holy temple,
the Lord looked down
at the earth.
20He listened to the groans
of prisoners,
and he rescued everyone
who was doomed to die.”
21All Jerusalem should praise
you, our Lord,
22when people from every nation
meet to worship you.
23I should still be strong,
but you, Lord, have made
an old person of me.
24You will live forever!
Years mean nothing to you.
Don't cut my life in half!
25 In the beginning, Lord,
you laid the earth's foundation
and created the heavens.
26They will all disappear
and wear out like clothes.
You change them,
as you would a coat,
but you last forever.
27You are always the same.
You are God for all time.
28Every generation of those
who serve you
will live in your presence.