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Illustration of King David kneeling in tearful prayer beside his bed at night in a humble stone room, illustrating Psalm 6's cry, 'I am weary with my moaning; all night I flood my bed with tears.'

Psalm 6

A Prayer for Mercy

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David is very sad and asks God not to be angry with him. He cries so many tears his bed gets wet! But even in the middle of his sadness, he believes that God hears his crying and will help him.

  1. 1O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath.
  2. 2Be gracious to me, LORD, for I am weak; heal me, LORD, for my bones are in agony.
  3. 3My soul is in deep anguish. How long, LORD, how long?
  4. 4Turn, LORD, and deliver me; save me because of Your unfailing love.
  5. 5Among the dead no one proclaims Your name. Who praises You from the grave?
  6. 6I am worn out from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.
  7. 7My eyes waste away because of grief; they fail because of all my foes.
  8. 8Away from me, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping.
  9. 9The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer.
  10. 10All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish; they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.

What it means

It's okay to cry and tell God exactly how weak and tired you feel. He never gets annoyed by our tears — He collects them. When we ask Him for mercy, He always hears.

A little prayer

Lord, sometimes I feel weak and worn out, and I cry. Thank You that You hear every tear. Be gracious to me and heal me. I know You accept my prayer. Amen.

Memory verse

“The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer.”

Psalm 6:9 (BSB)

The turn in the psalm: he has not stopped crying, but he knows he has been heard.

Talk about it

Questions with no single right answer — for a family table or a Sunday-school circle.

  1. David says he cries so much his bed gets wet. Why do you think the Bible keeps a prayer that sad in it?
  2. Nothing in the psalm gets fixed until near the end. What does he do in the meantime?
  3. Is there a difference between being sad and being in trouble with God?
  4. Who is someone you can tell when you feel like this?

Try this

The sad-prayer box

Find a small box. When something is too heavy to say out loud, write or draw it, say the memory verse, and put it in the box. Once a month, open the box together and see which ones God has already carried.

You will need: A small box, paper, pens.

Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB)