podcast

519_To You I call all the day

Psalm 86 Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my life, for I am godly;
save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.
3 Be gracious to me, O Lord,
for to you do I cry all the day.
4 Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
listen to my plea for grace.
7 In the day of my trouble I call upon you,
for you answer me.

8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
nor are there any works like yours.
9 All the nations you have made shall come
and worship before you, O Lord,
and shall glorify your name.
10 For you are great and do wondrous things;
you alone are God.
11 Teach me your way, O Lord,
that I may walk in your truth;
unite my heart to fear your name.
12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
and I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your steadfast love toward me;
you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

14 O God, insolent men have risen up against me;
a band of ruthless men seeks my life,
and they do not set you before them.
15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me;
give your strength to your servant,
and save the son of your maidservant.
17 Show me a sign of your favor,
that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

During the dark and bloody years of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln bore the crushing weight of a nation divided. Day after day, reports of battles arrived—lists of casualties that stretched into the thousands, decisions that would alter the course of history, and political pressures that seemed unbearable. Lincoln, by his own admission, was not always a man of strong personal faith in his early years. But through the agonizing burdens he carried as president, he drew closer to God.

He once confessed, “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had absolutely no other place to go.” Those words capture the very heart of prayer—not a religious duty or a ceremonial act, but as the lifeline of a soul that knows its own poverty and casts itself wholly on God.

Psalm 86 is the only psalm of David in the third book of the Psalter. It describes the life of prayer – the how and the what. David finds himself in desperate circumstances, surrounded by enemies and overwhelmed by need. And there was nowhere to go except into the presence of God.

The psalm begins: “Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.” David, king of Israel, with armies at his command, wealth in his treasury, and able counselors, comes as a poor and needy soul before God. For all true prayer begins in godliness. And godliness is the fruit of humility. When we recognize our smallness before God, we are joyfully willing to accept him as the Prime Mover in everything. This leads us to call on him at all times and in all situations.

For David, God is the One who hears and saves those who trust in him. They are bound to him by their need and their expectation of his mercy, rooted in his unchanging goodness. Prayer grows out of a right relationship with God, rather than begging a boon of a distant deity.

Yet it is not a relationship of convenience. The hearts of the godly are constantly turned to God: all the day long they cry out to him. Prayer is the very atmosphere of their lives. As the Spirit later urges, “Pray without ceasing.” Not that we constantly utter words of prayer, but rather that our trust is always in God and our cry is always to him.

In verse 4, David prays, “Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.” This is the joy that the godly feel when the Lord comes to their rescue. They depend on him and he does not fail them. Whether by life or by death, they glorify him through the grace he richly bestows. For the source of true gladness is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of God.

And so God’s greatness becomes David’s focus. “There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you.” Humility in prayer leads soon enough to glad and reverent worship. When we come before His majesty, our problems shrink and our confidence grows in the perspective of his greatness.

David earnestly pleads, “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.” The heart that is single in its devotion to God is an admirable gift, worthy of such a passionate plea. Our prayers need to go much deeper. Our hearts are easily divided, pulled in various directions by ambition, fear, and temptation. We need most of all, not a change in our circumstances, but in our hearts, so that they may harbor only the fear of God.

Thanksgiving is the inevitable result of this humble prayer: “I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.” As a string of requests, prayer soon feels empty. But when stimulated by the realization of God’s greatness and goodness, prayer is filled with thankfulness and praise. Without forgetting what God has already done for us, let us keep in mind his constant love. He who has helped us in the past will come to our aid again, simply because we trust in him.

Yet David is still in danger, for he says, “O God, insolent men have risen up against me; a band of ruthless men seeks my life.” Prayer does not always remove the storm. But prayer does anchor us in the storm by reminding us who God is: “But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” These are the very words God spoke to Moses when He revealed His glory. David clings to that revelation. Prayer is not simply about unburdening our hearts before God; it is about finding anchor in his mercy, his steadfast love and his covenant faithfulness.

David seeks vindication from God, having foregone revenge on his own part: “Show me a sign of your favor, that those who hate me may see and be put to shame because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.” God is glorified when his work becomes so evident in our lives that even our enemies must acknowledge it. Prayer is never purely private. When God answers, it becomes a testimony to others of His goodness and faithfulness.

Psalm 86 reminds us of the necessity of humility, of calling on God, of trusting him no matter what, no matter when. It teaches us to focus on his greatness and not our problems, to rejoice in his salvation, and anchor our hope in his unchanging character. It calls on us to ask, not just that our burdens be lifted but that our hearts be transformed to seek him and him alone.

In our Lord’s words, we must “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” David does this by desiring a heart that is wholly devoted to God. Such prayers are always in line with God’s will—and they are always answered. Thus, prayer becomes a way of life, as we recognize that we have nowhere to go that is better than God Himself.

Do our prayers reveal hearts chasing after God’s gifts, or hearts longing for God Himself? Like David, may we learn to pray for a united heart, so that our lives may truly reflect his ways and his heart. Let prayer become more than a practice we schedule; let it be the posture of our lives. And let all who see us—friends, neighbors, even our enemies—also see that God has helped us and comforted us. God bless.