Psalm 40:11

"As for you, O LORD, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!"

This statement sounds too bold to me, but that's because I have spent most of my Christian life clueless of the difference between godly confidence and hubris. Has my mouth ever---even once---formed and exhaled such words in the presence of God, or to myself, or to another? Would you stop now and say them with me out loud, reader? "LORD, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!" Was that a new sensation for you as it was for me?

I have plenty of times prayed: "Lord, please don't withhold your mercy from me; Lord, please let your steadfast love and your faithfulness ever preserve me." And that is legitimate praying. But once every blue moon, wouldn't God find it refreshing if I spoke in the indicative rather than subjunctive mood? Just for a little variety?

The psalmist believes God's own promise about what He will do. And come to think of it, is this not the very essence of the gospel---to believe in God's mercy and preservation, present and future? Therefore, in the very act of stating "O LORD, you will not restrain your mercy from me," the palmist is committing an act of faith. For faith is not only believing but speaking. In fact, it is a very dubious faith (and a feat I tried to pull off for years) that never speaks with a spirit of confidence.

"I believed, and so I spoke" (2 Corinthians 4:13).

Here is the confession of an unfaithful lover: In church I have rhapsodized in prayer on the beauty and grace and mercy of the Lord. And then I have turned around and in private conversations over coffee I have "shared" all my doubts and fears about Him. What would you do with a human lover who talked trash behind your back? You would drop her, or if you are kinder, would have a heart-to-heart with her about the necessity of honoring one's lover in public and among your friends, and not only in private.

Doubt is not humility. Being timid and tentative about God's mercy and faithfulness is not being humble.

In the last few years I have made people who pray a lot of thank yous in advance, and it feels like a new level of faith: "Lord, thank you that you are going to provide me with just the right house to live in." "Lord, thank you that you will give me the right words to speak at the upcoming retreat because you care for those women." "Lord, thank you that whatever happens to me in the future, I can be sure that it is part of your design to preserve me by your steadfast love and faithfulness."

They're always telling us from the pulpit that we need more faith. Giving thanks for future favor is one way I know how to do that.

To read Andrée Seu's series on Psalm 40, click here.

To hear commentaries by Andrée Seu, click here.