Have you ever prayed for guidance?  This is Psalm 25.  Here we see David approaching God with the familiar deliverance theme of his previous and future psalms.  David is praying for God to deliver him from his enemies, but he fully understands he has also been his own worst enemy, asking God to deliver and forgive him from rebellious and sinful patterns of his youth.  Through this, we see that others can be the problem at times, and at other times, it is our sinfulness that is the problem.  Not only does David need to respond righteously to his adversaries, responding wrongly to them can cause even more problems in his life.  David knows his weakness he faced in the past, the damage and consequences they’ve caused in his walk with the Lord, and his desire not to repeat his sinful history nor allow those consequences to continue to shape his future. 

Like David, we should start with, “In You, Lord my God, I put my trust” (v. 1).  This is not primarily or exclusively because when we have enemies or sinful tendencies lurking to cause us to stumble, but because we so desire to be more intimate with the Lord.  Our trust is in Him is not just for when we think we need deliverance, it is because we genuinely want the Lord to “show me your ways and teach me your paths” (v. 4).  Our desire should be to want Him, not just what we can get from Him when we realize we have a need.  We must realize we are always in need of His presence, not just His presents.  David reminds us how much we need Him for truth and hope (v. 5), mercy and love (v. 6), and love and forgiveness (v. 7).  We need Him Who is truth, hope, mercy, love, and forgiving way before we realize we need them.  These attributes and benefits of the Lord are not just for the situational and seasonal but should be foundational and relational.

It is for His glory, His sake (v. 11), that we seek forgiveness and anything else from Him.  This whole psalm is one of prayer unto relationship with Him and not just prayer for blessings from Him.  He absolutely guides, delivers, and forgives, but we must be careful to not disregard or discard Him when we do not think we need guidance, deliverance, and forgiveness anymore.  We are in constant need of these.  That is why I think David is asking for these in a general manner and not pointing them at a specific sin, situation, or adversary as he has in other psalms.  I think David is saying we need God’s guidance in every situation, deliverance in every adversary, and forgiveness in every sin, not just those we deem “out of our control”.  We need God more than just in our perceived moments of despair.  We need to have the heart of David so our “eyes are ever on the Lord” (v. 15).  The Lord alone can help us with any loneliness and affliction (v. 16), anguish and heartache (v. 17), distress and sin (v. 18).  There is no enemy we face He cannot conquer (v. 19).  Our prayer is not for God to just help and rescue me in part of my life but “guard my entire life and rescue all of me” (v. 20).  Our refuge (v. 20) and  hope (v. 21) is in the Lord!  He can deliver from everything because He is the Deliverer (v. 22)!  Guidance, protection, deliverance, and forgiveness are not just actions He performs, they are characteristics that He has always been, is, and always will be!

Questions:

1. Do you seek the Lord more for specific needs or at all times?
2. While there may be a heightened seeking of the Lord in troubled times, how do you best go about seeking Him at all times?
3. While we seek Him at all times, what is specifically heightened in your life right now that you should take to Him?

Prayer:

Lord, help me to be poor in spirit and know I am spiritually bankrupt without You at all times.  Help me develop a lifestyle of dependency and desperation for You.  I desire You in relationship and foundation for living.  I am thankful that comes with guidance, deliverance, protection, and forgiveness.  May I be about the sake of Your name (v. 11) and every have my eyes on You (v. 15).  In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Categories: Uncategorized

stephenrharrison

Stephen and his wife Haley have called Arkansas home all of their lives. Stephen has served in several ministry roles over the last 25 years and as a lead pastor for the last 8 years. Stephen attended Williams Baptist College and earned a BA in Biblical Studies from Ouachita Baptist University, an MA, MDiv, and DMin in Christian Leadership and Pastoral Ministries from Liberty University. When not pastoring, Stephen enjoys running, cycling, reading, writing, camping, fishing, and spending time with his family.