Daily Devotion With Pastor Dan – September 24th, 2020
Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation. Give heed to the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for to You I will pray. My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up (Psalm 5:1-3).
This morning let’s see what the Scriptures tell us about David’s prayer life – and what we can gain in its application. Notice, David’s repetitive request for God’s help, give ear . . . consider . . . give heed. David longs for an audience with God. Maybe you woke up this morning with the same desire. Because prayer should be more than reciting a phrase, or repeating someone else’s word, prayer cries out to God, expecting Him to hear us and answer us. Let’s notice how David begins this Psalm.
David doesn’t waste his words, instead, he is determined to have his prayer reach God. “Give attention to my words (hear me when I pray), consider my meditation (my groaning, that which is from my deepest parts). I’m encouraged that the Holy Spirit even groans for us when we pray (Romans 8:26). Give heed to the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for to You I will pray.
Prayer is not unheard conversation with an unknown God, it is a personal conversation with the Living God. David knew that he was not talking to some acquaintance, but that he was talking to Almighty God. And he approached God with reverence and awe. How do you approach God? We should certainly come boldly as we approach God’s throne – but that is only because Jesus Christ is our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16). But do you go to the Lord with reverence and awe for Him when you pray? That is certainly something we can all work on for sure.
There is a time that David would come before the Lord. David says, “For to You I will pray. My voice You will hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up”. David prayed to God. This may sound elementary, but often we come to prayer so full of our request, that we never really focus on God Himself, or His presence with us. Don’t miss what David says about his habit of prayer (5:3), it’s good to have a set time to pray (Psalm 55:16-17) (Daniel 6:10) (Mark 1:35) (Luke 6:12-13). “In the morning I will direct it to You.” What did you do this morning when you woke up? The idea behind the word direct is not to aim, but to order, or to arrange. In this case David is specific, ordered in his prayers towards God. It is the word that is used for the laying in order the wood and sacrifice on the altar, and for the putting of the shewbread on the table. It means just this, “I will arrange my prayer before You, I will lay it out upon the altar in the morning, just as the priest lays out the morning sacrifice.
Here is a way to direct our prayer towards God
- A = ADORATION (praising God). A good example of this is found in ( 1 Chronicles 29:10-13). Spending time in sincere praise of God’s greatness will help put us in the proper spirit of humility.
2. C = CONFESSION (acknowledging our sins before God). When we understand how sin can break the fellowship we have with God we will be quick to confess to Him (1 John 1:7-9).
3. T = THANKSGIVING (gratitude). God’s people have every reason to be thankful, and to be known for abounding in thanksgiving.
4. S = SUPPLICATION (making requests of God). If we think of praying with the first three (adoration – confession – thanksgiving) our prayer will not be simply a spiritual shopping list (Philippians 4:6).
Jesus exhorted us to pray in secret (Matthew 6:5-6). Consider the value of secret prayer. It forms a close union, communion, and fellowship with God. It is just you and Him alone together. It is a true test of your sincerity and devotion towards Him because you certainly are not doing it to please men because they can’t see you. You can’t be trying to falsely impress God, He will see right through you
Let’s Pray!