By Tasha Kane
Psalm 17
When we read the Psalms, we see that King David prays to God in sorrow and joy, in fear and in triumph. He prays as if he is talking with his best friend without holding anything back. He reveals his most personal thoughts. In Psalm 17, David is scared and begs God for His protection. Is this how we pray? Are we open and honest with God?
Psalm 17:5 says “My steps are on Your paths; my feet have not slipped.” Can we say that we are walking with the Lord on His path? Sometimes I ask myself, how can I do that when it is so easy to get distracted with a thousand other things?
During the season of Lent, we can remember how to walk on the path the Lord sets before us. One of the ways we stay on the right path is by staying close to the Lord through prayer. We can follow David’s example and be honest with God in our prayers. We can even ask Him to help us stay on the rights paths and He will be with us.
When we read Psalm 17, we may wonder what was happening in David’s life when he wrote this? David prays in verse 8 and 9 “Protect me as the pupil of Your eye, hide me in the shadow of Your wings from the wicked who treat me violently, my deadly enemies who surround me.” Maybe David was being chased and threatened by Saul? Maybe he was at war and was losing a battle?
Sometimes we feel the same way. Sometimes we suffer from many battles around us as we try to walk the right path with the Lord. When we pray, we can learn from David and ask for God’s protection during our battles. We can focus on following God’s path for us while we pray.
While we may battle to avoid distraction as we try to stay close to God, we can trust Him to always be close to us. David knew it and we can know it too. God is always with us on our paths and even when we wander, we can find our way back to His path with His help.