In Psalm 13:1-2, David writes, “How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?”
This passage of Scripture is relatable to many of us as we have all asked God in-depth questions at some point in our lives. David was a human being just like us; therefore, he knew what it felt like to have sorrow in his heart and to feel as though God had left him all alone.
How Long O Lord?
David asks, “How long O Lord” because he is overcome with sorrow due to his circumstances. David believed that God had forgotten him due to his sorrow and the victories of his enemies. Most of us can relate to David in his feelings and sorrow.
Similar to David, there have been many times I have asked God, “How long?” Through difficult times and illnesses, I have often prayed for God to answer my prayers and when they are not answered with a “yes,” I often ask God, “How long?” Maybe you, too, have also struggled with the thought of “How long O Lord?”
It is common for our prayers not to be answered right away, yet God will always answer our prayers in one of three ways. He will either answer “yes,” “no,” or “not now.”
When we go through a particularly difficult time, it can be easy for us to lose patience. During hard times, it is all too common for us to become upset if things are not fixed right away.
However, for many of us, our prayers are constant, and we have been praying for something for years, yet the prayer has not been answered with a resounding “yes.” It is through these dark seasons that we ask God, “How long O Lord?”
As in David’s case, he was asking God how long would God forget him, hide His face from him, have sorrow in his heart, and have his enemy triumph over him. While God never forgot David, it can be easy to feel the same way David feels in this passage.
When our prayers are not answered in the way we hoped, we can start struggling with the thought that God has forgotten us or that He doesn’t care. This is, of course, not correct, but most of us have felt this way at some point.
God never forgets us as our names are written on His hand (Isaiah 49:16). David felt this way even though it was not true. God never forgets one of His dearly loved children.
David also asks God, “How long O Lord” because He feels as though God has hidden His face from him. God was known to be friends with David because David obeyed God and served Him faithfully. God saw David’s heart and saw that David’s heart was a heart after His own heart (1 Samuel 16:7).
Even though David had a heart after God’s own heart, he still struggled with these feelings, such as feeling that God had hidden His face from him. David desired to see the Lord and be in His presence (Psalm 27:4).
Similarly, David asks God how long he must wrestle with his thoughts and have sorrow in his heart each day. I, too, know I have personally struggled with these feelings and thoughts.
Asking God, “How long” comes from the deep pain and agony from having to go through a difficult situation. It can be extremely tiring and draining to continue to have to go through the same pain, trauma, and sorrow day after day.
By crying out to God, “How long O Lord,” David was asking God how long this pain would go on, how long would God forget Him, and how long would his enemy overtake him. Most of us have had times where we, too, asked God out of deep anguish and sorrow, “How long O Lord?”
Lastly, David wanted to know how long his enemy would triumph over him. In days gone by, God used to give David the victory, yet at this time, David’s enemy was triumphing over David.
Through this occurrence, David felt God had truly left him.
Despite feeling this way, David still rejoiced in the Lord and trusted in Him. Later in this Psalm, David says, “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me” (Psalm 13:5-6).
In the same way, when we are questioning how long a painful situation will last, we need to trust in the Lord.
Application for Our Own Lives
David asks, “How long O Lord?” in Psalm 13 because he was overcome with sorrow and pain from his present situation. He felt as though he was alone, that God had forgotten Him, and that God was hiding His face from him.
All of these feelings caused David to be overcome by deep sorrow. He wanted to know how long the pain would endure. Many of us have gone through something similar to what David articulates in Psalm 13, and many of us are presently going through this same struggle.
If you are presently going through the same pain of asking God, “How long O Lord,” you can also follow the same solution David did.
It is normal to ask questions and pour our hearts out to God in our distress. In fact, God wants us to come to Him with every difficulty and place it at His feet. When we ask God, “how long,” God isn’t deterred, nor does He think of us differently.
God loves us eternally, and it is not dependent on whether we ask Him these deep questions, such as David did. If we are feeling similar to David when he asks, “How long O Lord,” we need to make the choice to trust in God.
The waiting time might be just around the corner, or it could last for many decades. God never promises to directly take us out of a painful situation, yet He will stand by our side through the entirety of the pain.
Therefore, David asks, “How long O Lord” because he was deeply troubled and was calling out for God. He wanted to know how long God would be away from Him, how long God was going to hide His face from him, how long his thoughts were going to swirl in his head, how long the sorrow would endure, and how long his enemy would triumph over him.
Even though we are never told if David received a direct answer from God, we do know that David trusted God to work in the situation. Similarly, we can trust God despite our feelings or what we see going on around us.
What Does This Mean?
Times will be difficult, yet we can always trust God through it all. If you’re in need of an honest conversation with God today, ask Him how long your present difficulty is going to last.
Maybe you could ask, “how long will I feel alone,” “how long will this sorrow in my heart endure,” or “how long will I be in pain?”
All of these are valid questions that God will never overlook. Be open and honest with God. He wants to know everything that you tell Him, including asking Him, “How Long O Lord?”
For further reading:
What Does it Mean to Wait on the Lord?
Trusting God in the ‘How Long?’
How Do I Know When God Is Calling Me to Wait?
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