Voice: Mylene
Today is Monday, 24th of November. Take a moment to be still in His presence.
We pray:
Almighty and everlasting Father,
we thank you that you have brought us safely to the beginning of this day.
Keep us from falling into sin or running into danger;
order us in all our doings;
and guide us to do always what is right in your eyes:
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Psalm 44:9-26
But you have rejected us and disgraced us
and have not gone out with our armies.
10 You have made us turn back from the foe,
and those who hate us have gotten spoil.
11 You have made us like sheep for slaughter
and have scattered us among the nations.
12 You have sold your people for a trifle,
demanding no high price for them.
13 You have made us the taunt of our neighbors,
the derision and scorn of those around us.
14 You have made us a byword among the nations,
a laughingstock among the peoples.
15 All day long my disgrace is before me,
and shame has covered my face
16 at the sound of the taunter and reviler,
at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.
17 All this has come upon us,
though we have not forgotten you,
and we have not been false to your covenant.
18 Our heart has not turned back,
nor have our steps departed from your way;
19 yet you have broken us in the place of jackals
and covered us with the shadow of death.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
21 would not God discover this?
For he knows the secrets of the heart.
22 Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.
23 Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?
Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!
24 Why do you hide your face?
Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust;
our belly clings to the ground.
26 Rise up; come to our help!
Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as It was in the beginning, is
now, and shall be forever. Amen.
“Why are you sleeping, O Lord?”
Have you been disappointed with God before? We are seldom open about the moment when we may feel this way, especially to our friends or Cell members. Be prepared for some lecturing if you dare to!
Yet, many of the psalms express such disappointments when God did not act in the way we expect Him too.
Here in Psalm 44, we can see how disappointed the Psalmist was. Listen to it again:
11 You have made us like sheep for slaughter
and have scattered us among the nations.
…
13 You have made us the taunt of our neighbors,
the derision and scorn of those around us.
14 You have made us a byword among the nations,
a laughingstock among the peoples.
15 All day long my disgrace is before me,
and shame has covered my face…
And the Psalmist claims that he has not done anything wrong. So why was he punished?
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
21 would not God discover this?
For he knows the secrets of the heart.
22 Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.
…
In Romans 8, St Paul cited verse 22 to describe his suffering for the sake of the Gospel.
The popular writer, Philip Yancey wrote a book with the title Disappointed with God. He asked, “Why is God unfair? Why is God silent?”
Yes, we do have reasons sometimes to be disappointed with God. And we need not hide our cries of frustration and pain. The fact that this Psalmist is complaining to God showed that he still has faith. He was pleading to God for His intervention. In other words, in the midst of his disappointments, his response was earnest praying. He cried:
23 Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?
Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!
From time to time, it is alright to pray this way. Sometimes, you may pray this way on behalf of someone else who is suffering. Some of us need to pray this way given the injustice and violence that are still rocking some parts of our modern world.
“Why are you sleeping, O Lord?”
May this version of the lament from Psalm 83, O God do not be silent capture the cries of our hearts:
O God, do not be silent
O God, do not be still
O God you can’t stand by and watch
While your children are killed
You heard the people screaming
You heard the cries of pain
You know the ones who made these plans
You know they’ll come again
O God be like the hurricane
O God be like the storm
O God of justice come like fire
Do not let them escape O God,
do not be silent O God,
do not be still O God
you can’t stand by and watch
While your children are killed
Words & Music: © 2017 Wendell Kimbrough.
Link to today’s Morning Office
About This Daily Devotion
This weekday devotion is drawn from the Morning Office and is part of a project initiated by Revd Canon Terry Wong, with contributions from clergy and members across various parishes. Each entry includes selected readings from the appointed Psalm and another Scripture passage, accompanied by a reflection and prayer. An audio option is also available, often ending with a hymn or song. We encourage you to both read and listen.
Our aim is to help Anglicans engage more deeply with our rich liturgical tradition, while meeting the devotional needs of today’s believers. This project began on Ash Wednesday 2025 and is offered on weekdays only.
For feedback, please write to us at info@mpcc.org.sg
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