As I was thinking about prayer, I began to wonder about some short prayers that simply say it all. The thief on the cross said “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom” (Luke 23:42) and Jesus immediately guaranteed him eternity in heaven.  In Matthew 9 the two blind men simply prayed “Have mercy on us, Son of David” and Jesus gave them their sight. In Mark 10, Blind Bartimaeus said to Jesus “Rabbi, I want to see” and he received his sight. These were not long, wordy prayers. They were prayers that got right to the point of the matter.  God is not impressed by our eloquent prayers filled with “thee” and “thou”.  He is not looking for us to, what I like to call, pray around the world.  Have you ever heard someone who is asked to pray for the food before a meal, and they end up hitting all of the missionaries around the world?  God is not impressed.  Daniel went to his room to pray in private, but he DID pray.  

I was reading Psalm 12 and as best as I can tell, David is in trouble.  He might have been fleeing king Saul who was out to kill him. He may have been running from his very own son Absalom who was trying to kill him to take over his kingdom. He also might have just been overwhelmed with the affairs of life; we just don’t know for sure.  What we do know is that David prayed a very, very short prayer that is had more substance to it than most every prayer you have ever heard or prayed yourself.  Psalm 12:1 starts with these three words and it was more than enough: “Save, O LORD…”  I believe this to be the prayer that covers it all, everything! It seems as though everyone who served with him was gone and David was all alone.  Some one once said: “When the creature failed, he flew to the Creator.”  Notice how direct he is in this prayer.  He did not have to give God any background information; God already knew all about it. He did not have to tell God what to do, because God already knew what to do. David runs straight to God because he knows that he is in need and he knows that God can supply for that need.  David knew his God. David also knew himself and his limitations. David knew that he was totally dependent on God and that if he simply went to Him and asked Him to save, what happened next was going to be right and best. A prayer like this will provide the needed grace at just the right time when we are in need. A prayer like this will take a person on the road to eternity in hell and make him a child of God. Save, O LORD. Overwhelmed at work?  Save, O LORD.  Facing some challenging times in your finances? Save, O LORD. Waiting for the test results on a biopsy?  Save, O LORD.  Wayward child who simply wants nothing to do with you? Save, O LORD. Unsaved love one?  Save, O LORD. 

This prayer covers everything and any circumstance because it forces us to recognize our need and defer to the One who will do what is best at just the right time, and it is guaranteed to be right.  The LORD has already assured us that He would not leave us and that in fact, He would always be with us; always. He is your Father and He loves you more than you will ever know.  Save, O LORD and then rest knowing that He hears you. Just don’t take so long to get around to talking to Him.