“I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech. Shew thy marvelous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them. Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings” (KJV, Ps. 17:6-8).
“I have called upon thee”
Father, forgive me for not praying as I ought. You deserve more attention than I give You. Please forgive me. Allow me into Your presence and withhold not Your Spirit from me. I have called upon You many times before. However, like the manna in the wilderness came each day, I must return to You time and time again.
Teach me that I must never seek to live off yesterday’s manna for the manna that You provided was the grace for that day. So, today I pray that You give me fresh manna and show me the True Bread from heaven, Jesus Christ.
I cannot fully understand the privilege You have given me to call upon Your name each day. You have made Yourself known to me despite my sin. You have saved me despite my running. You have loved me despite my rebellion. Thank You, Lord.
“for thou wilt hear me”
I am thankful that You would be attentive to my prayers. You have given me Your ear and have answered me when I call. However, I see warnings in Your Word that I must humble myself before You if I want to be heard in prayer. I am told that if I cherish sin in my heart, You will not listen.
Sanctify me and help me to honor You in my life. Rid me of whatever would get in the way of a fruitful prayer life. I desire to be heard by You in prayer like David.
“O God”
Father, You are a majestic and holy God. Besides You, there is no other God. You alone reign supreme. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three persons in one God. You, Father, initiated salvation and set the plan in motion before the foundation of the earth.
Jesus submitted to Your will, took on flesh, died in my place, rose from the grave, ascended into heaven, and is now seated at Your right hand. The Holy Spirit is the One Who has given me newness of life through regeneration. I have been born of God and am now an ambassador for Christ.
You created the world out of nothing and have given me faith to understand. You uphold the universe by the word of Your power. You are a God Who is close rather than distant. You are involved in Your creation, not absent. You alone have made the way of salvation, not by works but by faith alone in Christ alone.
Father, You are worthy to be praised, worshipped, and adored. You are holy and seated upon the throne of heaven. You delight in forgiving the sinner who trusts in Christ and repents of his sin. Your ways are above my ways, and Your thoughts are above mine as well.
With You, one thousand years is but a day, and one day is as one thousand years. You dwell outside space and time; my mind cannot fathom such a reality.
“incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech”
Father, You are the One Who inhabits eternity and Whose name is holy. You dwell in a high and holy place. However, I pray that You would incline Your ear unto me and hear my prayer. I do not deserve to be heard. I do not deserve Your love. I have wronged You in many ways; any good that You give me is unmerited and, therefore, evidence of Your grace.
Please listen to me when I pray. Please look upon the work and person of Christ and answer me when I call. Take note of Your Son who dwells within and bestow Your favor upon me since Your Son has set His love upon me.
“Shew thy marvelous lovingkindness”
You are a God Who is full of lovingkindness. Your mercy knows no bounds for the Christian, and Your grace is priceless. Show me Your loving kindness. Reveal to me new facets of Jesus which I have not seen before. Draw me to Christ so that I might see the boundless grace laid up for me in the person of Jesus.
Take me beyond the words in the Bible and into a personal relationship with Christ. Remove from me a desire to be intellectual and without You. Show me where I fall short and empower me by Your Spirit to love Christ more.
“O thou that savest by thy right hand”
Your Word tells me that You save by Your right hand. When David wrote this, he did not know what I know. He did not have the teaching of the New Testament. However, You revealed to David the Lord Who sat at Your right hand. Through prophetic insight, He saw Jesus high and lifted up and seated at Your right hand.
But here, David tells me that You save at Your right hand. I am forced to think about the Savior seated next to You. David was correct in what He said. Jesus is my Savior, and You sent Your Son to the earth to deliver me from my sin. Thank You, Lord. Would you continue to reveal to me Your plan of salvation? Show me the Savior at Your right hand.
“them which put their trust in thee”
Father, I pray that You will increase my faith. Help me to grow in trusting You. In Hebrews chapter 11, I am told that faith is essential for me in living the Christian life. I am told that by faith comes understanding. Abel gave an offering by faith. Enoch entered into Your presence by faith.
Without faith, I will never be able to please You. Noah feared You through his faith. By faith, Abraham obeyed and lived as a pilgrim in this world.
I must learn that my whole Christian life is to be one of faith. You tell me that the righteous live by faith. Elsewhere, I am told the people of Galatia turned to works of the law. However, Paul informed them that they began their Christian walk by faith and were to continue by faith.
“from those that rise up against them”
I recognize that I am in a spiritual battle. The enemy desires to steal, kill, and destroy, but Christ came that I might have life abundantly. Show me what it means for Christ to fight for me. Teach me how to trust in Jesus to disarm the strong man. You have made a way for me to know You, and You have made a way for me to live victoriously in Christ Jesus.
“Keep me as the apple of the eye”
Protect me from the enemy. Keep me close and watch over me. I read about the spiritual armor and am told I must take up the various pieces. Equip me with the helmet of salvation and the shield of faith. Equip me with the Gospel of peace and the Sword of the Spirit. However, teach me never to trust in my strength or efforts.
So often, I take Your Word and battle with self-confidence like Peter. Peter knew Your Word but trusted in himself. Show me what it means to trust in You.
“hide me under the shadow of thy wings”
Here I see a vital portion of the Scripture at hand. While I am to fight in battles, I must first learn to hide in the shadow of Your wings. Many battles were fought in the Old Testament, but the Israelites only won those in which you were with them.
You are a mighty God, and You will fight for me. Jesus, You are the Vine and bring forth the fruit I never could. Help me to yield to You and grow in my dependence upon You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.