Is it okay to ask God “how long”?

In Psalm 13, David cries out “How long, O LORD?” four times in just six verses — and then ends in worship. In this study, Dr. Toby Holt shows that honest lament and real faith can go together.

David feels forgotten and overwhelmed, and he tells God so plainly. Dr. Holt notes that our struggle is often the duration of hardship, not only its severity. Yet David does not stay in despair: he remembers God’s past faithfulness — rescue from the lion, the bear, and Goliath — and chooses to trust again. The psalm moves from frustration to faith, ending, “I will sing to the LORD, because He has dealt bountifully with me.”

Questions this study answers:

1. Why did David, “a man after God’s own heart,” feel abandoned? Because faith does not erase real pain. David honestly voiced his anguish even while continuing to trust God.

2. What does this psalm teach about honest prayer? That God welcomes our raw, honest cries. Lament is not the opposite of faith; it can be an act of it.

3. How can worship rise even from pain? By remembering God’s past faithfulness and trusting His mercy. David sang again because he recalled how God had dealt bountifully with him.

“But I have trusted in Your mercy; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because He has dealt bountifully with me.” — Psalm 13:5-6 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio.

Listen and go deeper: This sermon is part of the Psalms Explained study from New Geneva Theological Seminary. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.