Psalm 142:1-2
I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble.
This psalm was written by David as he reflected on the experience of hiding from his enemies in a cave. This happened on two occasions. Firstly in Adullam, and secondly in En-gedi. On both occasions he was being threatened by King Saul, who was eager to kill him. There’s no way of knowing which occasion he was thinking about when he wrote this psalm, but it doesn’t matter. What is clear is that he was under extreme pressure and needed help. In his despair he cried out to the Lord, knowing that He knew the whole story.
We are often inclined to bottle up our complaints. But it is good and right that we should pour out our concerns to the Lord, and God’s people have done so through the centuries. When St Francis of Assisi died on 3 October 1226, he had this particular psalm on his lips.
At times we might find it difficult to imagine that the God of the universe could possibly be concerned with our personal problems. But He is! The God of the Bible consistently reveals His intimate knowledge and complete love of us. If you have nothing to complain about, you must rejoice. But if you do complain, you can be sure that the Lord is ready to listen to you.
Questions
Have you ever complained to God? If you have, what did you say, and if you haven’t, why not?
Prayer
Loving God, thank You that You are always willing to listen to us, even when we have lots of problems and complaints. Amen

Released on 18 Oct 2026