One quick lesson from this Psalm:

Remembering what God has done for us in the past strengthens and emboldens us to pray for help in the present.

We are wise to remind ourselves daily of the acts of God, particularly in Jesus Christ. For it is in remembering that our faith finds the strength to pray with confidence for help right now. Looking back enables us to look forward with confidence, no matter how difficult our present circumstances may be.

In this Psalm, the people of God count themselves rejected. It’s as if the Lord were sleeping, they say. And all of this is true even though they have not forsaken Him. Yet because they spent the first part of the Psalm looking back upon the Lord’s previous mercies, they can confidently petition the Lord to act for them once again. They can call upon Him with fervency to come to their help, to redeem them, and to show His power once again.

Which brings to mind another lesson hidden within this Psalm:

God may sometimes remove His favor in order to bring us into a humble frame of mind, so that we might look to Him for help with greater fervency and fire. The removal of His favor should stir us to seek Him all the more.

And one more:

God may sometimes remove His clear favor, so that He might reveal His power and glory all the more by working for His people in response to their pleas for help.

The last two lessons certainly go together. If the Lord does not seem near to us, we have no reason to pout or throw some sort of pity party, but instead, reason to seek Him all the more. For no doubt He is jealous to work for us and to reveal His glory and wisdom and power in the process. He knows when it is good for us to enjoy His presence and power with ease. And when it is good for us to long for Him as if we were in the desert longing for food and water.

We can trust the Lord in both circumstances. And either way, we are responsible to seek Him. For if we remain persistent in pursuing Him, we will be better for it and God’s glory will be more manifestly displayed. We just can’t go wrong in maintaining a fervent pursuit of the Lord.