King David prayed many prayers about his enemies and foes. He spent a lot of time going to God when faced with attacks from people on all sides. In Psalm 109 we see an example of this, where he begins:
1 O God, whom I praise,
do not remain silent,
2 for wicked and deceitful men
have opened their mouths against me;
they have spoken against me with lying tongues.3 With words of hatred they surround me;
they attack me without cause.4 In return for my friendship they accuse me . . . .
Even people David counted and treated as friends turn against him.
When experiencing such hurt and abandonment it would be easy to choose to fight, attack, defend, be angry, or wallow in self-pity. But none of those choices would end the hatred, the attacks, or the fights. In fact, any of those choices would promote more problems rather than peace. And, even if David won a fight or two and received some joy from winning, as soon as he lost even just one fight, he would face more sorrow and pain.
David shows us a better way. Rather than take up the battle he concludes Psalm 109:4 with these seven words: “but I am a man of prayer.”
Wow. The answer to every problem is found in prayer. The peace to every battle is found in prayer. The joy of life is found in prayer. All the angst of the first three verses suddenly resolves with those seven words.
Lord, may I be able to say this of myself. May others see my life and say of me, “He is a man of prayer.” May my family be a family of prayer. Oh, no matter the trouble, may I always be a man of prayer.