Psalm 86:1-17
Teach Me Your Way
1A prayer of David. Incline Your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.
2Preserve my soul, for I am godly. You are my God; save Your servant who trusts in You.
3Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I call to You all day long.
4Bring joy to Your servant, for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
5For You, O Lord, are kind and forgiving, rich in loving devotion to all who call on You.
6Hear my prayer, O LORD, and attend to my plea for mercy.
7In the day of my distress I call on You, because You answer me.
8O Lord, there is none like You among the gods, nor any works like Yours.
9All the nations You have made will come and bow before You, O Lord, and they will glorify Your name.
10For You are great and perform wonders; You alone are God.
11Teach me Your way, O LORD, that I may walk in Your truth. Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name.
12I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify Your name forever.
13For great is Your loving devotion to me; You have delivered me from the depths of Sheol.
14The arrogant rise against me, O God; a band of ruthless men seeks my life; they have no regard for You.
15But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness.
16Turn to me and have mercy; grant Your strength to Your servant; save the son of Your maidservant.
17Show me a sign of Your goodness, that my enemies may see and be ashamed; for You, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.
Berean Standard Bible
David calls himself poor and needy and asks God to listen, preserve, and show mercy. He lifts his soul because God is good, ready to forgive, and abundant in loving devotion to all who call on Him. The prayer is needy without being ashamed of need.
There is no god like the LORD, and the nations will come to worship because He alone is great and does wonderful things. David asks God to teach him His way so that he can walk in truth with an undivided heart.
Enemies rise against him, but God is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness. David asks for a sign of God's favor so his enemies will be put to shame. The requested sign is not vanity; it is public evidence that God has helped and comforted him.
Questions
1 How does David describe himself?
AnswerHe describes himself as poor and needy and asks God to preserve him.
2 What is God ready to do?
AnswerGod is ready to forgive and is abundant in loving devotion toward those who call on Him.
3 What does David ask to be taught?
AnswerHe asks to be taught God's way so he can walk in truth with an undivided heart.
4 What does David ask for at the end?
AnswerHe asks for a sign of God's favor that will show his enemies the LORD has helped and comforted him.
What This Means for Us
Need is not a moral embarrassment before God. Bring it plainly, then ask not only for relief but for an undivided heart that can walk in truth.
God's patience should shape our household's response to weakness. Forgiveness is not permissiveness, but neither is it humiliation as a condition of receiving help.
Prayer
Compassionate God, hear people who are poor and needy in body or spirit. Teach us Your way, unite our hearts in truth, and make Your patience visible in how we forgive and help one another. Amen.