A BOLD PRAYER
Psalms 25:4-5 NKJV
4 Show me Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day.
There is a difference between bold and arrogant. Bold is a confidence built on truth. Arrogant is a false confidence. The more we know of the Lord and His character the bolder we become. Boldness does not displace humility. Humility recognizes that boldness is not based on who we are but rather on who God is.
I labeled our verses for today a bold prayer because it is asking big. But the asking big is not for a blessing or any material thing. This asking is not even for help getting out of trouble. David already asked for help in verses one through three. Our verses today make a bold prayer because the desire is to know more of God and His ways.
Show me Your ways, O Lord. This is a great prayer, a great ask. We already know our own ways; we want the Lord to show us His ways. His ways as they pertain to our life. His ways that are better and higher than our ways. His ways that produce good things and not bad. We want to know His ways.
Teach me Your paths. The boldness here is asking about the Lord’s paths that may differ from our own. His path for our life is better and higher and not as obvious. If the Lord’s path was blatantly obvious, we wouldn’t have to ask. But God answers the cry of a hungry heart. David’s prayer in these two verses reveals the heart of a man who has a dependency on the Lord and hungers not just for God’s help but hungers for God.
Lead me in Your way and teach me. David is not casual about his relationship with the Lord. He wanted the Lord to lead him and teach him. David had learned to lean on the Lord from his early days watching sheep. And this dependency carried through to his years running from Saul and the challenges of being king. Whenever we think we have everything handled, we do not tend to seek God wholeheartedly. It’s when trouble breaks out that we shake ourselves and get serious. So, what if we became bold and serious before trouble comes?
You are the God of my salvation; on You, I wait all the day. David knew where his help came from, and he acknowledged this in his prayer. What a good way to close out this bold prayer. Father, You are the God of my salvation because I could not save myself. I am looking to You and waiting on You.