“Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day.” Psalm 25:4,5
It is in the Psalms written by David that we discover the very practical seeking of God concerning clarity and conviction of guidance from God. David is not one to leave an opportunity to know God without pursuing it. Nor is he one to be slack in specifically using the means that God has put at his disposition in finding, and proving that the Lord is true and faithful. In the matter of guidance, with needs all around him, and within his own heart, with enemies that desire his destruction and a people who are looking to God through him to lead them, David has come to know that there is but ONE who can meet the needs of his heart with regard to guidance in every domain and application in his life. It is for this reason that the priority of his life is expressed in Psalm 27:4 where he writes: “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.” David learned very well the lesson so clearly declared by the Lord Jesus when facing Satan’s attempts to tempt Him to sin in the wilderness: “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.” (Matt. 4:10) The worship of God was first and foremost in David’s life. This was his objective, and it was key to all else, for in the worship of God by the Spirit, with the knowledge of the truth that God had given to him, God remained the sole object of his trust, his faith clearly being centered and focused on Him by the increasing vision, and perception that he had of Him. It was as David worshipped Christ, that Christ revealed Himself to his heart and soul, ever becoming the greatest reality in his life. David learned early, as well as Daniel when he was a captive in Babylon during the deportation, that worship was first in one’s obligation to God, for by it, God can in the quiet place reveal Himself to the heart. This is why the Lord Jesus, in speaking of prayer would speak of coming aside to be alone with God, in that place where the door has been shut upon all distractions and preoccupations, there to “behold the beauty of the Lord,” and inquire in His temple.
With regard to guidance, David had proven the fact that God does sovereignly guide, but also, that His servants can petition Him, seek Him, for clear guidance. This is why David in Psalm 32, would write the Lord’s words to him: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.” (v.8) As David would worship God, as well as Daniel, God would lead them in prayer, revealing to them that for which they should pray. David clearly indicates this when he writes of “inquiring” of the Lord in that place of worship. David’s faith was not an “arm-chair” faith, which is passive. He had the understanding that if God had called and anointed him to be king, God would certainly reveal Himself to him and then answer his prayers with regard to all that would come his way. But what was the key in prayer that would unlock the life of effective prayer and intercession? It had to do with the words of the Lord Jesus, “If any man is willing to do His (God’s) will, he shall know.” (Jn. 7:17) David was committed to doing the will of God when he came to worship, and to receive guidance.
God would answer David’s prayer, for it coincided with His will in the heart of one who would DO His will. “Show…Teach…Lead me.” God is faithful.
Dear Father, Lead on O King. In Jesus’ name, Amen.