What to Pray for...
READ: Psalm 19:12-14
What do you usually pray for? Do you pray for good health? For good weather? Or perhaps you pray for good grades, team wins, fun and safety with your friends, and the like. Certainly, these are all great things to pray for, and should be prayed for. God likes to hear from his children, and promises to give whatever they ask for according to his will.
What does David pray for in this Psalm? Notice that he doesn’t pray for physical blessings. There’s nothing wrong with praying for physical blessings, and David certainly prayed for his share of those, particularly for the defeat of his earthly enemies. But David demonstrates at the end of this Psalm the importance of praying for spiritual blessings as well. The threats to our faith by the sinful nature and the devil are very real, very dangerous, and impossible to win on our own. David knew that. In Psalm 51 David laments, “Surely I was sinful from birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” Paul expounds on the struggle with sin in Romans 7 where he says, “So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.”
David acknowledged and experienced this same struggle, as every Christian does. That struggle is between our two natures: the New Man and the Old Adam (saint vs. sinner). And so, David prayed for forgiveness for his hidden faults (those sins he wasn't not even aware of), as well as strength to fight willfully sinning (those sins he was aware he was tempted to commit). And God delivers on such a prayer! Paul concludes Romans 7 with this, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” In Jesus, we have full and free forgiveness, for he promises, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). God also promises, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13) What a loving, gracious God we have – he protects us when tempted and forgives us when we stumble.
But that doesn’t mean we can sin whenever we want, and David knew that, too. Thus he concludes this Psalm by asking God for words and thoughts that are pleasing to God. What a wonderful example by David of the kinds of spiritual blessings we are to pray for! As you ponder this Psalm, consider making these three verses a part of your daily prayer life…
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT: What truth about our sinful nature does verse 12 point out? What truth about God’s grace does verse 12 point out?
THINGS TO PRAY ABOUT: Ask God for the very same things David did – forgiveness for hidden faults, help in fighting temptation, and thoughts and words that glorify Jesus.