Psalms 61:1Hear my cry, God. Listen to my prayer.
The setting
Israel, ~1000 BC. David is in crisis - possibly fleeing from Absalom or facing military defeat. He's alone, probably in the wilderness near the Dead Sea, modern-day Jordan/Israel border.
The emotion here: desperate and running out of options
The original word
shama (שְׁמַע) — hear with intention to act, not just acknowledge sound
Why it matters
Hebrew has no punctuation - this could be one desperate breath: 'Hear-my-cry-God-listen-to-my-prayer'
Read with care
What most readers miss in Psalms 61:1
This is the shortest complete prayer in the Psalms - sometimes desperation strips away eloquence
Common misconceptionPeople think this is a gentle bedtime prayer, but David is in life-threatening crisis demanding God's immediate attention.
The thread continues
Verses that echo Psalms 61:1
Bible Genome reading
Psalms 61:1 — Bible Genome reading
Emotional genome
Psalms 61:1 comes from the book of Psalms, written during the United Kingdom period. These words are attributed to David. The dominant emotion in this verse is seeking, with a comfort power of 60% and a tone that is urgent. It belongs to the psalm genre of biblical literature. Key themes include prayer, seeking God. Notable phrases: Hear my cry, God; Listen to my prayer. This verse is a prayer.
Emotionally similar
Verses that meet the same seeking
“Pray without ceasing.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:17
“But let justice roll on like rivers, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
— Amos 5:24
“Be it far from you to do things like that, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be like the wicked. May that …”
— Genesis 18:25
“Call to me, and I will answer you, and will show you great things, and difficult, which you don't know.”
— Jeremiah 33:3
“Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evi…”
— Luke 11:4
Your reflection
What does Psalms 61:1 mean to you, today?
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