Have you ever been so thrilled by how God answered your prayers that you just couldn’t find a way to put your feelings into words? Psalm 116 can help! The first-person pronouns “I,” “me,” and “my” occur more than thirty times in these nineteen verses, a reminder that God desires a personal relationship with each one of us. It is vital that God’s people gather corporately for prayer, worship, and the Word, but His grace is extended to individuals. So I should personally pray to Him and praise Him, and so should you. The psalmist was so sick that he thought he was going to die (v 3, 8). His soul was distressed and in anguish; he felt discouraged and sorrowful (v 3, 6, 8). But he called on the name of the LORD, and God mercifully delivered him from the grave. Calling on the LORD’s name is a great theme of this psalm (v 2, 4, 13, 17), reminding us where our hope lies. God cares for those who are helpless. He hears their prayers and saves those who cannot save themselves. Every human is ultimately unreliable (v 11), but the psalmist is not writing out of cynicism. He is rejoicing in the reliability of God. People change, but God is constant. We can always count on Him to do in the present and in the future what He has done in the past. The LORD will never cease to be gracious, righteous, and merciful (v 5). His compassion extends to all—even the common, everyday, “simple” person (v 6). So the believer can always “rest” in the assurance of God’s bountiful care (v 7). Because God heard and answered his prayers, the psalmist is resolved to continue trusting in Him and orienting his whole life around the worship of God (v 2). Since the LORD spared him from death, he rightly concludes that God still has work for him to do. Each new day is seen as an opportunity to walk with the LORD in grateful obedience (v 8-9). He owes everything to God, so he is glad to call himself the LORD’s servant (v 16). Every good gift comes from Him, so the only way we can repay God is to keep coming to Him in faith, receiving more of His grace, while giving public testimony of how He has answered our prayers (v 12-19). God is especially close to His people when they stand at death’s door. Sometimes He intervenes and does not allow them to perish. But He always does what is best, watching over them when they are sick or dying, making His presence known. Their healing is a cause for celebration, but their death is “precious” in His sight, and they will never be abandoned (v 15). For further meditation: