Some Prayer Requests from Psalm 25 for this November morning.

As I was reading Psalm 25 this morning, I was impressed by the number of prayer requests that David included in this psalm. So often when I pray, I do not pray for the kind of important spiritual requests like the ones David uses here. So, this morning, I'd like to share some of them with you with a few comments.

Let me not be ashamed --  What things shame us as Christians? Aren't they the things that in one way or another sin against God? Are they not the sins that get a hold of our lives? Perhaps David is praying that God would guard his actions so that he would not do those things that would bring shame on his testimony for God.

 

Show me your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. -- God's ways and God's paths are not the same as ours. God, help me understand the way you work and the path you take. Help me submit to your ways.

 

Lead me in your truth and teach me. -- We are slow to learn and we are easily sidetracked by falsehood. Here David is asking God to keep him on the path of truth and to teach him how to walk on that path. Is that not what we need also?

 

Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your loving kindness. -- Many prayers in the Bible remind God of who He is and what He has promised. It's not that God doesn't remember who He is, but it is a reminder to God that we know what He has said. It's an encouragement to our faith.

 

Do not remember the sins of my youth. For your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity for it is great. -- God has promised forgiveness of sin. This is the kind of God He is. Therefore it is right and biblical to go to Him with our sins and iniquities and to ask Him for forgiveness. As Christians, are forgiveness is granted because Jesus Christ bore the full penalty of our sins in His own body on the cross.

 

Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me, For I am desolate and afflicted. -- God is a God of mercy. It is one of His core characteristics. Therefore we can and should turn to Him to ask for mercy in the middle of difficult circumstances.

 

Consider my enemies for they are many. They hate me with cruel hatred. -- When I read the Psalms regarding enemies, I realize that I don't have human enemies the way David did. But I transfer the prayer request toward the spiritual enemies that we as Christians have. Satan and his minions hate us with a cruel hatred and they are constantly working for our downfall. 

Keep my soul and deliver me. -- With respect to the enemies just mentioned, then, we need to pray as David did for the keeping of our soul. 

Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you. -- It's important to have a life of integrity. These in and of themselves do not merit our salvation, but these characteristics do preserve us from many a downfall to which we might be vulnerable. In the meantime, we need to wait patiently on the Lord for His ultimate salvation.