A Prayer for Help in Trouble

How long, O Lord, how long?

A Psalm of David

from the Bible: Psalm 13

(King James Version)

How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever?

How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?

How long shall I take counsel in my soul,

having sorrow in my heart daily?

How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and hear me, O Lord my God:

lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;

lest mine enemy say, "I have prevailed against him";

and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.

But I have trusted in thy mercy;

my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.

I will sing unto the Lord,

because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

So said Rachel Mallalieu about her poem "I Tell My Son to Cover Himself in Someone Else's Blood," a poem she wrote in response to the news of the May 24, 2022, mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. To read that poem, click here. 

"A Prayer for Help in Trouble": A Psalm of David

A PRAYER FOR HELP IN TROUBLE
A Psalm of David
from the Bible: Psalm 13 (King James Version)

How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever?
How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart daily?
How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and hear me, O Lord my God:
Lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
Lest mine enemy say, "I have prevailed against him";
And those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.

But I have trusted in thy mercy;
My heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
I will sing unto the Lord,
Because he hath dealt bountifully with me.