Our Prayers are So Much Better than King David’s
[1] Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning. [2] Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray. [3] O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch. [4] For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. [5] The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. [6] You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. [7] But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you. [8] Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me.
Psalm 5:1–8 ESV
If you could pray and change a culture, would you?
In this Psalm, David is praying through his own struggles to be good and his fear of his enemies. He knows that God hears him, so he prays and then waits for an answer. That is the “I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch” part. Before Jesus cleansed us from our sin and sent the Holy Spirit, God gave the Jewish people a way to hear from Him. Prepare a sacrifice, make an offering, and wait.
What would later happen on Good Friday would change that. Now, our sins are forgiven and there is a thrown of grace for those that believe in Christ. We can come boldly (Hebrews 4:16) to that throne of grace and receive mercy. We receive mercy not because God is sympathetic or easy, like when a parent who grounds a kid for 3 months and then relents after the first week. NO – God is merciful because He has sent Christ to be our sacrifice. The sacrifice has already been made, and now it’s time to watch.
The Lord’s steadfast love is transferred to us in this mercy, and then He leads us. Here David says “because of my enemies.” In the pure wisdom of God, He leads us through mercy even as a show to our enemies that He is merciful. Let us pray and ask God to lead us. Let us put our requests in front of Him, and watch Him lay out our paths in front of us.