4th Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 7, "Got Troubles? PRAY Psalm 86" 6/21/26

Psalm 86 comes as a gift for the day when manure happens, because sooner or later it happens to everyone. The psalm identifies itself as a prayer of David, and David knew plenty about trouble. David was the youngest son stuck with the sheep, the boy who fought lions and bears, the giant killer who got chased by Saul, and the hunted man whom God protected over and over.

The prayer opens with plain honesty: “Bow down your ear, o Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and in misery.” Psalm 86 does not ask anybody to pretend that excrement does not exist or that everything is under control. Jesus already knows the fear, loneliness, hurt, confusion, and panic, so the prayer teaches the hurting heart to blurt it out before him.

The psalm then teaches steady asking: “Be merciful to me, o Lord, for you are my God. I call upon you all the day long.” Jesus’ words about asking, knocking, and seeking carry an ongoing force: ask and keep asking, knock and keep knocking, seek and keep seeking. God answers every prayer, though not always quickly and not always with the wanted answer. God may say yes, no, not yet, or answer with silence, but silence does not mean God is blowing anybody off. Silence means it is not yet time to quit praying.

Psalm 86 also teaches memory while waiting. God is great, God does wondrous things, and God alone is God. The Bible tells what God has done, history bears witness to his guiding hand, and each life carries testimonies of help, healing, rescue, protection, provision, and getting through manure before. God did those things then, so trust has somewhere solid to stand now.

Verse 11 adds a needed question: “Teach me your way, o Lord, and I will walk in your truth.” Some messes are self inflicted through ignorance or selfishness. Some come from other people, some from accidents or disasters, and some simply come because the world is bent and broken by human sin. The prayer asks God what can be learned from the mess so the next one does not catch the soul unprepared.

Psalm 86 ends in thanks: “Great is your love toward me. You have delivered me from the nethermost pit.” Thanksgiving remembers what God has done, trusts what God is doing even when little can be seen, and leans on what God will do. God promises to protect, provide, help, heal, and stay with his people always, even to the end of the age.

##

Key Takeaways

• 1. Honesty belongs in prayer [22:55] Psalm 86 gives suffering permission to speak plainly before God. The prayer does not dress up pain or pretend the manure is not real. Jesus already knows what is hidden underneath fear and confusion, so honest prayer becomes trust instead of disrespect. [22:55]
• 2. Keep knocking through silence [23:57] The call to ask, knock, and seek is not a one-time tap on heaven’s door. Silence is not proof that God has quit listening or turned away. Silence may be the very place where prayer learns endurance and waits for God’s answer, guidance, or peace. [23:57]
• 3. Memory feeds present trust [26:02] Psalm 86 anchors present trouble in the record of God’s past faithfulness. The Bible, history, and personal testimony all become evidence that God has acted before. Trust does not float in thin air, it remembers help, healing, rescue, protection, and provision. [26:02]
• 4. Messes can become teachers [28:31] Verse 11 asks God to teach his way in the middle of the mess, not only after it is over. Some trouble exposes ignorance, selfishness, unsafe relationships, or lack of preparation. The mess is not always good, but God can still make it instructive. [28:31]
• 5. Thanksgiving reaches into the pit [30:03] Psalm 86 thanks God from a place that still remembers the nethermost pit. Thanksgiving does not deny the depth of trouble, it confesses that God’s love is deeper still. Gratitude looks backward at deliverance, notices God’s hidden presence now, and trusts his promises ahead.
  
  ## [30:03]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [21:00] - Psalm 86 for Crisis Days
• [21:51] - David Knew Real Trouble
• [22:55] - Tell Jesus How It Feels
• [23:34] - Ask and Keep Asking
• [24:51] - God Answers Every Prayer
• [26:02] - Remember What God Has Done
• [28:31] - Learn From the Mess
• [30:03] - Thank God in the Pit
• [31:03] - Got Troubles, Pray Psalm 86
• [32:23] - Pray Before the Creed and Prayers

1. In Psalm 86:1, how does David describe his situation, and what does he ask God to do?
2. According to verses 8-10, what specific attributes of God does the psalmist highlight while praying?
3. The sermon mentions that Jesus’ command to “ask, seek, knock” uses a Greek verb tense implying ongoing action ([24:21]). How does this shape our understanding of persistent prayer?
4. What does verse 11 add to the structure of the prayer, and how does it connect to the rest of the psalm?

1. Why might the psalmist emphasize God’s past acts (vv. 8-10) while still in crisis? How does this contrast with waiting to thank God only after deliverance?
2. The sermon states, “Silence means it’s not yet time to quit praying” ([25:36]). How might God’s silence deepen trust rather than diminish it?
3. Verse 11 asks God to “teach me your way” during the mess. Why is it harder to seek God’s instruction in the middle of trouble rather than after it ends?
4. How does thanksgiving in verse 13 (“delivered me from the nethermost pit”) function as both a declaration of faith and a weapon against despair?

1. When have you hesitated to pray with raw honesty, like David in verse 1? What fears or assumptions might hold you back from “blurting out” your pain to God?
2. The sermon notes that some messes are self-inflicted ([29:05]). Is there a current struggle where you need to ask, “What can I learn here?” How might pride or shame block that reflection?
3. Describe a time when God answered a prayer with “yes,” “no,” “not yet,” or silence. How did that experience affect your relationship with Him?
4. The psalmist thanks God while remembering the “pit” (v. 13). What specific hardship are you facing now where you could practice thanking God for His presence, even before the outcome is clear?
5. How could you create a tangible “reminder” (e.g., journal, note, ritual) of God’s past faithfulness to strengthen your trust in current trials?
6. Are there relationships or habits in your life that consistently lead to “splatter” ([29:27])? What steps could you take to love those situations or people “from a distance”?