July 2 - “Me” Prayers or “You” Prayers

As King David continues his prayer to God, he recognizes his spiritual condition: his spirit fails within him. When we are weak spiritually, we are often powerless and without any motivation to live. Our connection with the divine has been lost and we cannot hear God’s voice nor sense His presence. This is when we realize that our spirit is failing and something needs to be done. King David resets his priorities and comes before the Lord when he feels weak and feeble. Here are some of his requests that we may learn from.

For God to move His hand on him, David has to take the initiative. God’s salvation is never automatic but at the request of His people. David wants to hear the steadfast love of the Lord early in the morning. When we get up in gloominess, the voice of God is always a reassurance of His steadfast love. Without that, our days would end up in doom and gloom. Then he declares of his trust in the Lord and he lifts up his soul to Him. He flees to the Lord for refuge from his enemies. The Lord is his God and his only hope. He will do it for him for he is His servant.

After these declarations, David asks the Lord to do something for him. The answer from the Lord always are pending on our faith in Him. The greater the faith, the greater will be the works of the Lord in our lives. Before asking anything of the Lord, we need to declare who God is to us first. The requests of David includes asking for God’s presence, to make known to him the way he should go, to deliver him from his enemies, to teach him to do God’s will and to ask God’s good Spirit to lead him on level ground. He further asks God to preserve his life and bring his soul out of trouble.

It is a good way to pray the “You” prayers first. The “You” prayers are prayers and declarations of who God is. Our faith can be greatly strengthened when we ask for God’s help if we praise Him first. We can praise Him for who He is and what He can do and have done. Do not just do the “me” prayers first, asking for this and that without magnifying God first. Listen to the prayers of the saints and you can know of this secret: the “You” prayers always go before the “me” prayers. Even in our deepest distress and trouble, it is not about us but about God and what He can do. If we just focus on our own needs, we can easily forget the One we are praying to.

Are you in any kind of trouble? Is your spirit failing? Can you tell the difference between being fully alive spiritually and not very alive spiritually? Is God present in your life in a big way or you seldom feel His presence? Are you living on your own or is God walking with you? Are you doing too much of the “me” prayers and neglecting the “You” prayers? Begin now to praise Him, hold on to the requests till later.