Look at all that David, the psalmist, is asking for God to help him with. Almost every verse contains the thought of “me” or “my” as he is asking God for help. Not in some selfish way but in his desire to please God, he is realizing his own shortcomings and where he needs improvement towards God. Let’s run down some of his list and see if some of these same things should be on our list as well.
1. “Teach me” (submissive spirit) – He desires to be taught by God. He wants to know how God wants him to live. His understanding is that there is a way to walk and he desires to follow that way. His goal then is to live according to God’s statutes for the rest of his life (v. 33). What a wonderful thought for us today…God, teach us and once you do, we will be committed to your teachings as long as we are on this earth.
2. “Give me understanding” – This implies that he was lacking something. The Psalmist needs understanding and he is not asking for knowledge for its own sake. There is also the comprehension that unless God was the one teaching him, his struggle to understand would be endless. Once he has gained this understanding from God, he will then respond in obedience to God’s Word. This obedience will go far beyond an outward compliance but will encompass his whole being. Even today, God gives us understanding and wisdom as we read, hear, and obey His word (v. 34). God desires believers who are more than just shopkeepers’ bright window dressings. He desires an obedience that completely envelopes the believer.
3. “Lead me” – Consider that the psalmist is asking for help to walk the correct path. When a person asks for a guide, he/she is giving up some of their own liberty/authority. This person will now go where the guide points to rather than following his own path. The psalmist wants to walk in the right way and more than that, he wants to want to walk in God’s ways. His delight is to walk in the way of God’s commands. He does not express it as a heartless duty (v. 35). What a blessed path that a believer can walk as he treads in the way that God desires of him! Am I willing to give up control of my own life and truly rely on God’s direction to lead me?
4. “Incline my heart” – The psalmist identifies that his heart can go two different directions. He is asking for God to keep his heart focused on the things of God. The psalmist understands that his human heart, if left to itself, does not desire the things of God, so he needs God’s help. The other direction is one of “selfish gain” or dishonest profit. This type of attitude is condemned in passages such as Isaiah 56:11, “The dogs have a mighty appetite; they never have enough. But they are shepherds who have no understanding; they have all turned to their own way, each to his own gain, one and all” (ESV). Also Jeremiah 6:13, “For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely” (ESV). During this time in history, is your heart being drawn towards God? Ask God for His help to refocus you.
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Sent out to all who attend Grace Bible Church by Pastor Ted Bigelow, Pastor of Preaching and Development and Pastor Steve Ridge, Executive Pastor.
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