Spurgeon Devo 3/21/2020
Lord, Be Merciful.
Psalm 41:4
When your heart throbs and flutters, when your swollen limb seems as if it were laid on an anvil and beaten with red hot hammers, when the pain goes through you again and again until you cry out in agony, and when the tears unwillingly fall from your eyes, pray this prayer, “Lord, be merciful to me” (Ps. 41:4).
I have found that when medicine fails, or when sleep is chased away, or when pain becomes unbearable, it is good to appeal directly to God. I say, “Lord, I am Your child. Will You allow Your child to be tortured with pain? Did You not say, ‘As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him’ (Ps. 103:13)? Therefore, Lord, be merciful to me.”
I can honestly assert that I have found immediate relief and remission of extreme pain in answer to a simple appeal to my Father. I know that many of you have had a similar experience.
When hurting with severe physical pain, you will find that quiet resignation, holy patience, and childlike submissiveness will enable you to pray, “Lord, be merciful to me.” This often brings better relief than anything that the most skilled physician can prescribe. You are permitted and encouraged to act this way. When the rod falls heavy, look up into your Father’s face and say, “Lord, be merciful to me.”
— Charles Spurgeon
