Four Dimensions of Believing Prayer in Crisis

When the psalmist cries out in Psalm 40:13, his petition contains four essential movements of genuine prayer that reveal the character of faith before the Almighty.

First, believing prayer speaks of deliverance and help, looking to God alone as the sole source of rescue. The supplicant refuses to trust in human strength or circumstance.

Second, earnest prayer adds urgency—"make haste to help me"—recognizing that delays feel like abandonment when the soul is in extremity. This is prayer without pretense, stripped of religious formality.

Third, submissive prayer bows before the divine will: "be pleased, O Lord, if according to thy good pleasure." Here the petitioner surrenders outcomes to Jehovah's wisdom, accepting that His timing and methods transcend human understanding.