For the full context of this post read Psalm 5.
I have concluded that the Psalmist David was either a) a highly emotional kind of guy, or b) had way too much drama in his life. My guess is it was a combination of both! Psalm 5 records David crying out to God for help, describing all of the bad things that others have done, and then concluding with a blessing. Here are a few other details to note from David’s prayer.
3 In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait expectantly.
(Psalm 5:3, NIV)
David begins his prayer in the morning. Although it is a good habit to connect with God in the morning, that is not the key point I take from this Psalm. I believe that David begins his morning crying out to God because of his life’s circumstances. Emotional or drama filled, David is in distress. He went to bed distressed. He woke up distressed. We’ve all experienced moments of distress in our life in which all we could think about was our current situation. In those moments we go to bed thinking about our situation and we wake up thinking about our situation. David went to bed in distress and woke up to discover that life’s circumstances had not changed and he cried out to God waiting for God to do something.
In David’s plea for God to do something, he reminds God of all of the bad things that are happening to him. He points out all of the faults of those who oppose him. He wants God to take away all of the bad things because God hates bad things. We’ve all experienced moments like this too. In the midst of bad circumstances, it is easy to tell God all of the bad things and expect him to take them away.
David pivots his prayer.
8 Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness
because of my enemies—
make your way straight before me.
12 Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous;
you surround them with your favor as with a shield.
(Psalm 5: 8 and 12, NIV)
This is the prayer that I want to be able to pray. Rather than telling God all of the bad things that he should do something about, I want to be able to pivot my prayers. When circumstances are so bad that I go to bed thinking about them and I wake up thinking about them, I want to be able to say, “Lord, lead me in your righteousness.” I can’t control the bad around me. I can’t force God’s hand to do what I want him to do in those situations. I can pray, “God, change me. During this circumstance lead me in your righteousness.” It’s a hard prayer to pray but if I can keep my focus on following God’s righteousness, I won’t go to bed distressed and wake up distressed. I won’t need to tell God all of the bad things that are around me. Instead, I can be assured that God’s favor surrounds me like a shield. I need only to walk in his righteousness, and he will take care of the rest.
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