Marty Wuollet | The Voice of Zion February 2024 - The Sabbath Word 4 Article --
Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me. Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause. Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O Lord. Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he teach sinners in the way. The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies. – Psalm 25:1–10
Prayer has been part of the child of God’s life from the beginning. Throughout Scripture, many prayers and supplications have been recorded and they still sound relevant in our time. Perhaps this reinforces the idea that though the times and world have changed our human nature and place before God has not.
David was likely going through a difficult time when he wrote this psalm. Many of David’s struggles are written about in Scripture, though we don’t know exactly what his trial was when he wrote this. He does, however, sound like he’s exhausted his strength and ability to deal with the concerns that he’s having. He then prays to God in faith, believing God not only can but will answer in love and truth, and restore his soul to peace through God’s mercy. As James reminds, “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering” (1:6).
From the Heart of a Child
David’s prayer is personal, from him to God. From a child of God to the God who provides for the needs of his body and soul. Only onto God does he “lift up” his soul, or bear or expose the anguish of his soul. He confesses his trust and personal belief in “my God” showing ownership in the place as God’s child on the endeavor to heaven. And as a child he pours out his heart asking for strength to face his enemies, so he can confess his faith freely. He doesn’t want to be an offense unto God and has a reverent fear of God. Therefore, he asks God to show him and teach him, to lead him in the right way, the way of truth.
In asking for guidance, he also feels his own unworthiness and begs God to remember the mercy that God had already bestowed on him. And remember not the sins of old, perhaps for the fear that now he may be left alone before the enemy because of the sins of his youth. Lastly he reflects again on the goodness of God toward pardoned sinners who humbly continue to live of God’s mercy and grace.
We Fight the Same Battles
David’s prayer sounds like it could have been the prayer of one of us today. We fight the same battle with the enemy of souls, even our own flesh. When confronted by this world, has it been easy for you to confess your faith? Have you felt ashamed to be a child of God before the eyes of the world? Does the evil of this world look like an unbeatable enemy? God wants us to pray, to turn to Him when our own fears and doubts prevail. He is your heavenly Father, your God who has promised to hear the prayers of His own. “This is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: and if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him” (1 John 5:14,15).
In our prayers we ask for God’s guidance and teaching. We ask for strength to fight the enemy in our time and strength to do that which is right. We ask that God would reveal His righteousness unto this world that they would be ashamed for their own transgressions. Even though we are sinful we still thank God for His abundant mercy He has had for each of us, and much like David, the memories of our own sinfulness even bring doubts that God will care for us again. But by faith, even weak faith, we humbly plead and believe that God can and will answer our prayers.
We Don’t Need to Know All the Answers
Through Jesus, God gave us the gospel for the life and sustenance of our undying soul, so we could be freed from the anguish and torment that comes upon us as we travel to heaven. The gospel is also the spiritual food we need for living faith. When we believe like a little child, we can trust that God knows us by name, and cares for each one of us in our own place here on earth. We don’t know how God’s salvation plan for each of us will unfold, and many times our own understanding gets in the way and causes us to wonder and doubt as did David.
Just as David reached out to God in prayer, we also have this blessing to unload our worries and fears to God in prayer. It allows us to “give up” or turn over the responsibility of knowing the right answer to all our questions. We ask that God would continue to lead and guide through His spirit and give us a heart to simply trust and believe, so we could make it to that promised home in heaven.