What More Can I Say?

I love David’s prayer of thanksgiving and praise found in 2 Samuel 7:18-29.

It’s rich and expresses an authentic heart from one who knew his weakness in the light God’s abundant and glorious goodness and grace.

There is one line in the prayer itself that stopped me when I read it.  In part because of it’s honesty, and in another because I SO resonate with it’s implications.

David says to God in verse 20, “What more can I say to You?  You know what Your servant is really like, Sovereign God.”

Ahh… what more can I say to You?
You know me.
The intimate places of my heart.
The parts I refuse to share with others.

It’s as if, momentarily at least, David cannot find the appropriate words to convey his true emotions.

And I know what this feels like.
Peter did too.
When asked for the third time by Jesus, “Do you love Me?”  Peter finally responds, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” (John 21:17) 
And so it becomes of us often, too, “Lord, You already know what’s in this weak and stubborn heart of mine.  What MORE could I possibly say to You??”

And so David finds rest in shifting his thoughts in the verses that follow, focusing on what he knows to be true of God, “How great You are” “There is no one like You!”  (verse 22), “You performed awesome miracles and drove out nations!”  (verse 23)

So often when our soul is deeply troubled, we struggle to find the right words.
And sadly what tends to happen is we retreat from prayer and quickly cease from it altogether.

But not our David.
He knew that apart from communion with God, there was nothing in this life to be had.

And the truth really is that God knows… but He longs to hear from our mouths.  Because there's something beautiful that happens when our vocal expressions reach the ears of our Father who “longs to be gracious to us.”  (Is 30:18)

Peter tells us in the first book that bears his name, “Though you do not see Him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy…” (1 Peter 1:8)  And it proves that even our joy is often unable to be adequately expressed.

Paul tells the Romans that even the Holy Spirit prays for us in “groanings that cannot be expressed in words.”  (Rom 8:26)

He knows our hearts.  What more can we say?
And sometimes it’s okay.

My commentary says this, “God knows much more about us than our words express; is not dependent for His knowledge of us on our own account of ourselves.  As we cannot by any words conceal from Him the evil which is in us, so our deficiencies of expression will not hinder His discernment of the good.”

No doubt that we should forever offer to God our best regardless of how difficult it is.  Our prayers are so often our sacrifices - especially when we can’t find proper expression.  But even when we don’t know what to say for all that burns within us, we can sit in His Presence, expose our weakness, and recall all we know about the truths of His character.

He doesn’t need fancy words or eloquent speech.
He just wants you.