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Psalm 31:2

Bow down your ear to me. Deliver me speedily. Be to me a strong rock, a house of defense to save me.

1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. In you, LORD, I take refuge. Let me never be disappointed. Deliver me in your righteousness.
2Bow down your ear to me. Deliver me speedily. Be to me a strong rock, a house of defense to save me.
3For you are my rock and my fortress, therefore for your name’s sake lead me and guide me.
4Pluck me out of the net that they have laid secretly for me, for you are my stronghold.
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← Psalm 31:1Psalm 31:3 →
Notice

A listening ear and a house of defense express two needs in David’s urgent prayer: to be heard by God and sheltered by him.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

What need, if any, would you bring to God with David’s words, “Deliver me speedily”?

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What does asking God to be a “house of defense” express that asking him to listen does not?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.

This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Psalm 86:1A Prayer by David. Hear, LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.Both prayers ask God to hear, approaching him from a position of need rather than strength.
Psalm 71:2–3Deliver me in your righteousness, and rescue me. Turn your ear to me, and save me.Both ask God to turn his ear toward the speaker and act to deliver and save.
Psalm 116:2Because he has turned his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.God’s listening ear links these prayers: David asks him to bend down, while Psalm 116 speaks of being heard.
Psalm 88:2Let my prayer enter into your presence. Turn your ear to my cry.Both appeal to God’s ear, asking him to attend to a prayer spoken in distress.
2 Kings 19:16Incline your ear, LORD, and hear. Open your eyes, LORD, and see. Hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to defy the living God.Both ask the LORD to incline his ear amid danger; Kings names Sennacherib’s defiance as the threat.
Deuteronomy 32:31For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves concede.Both describe God as a rock: David seeks his protection, while Deuteronomy declares the difference between God and the enemies’ rock.
1 John 4:15–16Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him, and he in God.The shared thread is relationship with God; David asks for protection, while John speaks of God remaining in those who confess Jesus.
Genesis 32:11Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and strike me and the mothers with the children.Both prayers ask God for deliverance from danger; Genesis names the feared attacker and the family at risk.
2 Chronicles 6:40“Now, my God, let, I beg you, your eyes be open, and let your ears be attentive to the prayer that is made in this place.Both ask for God’s attentive ear, treating prayer as an appeal for him to hear.
Luke 18:8I tell you that he will avenge them quickly. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”Speed marks both texts: David asks for swift rescue, while Jesus says that God will bring swift justice.
1 John 4:12No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love has been perfected in us.Both concern relationship with God, though the psalm asks for protection and John speaks of love and God’s abiding presence.
John 6:56He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me, and I in him.Both use dwelling imagery: David asks God to be a protective house, while Jesus speaks of living in him.
Where this verse fits

Anxiety or panic. fear for the future. waiting.

What the Bible says about anxiety →What the Bible says about fear →What the Bible says about patience →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Pray Psalm 31:2 aloud, naming one urgent need

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Encouragement

Urgency has a place in prayer. David asks God to act fast while seeking shelter in him; his plea rests on God’s strength, with the danger still present.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 31:2. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 31 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).