David's Prayer Life

Today I was reading Psalms and felt God speaking to me.  I have always loved the prayers of David.  His honesty and heart-wrenching cries move me.  Because let’s get real; I’m a guy and I do not like admitting when I’m having a hard time.  Whether it be I’m having a hard time being joyful, a hard time physically making it through the day, or even having a hard time living like God is important to me.  When I struggle, I want to bottle it up and fake it.  I want to press on in my stubbornness and lock down my feelings.  Sure, I might be miserable, but nobody else needs to know just how miserable…right?

I have always wondered why God considered David “a man after His own heart”.  And I still do.  But I think I am beginning to understand why.  We all know it’s not because David was perfect.  David did some really stupid stuff!  And at the end of his life, he was reaping the consequences of his poor choices.  So what made David so set apart?  I believe it was his realness.  David had no reservations about being honest with God.  David praised the Lord in times of prosperity as well as times of doubt and fear.  And when David felt fearful, he cried out to God to deliver him and guard him against his enemies!  He was not afraid to plead for God to move on his behalf.  And he was willing to praise Him for who He is and what He was doing in David’s life.

When I examine my own prayer life, I recognize a plastic, even empty and routine, methodology behind my words.  When I ask God to do something, am I really asking Him to move on my behalf?  Am I really expecting a response?  Or am I going through motions?  David was convinced that God heard his prayers and that God was going to do something!  David was close to the Lord’s heart, not because he was more special than the rest of us, but because He believed God is who He says He is. 

God is teaching me something about my heart.  He is teaching me that I have a lot of knowledge, but not as much trust.  He is teaching me that I am familiar with the kind of words to say, but I lack the bold faith to declare them sincerely.  I know the church game very well.  I can fake it with the best of them and I can pray prayers that sound righteous…but where is my heart?  Where is my belief?

The Psalms of David are revolutionary for me.  I want to pray like David prayed.  I want to seek the face of God and see His hand in my life.  I want to chase down His heart and declare His victories in my life without shame.  David had something I lack and I am beginning a journey in discovering the kind of audacious prayer life that David had.

I am starting to focus in on the different kinds of prayers that David had throughout the book of Psalms.  I will be studying them and sharing my thoughts on them in future posts.  I encourage you to read through the Psalms along with me!