Prayer for Protection, Guidance and Pardon.
A Psalm of David.
25 To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
2 O my God, in You I trust,
Do not let me be ashamed;
Do not let my enemies exult over me.
3 Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed;
[a]Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.4 Make me know Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
For You I wait all the day.
6 Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they have been [b]from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
According to Your lovingkindness remember me,
For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.8 Good and upright is the Lord;
Therefore He instructs sinners in the way.
9 He leads the [c]humble in justice,
And He teaches the [d]humble His way.
10 All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth
To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.
11 For Your name’s sake, O Lord,
Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
Throughout this passage, there is a recurring theme. David admits he sinned in his youth, but he doesn’t claim any goodness of his own now that he is older. Instead, David appeals to God’s compassion, God’s lovingkindness, and God’s goodness. On our own, we have none of these things, and whatever we do have of them, comes from God himself.
So like David, we should make the requests in vv. 4-5. “Make me know Your ways, teach me in Your paths, and lead me in Your truth…” There are a lot of “truths” floating around, and a lot of folks talking about “gray” areas. But there is only one truth, and that is from God. Don’t put your hope and trust in anyone’s truth except His.
Whatever you hear, from whoever it might be, no matter how much you think you can trust them, always put it through the filter of God’s truth. We are, all of us, fallible and we can lay claim to no goodness, no matter our age. God alone is compassionate, loving, and good. Seek His way in all you do, so that you may reflect His goodness and compassion wherever you go.