How David Prayed Because He Knew God (Psalm 5:1-12)
This is a psalm of David. Ever since David was little, he wrote psalms and achieved great feats like defeating Goliath. Even later on, he became the greatest king of Israel, even though did commit his sins and make mistakes. When you look in the Bible, you know David became a king and then he was in the lineage of his father David, but it wasn’t that he was physically better off than his older brothers. Instead, the Bible tells us that David was a man after God’s heart, then what does that mean?
It means that he was connected with God, it means there was no obstacle blocking him from God. We don’t receive a connection with God by doing something great on our own, but just by being who we are, when we’re able to communicate with God, that’s what it means to have a heart that is connected to God. What do you think that means? Isn’t this prayer? The greatest way for us to communicate with God is prayer. God sets His sight on the one who prays, and no matter how difficult or dangerous the circumstance may be, we are under God’s protection. That is prayer.
If a remnant has the nature of prayer, then honestly everything is finished, and there are many things we cannot predict about the future, and there’s also a lot of things within us that we’re not even aware of, and one by one, these things reveal themselves. Even if we’re not aware that its inside of us, God brings them in one by one and solves them, based on the urgency and critical nature of them.
God solves things one by one, and the things underneath are revealed. Just like how when someone has a very serious injury somewhere, they feel only that pain. But when they get better, they feel pain somewhere else. Actually, they were hurting all over to begin with, but it’s simply that the other injuries were less noticeable because the serious ones were taking all of their attention.
If the urgent problems in your life are healed, you’ll have other problems arise, and you’ll wonder, “Why do I have so many problems?” They were always there, but in reality, the circumstance or situation you’re facing isn’t a big deal. The only real reason it’s a problem is because the things within you are coming out.
David had great faith, and because of that, he could simply brush off any problem that came to him, but it doesn’t seem he was like that. Actually, I think he faced very severe problems, they weren’t things that even he could handle. Even with depression, if we can handle it, it won’t be a problem, but we can’t handle depression. If there’s a war between nations, it’s no problem if we can take over very easily, but we’re afraid because we can’t. I think David realized this quickly, while he was still a shepherd, because while he was a shepherd, he had a great task.
These were tremendous problems for a young boy like David, and he realized he couldn’t guard all these sheep. When a wolf or lion came to attack the flock, how could he overcome them? So, I think he acknowledged this while he was young very quickly, so that’s why he prayed while he was young. In reality, the answer is only with God, but he only prayed because he didn’t have the strength to overcome his problems on his own, and David tasted this while young.
David received the answers and evidence because the lion would come to attack the sheep, and he would hit the lion with a stone and rip the lion’s jaws open to take the sheep back to safety. In fact, it seems like his older brothers were physically better than David because Jesse, his father, actually chose the oldest son first. So, there’s a lot of things that he could do on his own, with his strength, and the older brothers didn’t need to pray as much.
Either David was very weak while he was little, or the tasks given to him were much too big for him. It’s one of those two things. He realized from a young age that whenever he faces a problem, he must seek refuge in God. If you take a problem unto yourself, you’ll be bound and seized by your problem, but if you give it all up to God, you’ll find your refuge. He figured this out while young.
When you listen to David’s prayer in today’s passage, he never asked God to take this problem away. He is saying, “Because I cannot handle this by my own strength, it is a huge burden and problem.” That’s right, because this present reality was flooded with great things that he couldn’t handle by himself, so his heart was burdened.
That’s Psalm 5:1, “Listen to my words, LORD; consider my lament.” The LORD is already listening and is aware, watching David, but David’s heart is so oppressed so he asks, “Listen to my words.” He says, “Consider the sighs of my heart,” even though the almighty, omnipotent God is already doing that.
Psalm 5:2-3 “Hear my cry for help my King and my God, to You I pray.” My King, my God. My King means God is the One Who protects me and smites my enemies. My God, means “You are my God of the covenant, You know all and are powerful above all.” “Hear my cry for help, for I pray to You.” What prayer do you think he prayed? Let’s see.
Psalm 5:3. What did David pray for? The fact that David prayed in the morning means he had a habit of praying in the morning, and I think this is a great habit. Anyone who is able to enjoy the habit of praying in the morning can go ahead of all other people to solve problems and to enjoy things in advance. Because he receives God’s grace and protection early in the day, he is the first to receive answers. How does he continue?
Psalm 5:4. These are the things you should pray for whenever you face hard problems. The LORD is not pleased with wickedness, because David was facing this, he realized evil people cannot dwell with God. He says these things before God, repeating and confessing who God is through his prayer.
Psalm 5:5. The arrogant cannot stand in your presence, and he probably had many arrogant people attacking him. Who is arrogant? In Psalm 1, it says that those who meditate on God’s Word are not those who sit in the seat of mockers, so those who do not meditate on God’s Word are arrogant. Anyone who does not follow the words of God but instead follow their own thoughts and judgments based on their circumstances are arrogant.
“They cannot stand in Your presence, You hate all who do wrong.” This is the content of David’s prayer. David doesn’t ask for anything but he simply prays, “This is the kind of God Who God is.” He doesn’t ask for the wicked to be taken away, but he confesses that the wicked cannot stand before God. He doesn’t ask for evildoers to be taken away, but he says, “LORD, You hate all those who do wrong.”
Psalm 5:6. You destroy those who tell lies. That’s correct and rightful, God destroys those who climb to the top through lies. God detests the bloodthirsty and deceitful, what does that mean? David is praying to God saying, “This is the God Whom You are.” But how does this apply to us? He is confirming with God, “Hey God, You’re like this, so You don’t like these kinds of people, right?”
I think David was a very renowned figure, because if it were me, I would say, “God, take this person out of my life,” but David says, “God, You don’t like these kinds of people, right?” In facing towards the Temple of Jerusalem in the morning, I would have lamented before God, but in Psalm 5:7, “I, by Your great love, can bow down towards Your holy Temple.”
Peter was about to die, but the night before, he was singing praises and praying and he even slept. This is the kind of people we are. “By Your great love, I can come to Your house and worship You and bow down to You.” So, in the face of circumstances, he confesses Who God is and how we can worship God.
This is worship. As we live our lives, we face our everyday things, and the thing I must do is worship God. God is the One who determines my life. The only thing I must do is obey God, meaning I fear God, because my life is in God’s hands, and it means I respect God. “I bow down and worship towards God’s temple,” because he couldn’t go to the temple, so he bows down towards it.
Psalm 5:8. David is asking God to lead him so that he’s not led by his enemies, “to guide me and to make my way straight before You so I may go in the direction You desire.” He’s not asking God to solve a problem, “I know You are not a God Who likes people like this,” and David asks God, “Please lead me in the way of righteousness, because of my problems and incidences and circumstances, may I not be led in the way of the unrighteous,” in other words, he was praying with God’s Word. He was not asking, “How should I do this, what should I do about that?” But he asks, “Guide me in the path of righteousness because of my enemies.
From our perspectives, it’s like, “In the midst of my problems and circumstances, show me the way of the Lord, to see the plan and way of God.” This is how we can overcome the problems and go into God’s way, but those who are foolish will be afflicted by their problems. God guides us in the paths of righteousness in all things, then it’s important for us to find the path of God’s righteousness in our problems and circumstances. It’s the same no matter what environment we find ourselves in this life.
Psalm 5:9. These are not people who stand before God. Their heart is filled with destruction and their throat is an open grave, meaning they are filled with death. “With their tongue they speak deceit,” meaning they say whatever they want to get powerful people on their side. In this kind of situation, how could David endure on his own? When David is all alone and all the powerful people are trying to harm him, what does it mean to fight for justice in this situation?
Are you talking about fighting using your words, that you’re right and they’re wrong? We need some level of justice for society to function, but David stood in the justice of God. He knows what wickedness is, but he had no power to overcome it so he wouldn’t fight it, but he prays that God will guide him in paths of righteousness.
Psalm 5:10. Everything that David prays about is based on God’s standard. There is no prayer asking God to do something for David, but he says, “These are the people who reject and denounce God.” Even when he went before Goliath, David never fought with anything using his own strength. David went out fighting in the name of the LORD because there was someone mocking the name of the LORD.
This is the prayer David prayed in the morning, I don’t know if he lamented out loud with cries, but it’s amazing. David doesn’t pray with his will, “It’s so hard, do this for me,” but the only thing David’s prayer contains is, “According to God’s righteousness, guide me in the way God desires.” He doesn’t say, “These people are bad because they’re trying to harm me,” but “These people are bad because they are rejecting God.”
Psalm 5:11. Let all who take refuge in You be glad, why? Because the LORD is not One who acts towards unrighteousness; God is not with those who are wicked or arrogant, so David avoids these situations. What does it mean to avoid those things? It means he goes to God to fulfill the righteousness and justice of God. God is justice, so honestly, God is the One who takes care of the unjust. There’s nothing that David did in his entire life for himself. God even took care of King Saul, but David says, “Let all who take refuge in God be glad.” This is prayer.
If we’ve lived our life without this, then our mentality and spirit have collapsed. You endure with your own strength, and when you no longer have any strength, you collapse. I don’t know if there are many American children who learn how to pray while young, but instead of teaching this, they are taught something else. Instead of learning to take refuge in God, they are taught something else so they don’t have strength. That’s why they end up killing others. You don’t kill others because you are strong; you kill because you are weak and you can’t handle it. Look at David. David could have said something or expressed his displeasure, but he doesn’t. The greatest and strongest thing is to go to God. “Spread Your protection over them so they may love You and rejoice in You.” He asks for God’s protection over them because He knows God will guide them in the correct path.
It’s the same as in Psalm 23. “There are things I’m lacking,” but how does he confess? “The LORD is my Shepherd, I lack nothing.” I am lacking, my environment and situation are lacking. I lack many things, financially, physically, mentally. But there are only two types of people: those who go to God and those who collapse when they are lacking in their circumstance. But he never prayed, “God, give me this because I’m lacking,” but he confesses, “Because the LORD is my Shepherd, I lack nothing.” He confesses God with his words, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” imagine how fearful he was? But he never asked God to do something through that. “I will fear no evil for God is with me.” It’s always God; that’s his standard.
Simply put, he begins everything every morning with God and ends everything with God. It’s possible that someone may be sick and cannot overcome on their own, but I don’t think David ever prayed for God to fix or heal him. I think David held onto the word of God and confessed God. I think David prayed, “Because I’m weak, fill me with the strength of the Holy Spirit,” because I cannot overcome my illness with my strength. If this is by the will of God that I received this disease, it turns into a blessing and hallelujah, but if it is not something God wants me to have, it’s an opportunity for me to experience God’s power.
Some people throw a tantrum and despair because they can’t overcome with their strength, why? That’s just how they live their entire lives. The person doesn’t collapse from out of nowhere, but he relied on his own strength his entire life, and when he can no longer endure, he collapses. Even right now, take refuge in the LORD. May we have this time where we receive the grace of God.
For the ones who love God’s name may rejoice in Him, in other words, the ones who know Who God is. Because we know Who God is, we can rely and rejoice in Him. It’s not just any circumstance, but when David went out into war, he says, “The LORD is my shield,” not, “Cast my enemies away,” but “The LORD is my fortress,” meaning everything is finished. It doesn’t matter if someone aligns with you or not; God takes care of that. If someone doesn’t like us, God knows that and will take care of it. If I’m lacking something, I take care of it, but if that’s not the case, I just go into God.
There’s no need for you to take responsibility for your own life and carry the burden by yourself. David never did that, and these are the people who know something. Even if something big happens, like a big problem, they take refuge in God. If someone says, “I have such a wide vessel,” it’s not that they are very broad, but it’s God Who is wide and broad. If someone says they have much strength, it may be different according to their talents, but God is actually the strong One, and by Jesus Christ, I go into the Triune God. That’s what this means, that in every circumstance, I can enjoy the blessing of the Throne of heaven. That’s prayer. Prayer is enjoying God Himself. In the many different circumstances, go into the midst of enjoying God.
Psalm 5:12. The righteous will live by faith. Those who believe in Christ are the righteous ones. David never asked to do this or that about his circumstance, but he confessed that God guards the righteous with His shield. From our perspective, it is a high level prayer, and he could only do this because he recognizes how great God is. If you don’t know who God is very well, you only pray things while asserting yourself, you repeat the same things over and over again because you think God isn’t listening, and you use prayer beads to repeat the same things, over and over again, because God isn’t listening, and because you don’t believe, you say it again and again like chanting. I don’t think that’s bad, but that person’s heart has so much pain and they can’t endure unless they have repetitive prayers.
But if you know God a little better than that, your prayers will be different. If you know who God is through the Bible, you can enjoy those blessings. Ultimately you can only enjoy your present circumstances depending on how much you know God. You must know God to believe in God, then you can enjoy your present reality in Christ. Then you receive the evidence and stand as a witness, and these are the things recorded in the Bible. That’s why we stand as witnesses before our children and before the next generations in the church and the multiethnic people who come to church as well as unbelievers.
Because of our mission, all the things that have happened in our lives serve as evidence so we may be God’s witnesses. Heaven is a place without problems, right? We must have problems to stand as witnesses with evidence. If we were omnipotent, nothing would be a problem, but our strength is unlimited so we go into the unlimited God. We always constantly go into the Triune God Himself, then you’re able to be independent, to survive anywhere.
Look at David, he didn’t rely on anyone. By himself, he was able to be independent because he relied in God, meaning going to God was everything. What it means to see the spiritual facts means to see everything with spiritual eyes. David never made enemies with anyone. If David wanted to make enemies with the people attacking him, he would have prayed a different prayer that sent hate towards people. Then when he meets the person, that hate would boil over and be relayed.
However, he cut out all the hatred in his heart for others. He didn’t cut people off because he hated people, but he changed everything into a blessing. He never acted on his own, he never sought revenge. This is the same thing as loving and forgiving others. This is what I just talked about in the healing evangelism school.
We get money from people, we succeed through people, however, if you have no choice but to break all these relationships with people, then no matter how much you struggle, you can’t succeed. Look at Joseph, wherever he went, he turned all his relationships into blessings, even with evil people. The LORD tells us not to seek revenge upon our enemies, but He turns every single relationship with the enemies into blessed relationships. This isn’t possible for humans, but it’s only possible for God and for those who surrender this to God. That’s why we need a time of prayer and of God’s grace.
We don’t know what’s going to happen over the rest of our lives, but God knows everything and has all the ability. Even if I’m trapped on all sides, and David realistically was, the way to escape that is by going into the LORD. Are you just going to avoid problems your entire life? When God allowed this problem, God surely allows that problem, so we may stand as witnesses before unbelievers.
David who recorded this psalm had a mission, “You will become the king.” But he himself wasn’t the king, but God raised someone to play the role of the king so God could be King through David. King Saul tried to be king, and once he became the king, he tried to be the king himself. That’s completely senseless. He becomes the king and tries to carry out the role of the king? The fact that he was anointed as king means, through this person, God will play the role of the king and exert His authority as king through that person.
David knew his role well, “David had great leadership?” No, God had great leadership. Towards the end of David’s life, there were many people who tried to take David down, including his son Absalom. Towards the end of his authority and rule, all the people under him tried to overtake him, and even later, because of David’s mistake of performing the census, 7000 people died of disease. I think David lost a little bit of his sanity after the coup d’etat attempt by his son Absalom.
He prays with his own mouth for Temple Construction for God, and that was the reason for his life. Your mission is the reason why you live. If your mission is a burden to you, then that person has no reason to live. If you receive the gospel, then what is the meaning of your life? God has given you the gospel, then what is the reason and goal why you must live? What is the reason and goal for which you exist? That’s your mission.
Without a mission, you’re the same as an animal because you’re living your life just to eat and sleep. That’s the reason why all the Israelites died in the wilderness all those years; they had no reason to exist. I hope that every single one of you will find the reason for you life. If you have a mission, you have a reason to live. If you don’t have a mission, you don’t have a reason to live. If you work for Temple Construction, you have a reason for life. This isn’t a theory, but the work you are doing must realistically be connected with Temple Construction.
In your brain, you simply know, “My church is doing temple construction,” but the reason you work is for your own benefit? Then your life has no mission. It’s not just a theory, but if you’re studying, then your studies must be connected to your realistic mission, then it won’t be a problem whether your studies are difficult or not. Those who can do that can go into the biblical path.
If my church says 237 but it has nothing to do with me, that person has no mission in life; they have a physical mission, a mission of a nonbeliever to eat and survive, but we aren’t like that. Without a doubt, if the 237 nations is not directly connected to the reason why you work, your life has no mission. If my business is not directly related to Temple Construction, my life has no mission.
It doesn’t matter how young a student is; David had the mission while he was a young boy. If that happens, then little children won’t complain whether their studies are difficult or not. Holding onto the mission, what will happen instead? This is the work of God, so God will give you the strength. But because you don’t hold onto this as your mission, your studies have nothing to go with God, but you keep doing it with your own strength, so you keep doing it by yourself saying this is hard for you.
Because you don’t have a mission, you’re always afraid of your future. You must do everything so that your realistic mission is going into that. If it doesn’t, then it’s all in vain. When you receive salvation, you’ll go to heaven, but even if you know the gospel, the gospel must be related to your mission for you to really know the gospel.
If you believe the gospel has finished all problems, great, but why are you studying right now? Why are you working right now? Why are you unemployed? Even as you’re unemployed, you must have a reason. If you’re playing without a mission from God, you’re simply unemployed, but someone with a mission from God isn’t just playing. What are they doing?
If God hasn’t given me a job, He is telling me to pray, then I will come to Early Morning prayer and pray. But without a mission, then after you retire, you won’t know what to do with your life, because you’ve lived your entire life this way and now you’re just older. It’s not some grand mission, but it’s a mission to save the next generation, because you must give the covenant ot the next generation. Either way, your life must be connected to the mission.
My job must be directly related to Temple Construction. Without being connected, your prayers are in vain because you don’t have the covenant, and I’m sure you’ll be afraid because the work you’re realistically doing isn’t connected with God’s mission, then you shouldn’t study the Bible. Instead, the realistic mission of God must be realistically connected to the work I’m doing. Then, we learned that through all the incidents that happened, you have to go into the prayer that takes refuge within God.
I hope that every single one of you, without fail, may find your mission. When you find it, you will tell everyone, “This is my mission in life.” For people like this, it’s fine if they get sick because that’s the way they can receive the filling of the Holy Spirit, and that’s the way they can become physically strengthened. They have that reason. There is a reason why they receive spiritual strength and physical strength.
I hope every single one of you, without exception, may have this and pray a prayer like David. When you look at David’s prayer, you understand how much David knew, enjoyed, and believed in God, and that David had a mission. May you actually believe in God and enjoy in your actual life. You shouldn’t study the Bible with head knowledge. Your life is real, this isn’t a theory. Your studies are also real; it’s not fake. The work you’re doing is real, it’s not fake. Then, God’s real covenant must be within that. Every morning, every night, you must realistically have that prayer where you go into the covenant of God and God works upon your life every day.
Prayer
Let us pray at this time, holding onto the message God has given us.
There are many present realities you’ve experienced throughout the week. There are things that just passed by as your everyday experience, and some things you tried to overcome with your own strength. Honestly it’s all God’s grace. But if there’s any part of your life that isn’t resolved, or if there is a human relationship that is strained right now, you’ve received the grace of God through the cross of Jesus Christ. If you don’t love and forgive them, Satan won’t leave you alone for the rest of your life.
God gives us these meetings so we can have relationships of blessings, but if you don’t turn those relationships into blessings, you are rejecting that with your life. First and foremost, if there is something bad between you and someone else in the church, I hope you will quickly let go of that. Secondly it’s your family and your family line, really. Third, in your field in the world. No matter what human relationship you have, you must not make enemies because God told you to love your enemies. Because we don’t have the strength to love our enemies, we recognize that there’s something wrong within us. In order for us to love our enemies, I must receive grace from God, and that’s how much I must receive God’s love and grace for this to be possible.
But if we don’t have that standard of what we must achieve, we don’t know how much of God’s grace we need, so if there is any relationship like that in your life, may it be the standard for how much grace you need. It’s the same thing if you personally or someone in your family suffers from cancer or a mental problem. We need the grace of God to overcome this. Even if the cancer remains, I must have something within me that says, “This cancer has nothing to do with me,” for me to be victorious. Either you’re healed physically or it has nothing to do with you anymore. That’s a victorious person.
This is true of all of the relationships within the church, within the family line, within all our friends in the field. These are people you must minister to, and that’s the reason why God called us as the royal priesthood, and that’s why God gives us the role where we can have harmony with God. Do you think you have nothing to pray for? Do you think you have no reason to receive God’s grace? You have a reason to receive God’s grace. Without understanding the depth to which you need God’s grace, you don’t know people nor your present circumstance or your limitations.
Let us pray together at this time, that within these things, God’s grace and spirit will be upon us, because the Holy Spirit works upon anyone who prays, and God’s grace comes upon the one who prays. Let us pray at this time.
When we pray for our missions field, I pray like this: We only have one life on earth, and I don’t want to live a petty life like how kids speak. If I’m an adult, then I want to influence the kids to do a lot of missions, so that the children can grow up seeing this and do this themselves. Then, you need faith to do that. You don’t need money, you need faith, because the power of God will follow those who have faith. We must first correct our faith, to what extent will I do missions? To what extent will I seek Temple Construction? You must have this as your mission for the prayers to continuously pour out whenever you’re working.
To what extent will I go to save the next generation? You must have this. Through the Word of God, this must realistically become your prayer topic because you must have something to cry out to the Lord about. If you’re just going back and forth, meaning you don’t have the content as a believer, you just pray for worldly things. So, you can pray however you want for missions, “I’m going to go before God this way, I’m going to leave my life after doing this much for Temple Construction before God, and I will leave this earth after having done this much for the next generation.” This is the reason why we come to this church to pray tonight, because that is the way God desires. Let us pray together.
If you don’t have an answer regarding these aspects in your life yet, then you really need to pray to God to reveal this to you, because you have the Holy Spirit within you to reveal it. This is your personal contract with God, so when you pray in the early morning and night, this is what you must pray for first. As you continue to pray, the Holy Spirit will control you and tell you what is too little and what is too much, but as you continue to pray, God delights in that. You are being aligned with God’s intent. God has prepared our future and is preparing us.
Let us continuously pray, and pray especially for the Sunday message.