David wrote this psalm, as was so frequently the case, at a time when he found himself in difficult and per­plexing circumstances when his only option was to cry out to the Lord for help. In this particular instance, David had to deal with the revolt of his son Absalom and thus found himself in dangerous circumstances. He knew that there was the real possibility that he would be slain by his own son. He then did what he had done so frequently during his life: he encouraged himself in the LORD his God. He reflected on who God was for Him until that very moment, which stirred him up to exhort himself, and others, to trust in a God who will always be true to His Word and who will never forsake the works of His own hands.

The first thing he exhorts us to do is to trust in God at all times. How important an exhortation this is for us on Prayer Day! Prayer is indeed first and foremost an exercise of faith putting my trust in God and His promises. When we come to God we must believe that He is who He is, and that He is a Rewarder of them who diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:6). How often we fail here! Too often we approach the Lord in prayer with an unbelieving disposition – especially when we find ourselves surrounded by difficult circumstances and do not sense the Lord’s nearness. How inclined we are to reason with our circumstances and feelings rather than with the God who has revealed Himself in His Word!

The words of our text therefore contain such a prof­itable exhortation by directing us to trust in the Lord at all times, regardless of what our circumstances may be. The point David is making here is that our cir­cumstances will never change who God is and they will never have any effect on the precious promises of His Word. He will always be there and we will always be able to fully rely on Him. In other words, trusting in Him is never out of season.

We are to trust in Him at all times; that is, we are to do so during seasons of prosperity when we are so inclined to put our trust in the arm of flesh – seasons when we need to give heed to the exhortation of Psalm 146:3,

Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.

We are also to trust Him and His Word during seasons of temporal or spiritual adversity, when afflictions and trials are our portion, and when it can appear, as it did to Jacob, that all things are against us. How important it is during those times, at what may appear to be the darkest hours of your life, to put your trust in a Jeho­vah who has declared, “I am the LORD, I change not!” (Mal. 3:6). Trusting the Lord at all times enabled Job to declare in the midst of his most perplexing circum­stances, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in Him” (Job 13:15).

In light of the fact that God has never failed us, we are also to put our trust in Him for the unknown future. How difficult this can be – especially when our future appears to be dark and filled with uncertainty, and when there appear to be so many giants in the land! Understandable though such anxiety may be, yet we need to recognize that it is a manifestation of unbelief and a failure to put our trust in Him at all times. We are guilty of thinking of the future apart from God and His promises. We then succumb to the foolish notion that the God who has helped us until now will somehow fail us tomorrow. What are we therefore to do as we face an unknown and uncertain future? We must trust in the Lord at all times, believ­ing that He will be in the future who He has always been in the past. Is that not the wonderful comfort couched in His Name Jehovah? Is He not the I AM THAT I AM, declaring that He is today who He has always been and who He will always be? This blessed reality prompted the psalmist to say, “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee” (Ps. 56:3).

Trusting in the Lord at all times is therefore truly a work of faith and a mark of spiritual maturity. It is the spiritually mature believer of whom it is said,

He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.Psalm 112:7

However, not only are we exhorted in our text when to trust in the Lord – at all times – but we are also instructed how we are to do so: We are to pour out our hearts before Him. What sweet and precious words these are! We are to pour out our hearts to the Lord as a child would to his parents; that is, we are to tell Him all that troubles and overwhelms us. We are to do what Jeremiah tells us in Lamentations 2:19, “Pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord.”

Dear reader, do likewise! As you seek to trust in the Lord, tell Him all that is on your mind – all your tri­als, perplexities, crosses, riddles, or whatever else it may be that overwhelms your heart. You will not do so in vain, for the God in whom you desire to put your trust will hear you for the sake of His precious Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who poured out His soul unto death to open the way for you to the heart of God. For your sake He was forsaken by His Father, and His bitter cry of dereliction fell on deaf ears so that your cries would never fall on deaf ears. Christ’s finished work rent the veil so that there is now a door into the presence of God which no man can shut. In Jesus Christ, God has made full provision for you to pour out your heart to Him. In Him you have the assurance that you will in no wise be cast out when you cry out to Him in your hour of need. In Jesus Christ, God will be a refuge for us – a place where we may hide until the storm is spent.

Therefore, dear reader,

Trust in him at all times ... pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us!