Our Desires Revealed In Prayer
Psalms For The Bride
Psalm 5
If we will pause and consider our prayers they will reveal the desires of our heart. Not an earthshaking statement but one that bares some reflection on our part. Here in Psalm 5 I want to focus on several key verses that tell us a lot about our prayers; the honesty of our prayers.
Our Words Are Our Channel of Prayer
Ps 5:1a Give ear to my words…
Previously we saw David lay down and go to sleep in peace. Here in the morning he cries out to God to “give ear” to his words. He knows that God desires to hear his words, his thoughts, his concerns, his desires. I think it’s reasonable to understand that David is recalling the words of God’s promises, which he had been pleading the night before. If we pray fervently and in faith we have every reason to know that God hears us and will take notice of our desires
Meditation is the Source of Prayer
Ps 5:1b …O Lord, consider my meditation.
The word David uses for meditation (hagigi) as used here means “groaning.” David desires God to consider (bina; diligently discern, perceive, understand) his groaning. Unlike many today, David didn’t rush into his morning devotions unprepared. He understood what it means to come before God’s throne “boldly” (Heb 4:16), because he knew that God knows our hearts and our every need.
Our Cry is The Force of Prayer
Ps 5:2 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.
Perhaps David remembered how God heard the prayers of Israel in the Exodus:
Ex 3:7 And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
David’s prayer was the voice of his cry; it was the force behind his prayer. His were the effectual fervent (mighty) prayers of a righteous man that availeth (strong and prevailing) much (Jas 5:16). God wants passion in our prayers.
The Decisions of Prayer
Ps 5:3,7 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. 7 But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.
David’s first decision was to seek God in the morning. That is our duty to God, to meet with Him before we begin our day. That’s when we are the freshest and least encumbered by the cares of this world. It’s also the time that we have the most need of prayer as we prepare to face the day’s challenges.
Secondly, David directed his prayers toward God; he looked up—expecting. The Hebrew here refers to the concentration one employs in directing his arrow to the target. His mind was fixed and steady on the target, nothing else entered his sight. He expected to hit the center of the target.
And Thirdly, David offered up his prayers in fear; he worshiped in awe and reverence of God’s majesty. He depended upon God’s mercy, he confided in it as he approached God. It is only the mercy of God that opens the door to His throne room and allows us to come in. It’s His mercy that results in our worship that leads to our obedience.
How do we come before the Lord in prayer? Do we, like David, understand that our true desires are revealed in our prayers? Is the focus of our prayers God’s will for our life or our “desires for life?”
David understood not only the fear of God but the power of God in his life. He approached God and set forth his desires. He knew that he needed God’s guidance if he was ever going to put the kingdom back together again. He set forth his concern regarding his enemies but that wasn’t the focus of his prayer; his focus was Israel.
Ps 5:11-12 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee. 12 For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favor wilt thou compass him as with a shield.
David knew that God was his source for everything. We see that in many of his psalms, in which, while he may pour out his heart regarding his enemies, he ultimately comes back to the very thing that God was focused on; Israel.
Do our prayers focus on God’s desires; the lost of this world and His kingdom? Or are they focused on us and our desires? We need to remember that our prayers need to be for the “desires of our heart” that God instills.
Our words are the channel for those desires, our meditation—our groaning—is the source of those desires, our cry is the force behind those desires and our decision to lift them up to God, early in the morning in reverent worship, solidify those desires.
We need to listen to our prayers and determine what desires they really contain; our bridegroom’s or our own.