Read Psalm 12 here first: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+12&version=NIV
This is an earnest prayer. What the guy is saying can’t be true. Not everyone is unfaithful- not everyone is lying. But it sure feels that way sometimes! And we can tell God that with full confidence knowing he’s not going to turn us away because we’re having a pity party. In fact God may be the best person to bring our pity party too! He’s probably the only person willing to listen to it.
It says to get rid of flattering lips. It’s interesting as I think of flattery as being quite nice. But nice isn’t always good. We want to be known for speaking the truth in love. That’s different than love without truth. Speak well of people and be kind, but don’t flatter. Flattery typically means you want something from someone. I have a problem with this. If I call a congregation member and give them a compliment- before I can finish it the other end will say, “What do you want?” And I’ll say hey let me give my compliment first- in due time!
People can see through flattery. Just be open and honest but give compliments before asking for more.
But even with this God says, “I will arise and care for the poor and needy!” It’s interesting- the person praying wasn’t concerned about the poor and needy, and yet God responded by doing that. Sometimes our prayers are like that- we will pray for something that we think if this happens it will be in the end of the world. And then that big thing happens and no one cares. That’s because our prayers are often me focused instead of other focused. God has ways of redirecting our prayers from “What about your family” to “What about your neighbor’s family?” Everything ends up in a different perspective.
Take time to pray and talk to God today!
Marking It Up 