Prayers for help and to become a better person

Psalm 148:1,2,5,7,8,10 (NASB)

Hear my prayer, O Lord, Give ear to my supplications! Answer me in Your faithfulness, in Your righteousness!  And do not enter into judgment with Your servant, For in Your sight no man living is righteous. I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your doings; I muse on the work of Your hands.  Answer me quickly, O Lord, my spirit fails; Do not hide Your face from me, Or I will become like those who go down to the pit.  Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; For I trust in You; Teach me the way in which I should walk; For to You I lift up my soul. Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

A dear friend in the midst of dealing with illness and suffering of her husband and daughter at the same time let me know how much Psalm 148 meant to her.  I wanted to explore its depths and learn more about what it says and means to those who are like my friend. 

David wrote both requests and affirmations.  I find 8 requests and 6 affirmations:

Requests

1.     Hear my prayer, give ear to my supplications, answer me

2.     Do not judge me, even though I am not righteous, no one is

3.     Answer me quickly as my spirit often fails

4.     Do not hide Your face from me as I quickly can be discouraged

5.     Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning

6.     Teach me the way in which I should walk

7.     Teach me to do Your will

8.     Let Your good spirit lead me

Affirmations

1.     God is faithful

2.     God is righteous

3.     I meditate on all God’s works

4.     I trust in You

5.     To you I lift up my soul

6.     You are my God

David experienced significant trials in his life as you can glean from reading most of the 78 psalms he wrote (the other 72 were written by a variety of authors that David collected along with his own).  He was a man after God’s own heart (I Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22), yet that didn’t prevent him from enduring many trials and suffering as much or more than the average person.

David’s requests fall into two categories---asking God to help him through his current problems and needs, but also asking God to help him become a better person.  David’s affirmations both describe the character of God and his own strong beliefs in and about God.  Note how heartfelt David’s requests were and how humble he was in asking God to make him a better person.

It is a key learning point from David’s prayer that when you are suffering through trials and troubles and have great needs for answered prayer, it is perfectly acceptable to demand answers as you cry out to God, but you also need to ask God to make you a better person through your trials and to affirm all that God means to you.  You cry out to God to help you and you also cry out for God Himself.  You seek both relief from God and a deeper relationship with God.

As you think about previous trials you have endured, how has your faith grown through those trials?  How can your faith grow more deeply in the trial you may be experiencing right now?  Use this psalm of David’s as your own prayer and personalize it to your own situation.  You will experience a much deeper intimacy with the Lord and you will most definitely experience His faithfulness.  May you feel God’s richest blessings. 

“Oh Lord, help me to feel your calming hand upon me when I am in pain.  Let your ever-loving comfort enfold me, And give me the heart to see that in my suffering, I am becoming closer to you...and more divine.”---Maureen Pratt