DAVID PRAYED BEFORE HE TOOK ACTION

PROCLAMATION

“He inquired of The Lord, saying, ‘Shall I go and attack these Philistines ?’  The Lord answered him, ‘Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.’”  1 Samuel 23:2 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

While David was in hiding and fleeing King Saul, word came to him that the Philistines had attacked Keilah, a city in the tribe of Judah.  Before he took action, David prayed.  He asked The Lord God if he should go and attack the Philistines and save the people of God in Keilah. (1 Samuel 23:1-2 and 4)  Only after The Lord God answered him and said, “Go, …” did David take action.

APPLICATION

David knew what he wanted to do, but he prayed and asked for guidance because it was more important for him to do what The Lord God wanted him to do.  We can learn a lot from David.  All of our actions should be preceded by prayer.  “In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:6)  We should pray before we act, and also before we speak.  We should pray to God about everything.  “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)  We should make sure that our lives and actions are in line with the will of God.

A BELIEVER'S PRAYER FOR MERCY AND FORGIVENESS

Proclamation:

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions.  Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.  For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.  Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight; so You are right in Your verdict and justified when You judge.”  Psalm 51:1-4 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by King David under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God after the prophet Nathan came to him after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba, who was Uriah’s wife. (2 Samuel 11:1-12:24)  David admitted and confessed his sins to The Lord and asked to be forgiven.  He knew that his sin was a sin against God.  He asked The Lord God to have mercy upon him and cleanse him from his sins.

Application:

This psalm is a prayer which all believers should pray.  When we sin we may do wrong against our fellow man but ultimately our sin is against God by neglect, disobedience, or contempt for His commandments.  Even when we think that we have sinned in private, it is still done in the presence of God, who is always with us and sees all that we do. (2 Samuel 3:25)  We need to humbly pray to The Lord God and honestly confess our sins, and sincerely ask Him to be forgiven. (2 Chronicles 7:14 and 1 John 1:9) 

DO NOT REBUKE ME IN YOUR ANGER

Proclamation:

“Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath … My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear … I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin … Those who repay my good with evil lodge accusations against me, though I seek only to do what is good ... Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior.”  Psalm 38:1, 4, 18, 20, and 22 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  It is believed that David was suffering under the weight of his sin with Bathsheba and the persecution he felt from his son Absalom and King Saul, whom he had done no wrong.  The desertion of family and friends adds to his suffering. (Psalm 38:11)  Here David expresses in detail his physical and mental suffering from his situations but states that he will hope, trust, and wait on The Lord to answer his petitions. (Psalm 38:15)  He ends this psalm by praying that The Lord will not forsake him but will come quickly to help him. (Psalm 38:21-22)

Application:

Like David, we know that we have sinned and that some of our suffering we have brought upon ourselves.  We know that we deserve God’s punishment but we want His mercy.  If He is going to punish us, then we do not want Him to do it when He is angry with us.  We cannot handle the wrath of God.  There are times when people want to harm us and we have not done any wrong to them. (Psalm 38:12 and 19)  This may be part of our punishment or it may just be a test of our faith.  Either way, all we can do is pray, confess our sins, ask to be forgiven, and wait upon The Lord. 

PRAY THIS PRAYER FOR YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS

Proclamation:

"May The LORD answer you when you are in distress; may ... God ... protect you.  May He send you help ... and grant you support.  May He remember all your sacrifices and accept your ... offerings.  May He give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed."  Psalms 20:1-4 (NIV)

Explanation:

This psalm was written by King David under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  This psalm of David was a prayer which was usually sung before a battle.  Those who were facing difficult times wanted God to answer their prayers of distress, to protect them, to help and support them.  They wanted God to remember their past sacrifices and to allow their present plans to succeed.

Application:

This prayer seem appropriate for us today for we want the same things.  We want God to hear us, to protect us, and help us.  We want Him to remember the good that we have done.  We also want Him to grant us the desires of our heart.  We want these things not only for ourselves but also for our loved ones.   Even if our only battle is with the devil and his demons, or with our trials, tribulations, and temptations, prayer is our most powerful weapon and we should use it more often.  We should pray this prayer for ourselves and for our family and friends.

A PRAYER OF CLEANSING

Proclamation:

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions.  Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.  For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.  Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight; … Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:1-4 and 10 (NIV)

Explanation:

This psalm is a prayer of King David, written under the inspiration of The Holy Spirit of God.  After he had slept with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, David ordered him to be put in a position to be killed so that he could have her for himself. (2 Samuel 11:1-27)  David knew that he had sinned and he asked God to cleanse him of his sins. (Psalm 51:2)  He also asked God to purge him, clean him, wash him, (Psalm 51:7) and to blot out all of his iniquities. (Psalm 51:9)  David wanted God to give him a clean heart and a right spirit. (Psalm 51:10)  He also wanted God to restore the joy of his salvation. (Psalm 51:12)  Then he asked God to control his words so that he could give God praise. (Psalm 51:15)

Application:

Most of the sins that we commit are conscious decisions on our part and we know that what we are doing is wrong.  Most believers feel bad or guilty after committing a sin as if doing so robs us of the joy of our salvation.  We need to pray and ask The Lord God to have mercy on us and to forgive us.  We need for Him to cleanse us, to wipe away our sins and transgressions, and to create within us a clean heart and mind.  We also need His help to stay on the straight and narrow path that is His way.  We need to pray that He would order our steps, guide our tongues, and direct out thoughts so that our lives will be a good Christian example for others to see and so that we can all praise His name.

A PRAYER OF CLEANSING

Proclamation:

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions.  Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” Psalms 51:1-2 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of King David and the prayer that he prayed after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba, and had her husband Uriah killed, and after the prophet Nathan had confronted him and told him of his sin. (2 Samuel 12:1-13)

Application:

David was a man after God’s own heart, not because he didn’t sin, but because he confessed his sins and asked to be forgiven and then walked uprightly in the ways of The Lord.  Psalm 51 is David’s prayer of cleansing.  It is a prayer that we should model our prayer after.  We should pray and ask God to have mercy on us.  We should ask Him to cleanse us of our sins.  We should acknowledge that we know that we have sinned and that all sin is a sin against God. (Psalms 51:3-4)  We should also ask God to create within us a clean heart and to renew a right spirit within us. (Psalms 51:10)  We should ask God to restore unto us the joy of our salvation. (Psalms 51:12)  Then we should ask Him to open our lips and guide our tongue so that we may praise His holy name. (Psalms 51:15)  Since we are all sinners, (Romans 3:23) a similar prayer, if not this exact one, would be appropriate for each one of us.

Pray For Those Who Make Foolish Mistakes

"Then David said to God, 'I have sinned greatly by doing this.  Now, I beg You, take away the guilt of Your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.' "  ! Chronicles 21:8 (NIV)

King David, the great King of Israel, the man after God's own heart, (Acts 13:22) was also a sinner, and he made foolish mistakes.  According to the words recorded by Ezra, the priest, after The Lord God had granted David numerous victories of war, before his next battle with the Philistines, David ordered that a census be taken to number his troops.  Instead of praying to God for assistance, David was enticed by Satan to rely on the strength of his army. (1 Chronicles 21:1)  God was displeased and punished David for this. (1 Chronicles 21:11-17)

We need to be ever mindful of the fact that we can do nothing without God.  With His help, all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26 and Mark 10:27)   Without Him, we are, and we can do nothing. (John 1:1-4)  We all commit sinful acts. (Romans 3:23)  However, we also sin when we take pride in, and take credit for something which The Lord God has done. (Psalms 10:4 and Proverbs 8:13)  We make foolish mistakes when we take credit, or give credit to some thing or some one for that which He has done, as David did.  Believers know that God exists, only a fool would say that there is no God. (Psalms 53:1)  When we do not give Him the praise, honor, and glory that He deserves, we are making a very foolish mistake.  We need to pray for those of us who make foolish mistakes. 

How Often Do We Praise God?

"Seven times a day I praise You for Your righteous laws."  Psalms 119:164 (NIV)

In one of the "utterances" of prayer recorded by King David in this psalm, he said that he praised God seven times each day.

There is some debate among the Bible scholars as to whether David actually praised God seven times a day, or whether the phrase "seven times" was a reference to perfection and completeness, suggesting an attitude of continual praise. (John MacArthur)  Whether it is literal or figurative, such a term expresses great gratitude to God for His Word. (Finis Dake)  The number "seven" may have been, or probably was a figure representing "many times." (C John Collins)  The phrase "seven times" clearly meant "very frequently." (Matthew Henry)  Most of us pray, at most, five times a day, before meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner), when we wake up, and just before bedtime.  Is five times each day enough praise?  Maybe our lives would be better off if we spent more time praising God.  Maybe we should make it a point to praise God at least seven times each day, and not just on Sunday.

One Of David's Prayers That We Should Recite

"Show me Your ways, O LORD, teach me Your paths;  guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.  Remember, O LORD, Your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to Your love remember me, for You are good, O LORD."  Psalms 25:4-7 (NIV)

King David was a sinner, and he knew that he was a sinner.  However, he confessed his sins, he asked for forgiveness and mercy, and he asked for God's help and guidance to do better.

David prayed, and he prayed often.  We could learn a lot from David.  We should learn some of his prayers, and commit them to memory so that we could recite them as easily as we do The Model Prayer which Jesus taught His disciples.  This is one such prayer.  It acknowledges our sins, it asks for mercy and forgiveness; and it asks for God to show us His ways, to teach us, and to guide us.  Without Him, we would be lost.  So, pray, and pray often.  Let us remember to thank God for what He has done and is doing, and for what He will do.  Let us ask Him to help us to sin less, to follow His Way, to read His Word, and to be more Christ-like in the future.  Not just during this holy day season, but to be more Christ-like throughout this upcoming year and for the rest of our lives.