“Give ear to my prayer, O God; And do not hide Yourself from my supplication. Give heed to me and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and am surely distracted,” (Psalm 55:1–2, LSB)
When you want to learn more about God’s word, the Bible, it is often good to pull out a different version of the Bible to read. Because different versions of the Bible have different interpreters, translators, scholars, and authorities putting the Bible together, they sometimes will translate verses slightly differently. They will use slightly different words to convey the meaning of the original language. When they do this, it may pique your curiosity to see a different take on the verse, a different translation of the original language. It may open up a whole new view of meaning for a verse for you.
When I began to study Psalm 55, I noticed that the Revised Standard Version of the Bible said this in Psalm 55:2: “Attend to me, and answer me; I am overcome by my trouble. I am distraught” (Psalm 55:1–2, RSV). I began to think about the deeper meanings of this verse. What kinds of trouble was the author in? Why did the author feel as if God wasn’t hearing his prayer? To help me understand the meaning of these verses, I turned to several other versions of the Bible. The New Living Translation suggested that this verse read: “Do not ignore my cry for help! Please listen and answer me, for I am overwhelmed by my troubles.” (Psalm 55:1–2, NLT). This version of the Bible used words that conveyed that the author was crying out to God and seeking God’s response. But what were the troubles mentioned in both versions of the Bible?
Seeking some answers as to the “troubles” that were plaguing the author of Psalm 55, I decided to search more and more Bibles, commentaries, and Bible dictionaries for clarification. Still, I found no clear answers. Then, with due diligence deserving of this interesting piece of scripture, I studied the verse in its original language of Hebrew. Finally, I began to see more meaning to what kind of “troubles” the author was feeling. I found out that the Hebrew word for “troubles” meant also to “walk about”. What does that mean? I felt more in the dark. Then, I read the Legacy Standard Version of this verse, and the meaning of “troubles” became clearer. This version read: “I am restless in my complaint and surely distracted” (Psalm 55:2, LSB).
When the author of Psalm 55 wrote these words, he was greatly troubled. He felt God wasn’t hearing his prayers nor giving him any direction. How did he know that something was wrong between himself and God? The author felt “troubles” like being “restless” and “distracted”. With the Legacy Standard Bible, I could see that the author of Psalm 55 felt restlessness and distractions were caused by his distancing himself from God. By way of restlessness and feeling distracted the author was able to notice that something was wrong in his relationship with God. These feelings were the source of his “troubles”.
For me, feeling restless or distracted is a common way that God gets my attention. Like the author of Psalm 55, these feelings convey a sense that something is “off” with my soul. Also like the author in Psalm 55, these feelings often are accompanied by the notion that God isn’t listening to my prayers (as in Psalm 55:1). Then I begin to wonder why God seems more distant. In the end, when I feel restlessness or distraction in my soul, I need to reconnect with God until I find holy peace again.
Have you ever sat through worship, but nothing seemed to speak to you? Have you ever prayed night after night, yet it felt like your prayers were bouncing off a wall and going nowhere? While opening your Bible to read, were you ever so concerned about something going on in your life that the meaning of the words you are reading in scripture got lost? Feeling distracted doesn’t always mean you didn’t get a good night’s sleep or that you are lacking understanding. Sometimes, distractions are God’s way of getting your attention. Restlessness can be God’s way of keeping you up at night, so you pray. Depending on how you approach it, restlessness and distraction may be your personal signs of something amiss in your spiritual life.
For weeks, Jill’s prayers at night seemed disjointed and disconnected. She just couldn’t come up with the right words to sum up what she wanted to say to God. Some nights, she fell asleep while praying, never really feeling she was connecting with her Lord. Her soul felt restless. Her sleep was disturbed. Her dreams, though more vivid, confused her even more. Jill felt as if God was across a large canyon, unable to pick up her words with the echoes and distance.
A month or so after she noticed this problem with her prayer and Bible time before bed, Jill decided to devote a few more hours the next week to extra prayer time. She went for a walk after dinner and prayed to God about anything that came to mind. During her lunch break, she read her Bible hoping to receive some insight from God’s word. After five days of intentional prayer and study, Jill was doing some crafting in her basement when a thought came to mind. She had been feeling restless at night and distracted in her prayers for about seven weeks. She wondered what happened around seven weeks ago that might have prompted this change. Then it occurred to her…. It was about seven or eight weeks before that her son had come home with a note from his teacher. The note informed Jill that her son had gotten into a fist fight with another boy. Pondering all this further, Jill realized that down deep she was worried that her son was having problems at school. This made Jill reflect on her own schooling at that age.
When young, Jill’s father changed jobs and moved the family several times in just a few years. Because of this, Jill attended three different schools during her elementary years. Jill had been a loner at one school. Jill had no close friends. She felt alone. With all that was going on with her own son, Jill’s insecurities about that time in her life began to fester. She worried about her son becoming a loner. She wondered how many friends he had at school. Between her son’s issues and her own insecurities about her past, it was no wonder that her spiritual life had become distracted and restless. Jill had unresolved spiritual and emotional baggage coming back to haunt her.
Over the next few weeks, Jill spoke to her husband a pastor about her fears and insecurities concerning her son and her own past. She took time to pray for healing for these issues. It took a month or so, but the restless nights and distracted thoughts began to fade away. Because Jill worked out what had distressed her soul, she was able to make things right.
If you have unresolved issues with anger, grief, failure, sin, pain, loneliness, or abandonment, you will encounter problems in your soul. With such strong emotions often come a cascade of insecurities and fears that fester in time. You might find that certain feelings such as restlessness and distraction are signs of troubles in your heart, soul, or mind. Don’t ignore them. It may be God’s way of reaching in to heal your past. It may be God’s attempt at getting your attention. It may be that you need to make some changes in your spiritual life. It may be that your soul has unresolved issues needing God’s gracious hand.
Stop and do some self-evaluation. Is there restlessness in your soul? Are you distracted when praying? Is your worship time turning into a habit instead of inspiration? Is there a worry or fear that occupies your mind a little too often? Is there a past insecurity haunting you? If you answered yes to any of these questions, maybe you and the author of Psalm 55 share something in common. It might be that God speaks to your soul through restlessness or distractions as well. If so, what will you do about it?
When I began to study Psalm 55, I noticed that the Revised Standard Version of the Bible said this in Psalm 55:2: “Attend to me, and answer me; I am overcome by my trouble. I am distraught” (Psalm 55:1–2, RSV). I began to think about the deeper meanings of this verse. What kinds of trouble was the author in? Why did the author feel as if God wasn’t hearing his prayer? To help me understand the meaning of these verses, I turned to several other versions of the Bible. The New Living Translation suggested that this verse read: “Do not ignore my cry for help! Please listen and answer me, for I am overwhelmed by my troubles.” (Psalm 55:1–2, NLT). This version of the Bible used words that conveyed that the author was crying out to God and seeking God’s response. But what were the troubles mentioned in both versions of the Bible?
Seeking some answers as to the “troubles” that were plaguing the author of Psalm 55, I decided to search more and more Bibles, commentaries, and Bible dictionaries for clarification. Still, I found no clear answers. Then, with due diligence deserving of this interesting piece of scripture, I studied the verse in its original language of Hebrew. Finally, I began to see more meaning to what kind of “troubles” the author was feeling. I found out that the Hebrew word for “troubles” meant also to “walk about”. What does that mean? I felt more in the dark. Then, I read the Legacy Standard Version of this verse, and the meaning of “troubles” became clearer. This version read: “I am restless in my complaint and surely distracted” (Psalm 55:2, LSB).
When the author of Psalm 55 wrote these words, he was greatly troubled. He felt God wasn’t hearing his prayers nor giving him any direction. How did he know that something was wrong between himself and God? The author felt “troubles” like being “restless” and “distracted”. With the Legacy Standard Bible, I could see that the author of Psalm 55 felt restlessness and distractions were caused by his distancing himself from God. By way of restlessness and feeling distracted the author was able to notice that something was wrong in his relationship with God. These feelings were the source of his “troubles”.
For me, feeling restless or distracted is a common way that God gets my attention. Like the author of Psalm 55, these feelings convey a sense that something is “off” with my soul. Also like the author in Psalm 55, these feelings often are accompanied by the notion that God isn’t listening to my prayers (as in Psalm 55:1). Then I begin to wonder why God seems more distant. In the end, when I feel restlessness or distraction in my soul, I need to reconnect with God until I find holy peace again.
Have you ever sat through worship, but nothing seemed to speak to you? Have you ever prayed night after night, yet it felt like your prayers were bouncing off a wall and going nowhere? While opening your Bible to read, were you ever so concerned about something going on in your life that the meaning of the words you are reading in scripture got lost? Feeling distracted doesn’t always mean you didn’t get a good night’s sleep or that you are lacking understanding. Sometimes, distractions are God’s way of getting your attention. Restlessness can be God’s way of keeping you up at night, so you pray. Depending on how you approach it, restlessness and distraction may be your personal signs of something amiss in your spiritual life.
For weeks, Jill’s prayers at night seemed disjointed and disconnected. She just couldn’t come up with the right words to sum up what she wanted to say to God. Some nights, she fell asleep while praying, never really feeling she was connecting with her Lord. Her soul felt restless. Her sleep was disturbed. Her dreams, though more vivid, confused her even more. Jill felt as if God was across a large canyon, unable to pick up her words with the echoes and distance.
A month or so after she noticed this problem with her prayer and Bible time before bed, Jill decided to devote a few more hours the next week to extra prayer time. She went for a walk after dinner and prayed to God about anything that came to mind. During her lunch break, she read her Bible hoping to receive some insight from God’s word. After five days of intentional prayer and study, Jill was doing some crafting in her basement when a thought came to mind. She had been feeling restless at night and distracted in her prayers for about seven weeks. She wondered what happened around seven weeks ago that might have prompted this change. Then it occurred to her…. It was about seven or eight weeks before that her son had come home with a note from his teacher. The note informed Jill that her son had gotten into a fist fight with another boy. Pondering all this further, Jill realized that down deep she was worried that her son was having problems at school. This made Jill reflect on her own schooling at that age.
When young, Jill’s father changed jobs and moved the family several times in just a few years. Because of this, Jill attended three different schools during her elementary years. Jill had been a loner at one school. Jill had no close friends. She felt alone. With all that was going on with her own son, Jill’s insecurities about that time in her life began to fester. She worried about her son becoming a loner. She wondered how many friends he had at school. Between her son’s issues and her own insecurities about her past, it was no wonder that her spiritual life had become distracted and restless. Jill had unresolved spiritual and emotional baggage coming back to haunt her.
Over the next few weeks, Jill spoke to her husband a pastor about her fears and insecurities concerning her son and her own past. She took time to pray for healing for these issues. It took a month or so, but the restless nights and distracted thoughts began to fade away. Because Jill worked out what had distressed her soul, she was able to make things right.
If you have unresolved issues with anger, grief, failure, sin, pain, loneliness, or abandonment, you will encounter problems in your soul. With such strong emotions often come a cascade of insecurities and fears that fester in time. You might find that certain feelings such as restlessness and distraction are signs of troubles in your heart, soul, or mind. Don’t ignore them. It may be God’s way of reaching in to heal your past. It may be God’s attempt at getting your attention. It may be that you need to make some changes in your spiritual life. It may be that your soul has unresolved issues needing God’s gracious hand.
Stop and do some self-evaluation. Is there restlessness in your soul? Are you distracted when praying? Is your worship time turning into a habit instead of inspiration? Is there a worry or fear that occupies your mind a little too often? Is there a past insecurity haunting you? If you answered yes to any of these questions, maybe you and the author of Psalm 55 share something in common. It might be that God speaks to your soul through restlessness or distractions as well. If so, what will you do about it?