Psalm 86

Psalm 86 | New International Version:

Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.

Guard my life, for I am faithful to you; save your servant who trusts in you.

You are my God; 3 have mercy on me, Lord, for I call to you all day long.

Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you.

You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.

Hear my prayer, Lord; listen to my cry for mercy.

When I am in distress, I call to you, because you answer me.

Among the gods there is none like you, Lord; no deeds can compare with yours.

All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name.

For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God.

Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.

For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths, from the realm of the dead.

Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God; ruthless people are trying to kill me— they have no regard for you.

But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Turn to me and have mercy on me; show your strength in behalf of your servant; save me, because I serve you just as my mother did.

Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

RAMP: READ / ANALYZE / MEDITATE / PRAY

R: Read the Passage

Read the passage without taking any notes. Just soak it in!

Psalm 86 is actually a prayer of Davids tucked into his songs to God. I love this, because so many times we get stuck in our prayers and we need examples of how to pray. As you read and study this psalm, consider using it as a guide for your own prayers to God this week.

A: Analyze

Journal your response to these questions:

1. What does this say about God?

Honestly, there are SO many truths about God in this passage. So many! Each time I read it, I find more!

2. What does this say about you?

Well, right out of the gate, we see we are poor, needy AND devoted. I feel all of those these days, and I love that we can be both desperate in our need for God while also being devoted. Do you find yourself more devoted when you are desperate?

3. Is there a command to follow?

Take a look at verse 11 — not typical commands, but walking in His truth, praising and glorifying His name are certainly important practices for Jesus followers. When we walk in His truth, we have no response other than praising and glorifying His name!

4. Is there a sin to repent of?

Let the Holy Spirit convict as He may — be willing to repent and be open to the kindness of God.

5. Is there a promise to claim?

Take a look back at what this passage says about God and hold on to these as promises of who He is and who He wants to be (is able to be) to you and for you.

M: Meditate

As a prayer from David to God, Psalm 86 is meant to be meditated on — to think about His goodness, to acknowledge our need for Him and to praise Him.

• Meditate on God’s availability to His people

• Meditate on God’s glory among the nations

• Meditate on God’s personal compassion and love toward YOU

Meditate on how this prayer from David to God can serve as a guide/example for your prayers.

P: Pray

Pray your notes back to God. Pray Psalm 86 back to God!

• Thank Him for being available to you. Make note of specific times He has heard, listened to and acknowledged your need for Him.

• Pray verses 8-10 to Him as a song of praise.

• Ask Him to reveal His glory to you even more.

• Spend time in prayer wrapping your mind around the Glory of God

• Praise Him with your heart and your words

• Ask God to help you glorify Him with your life

• Ask Him to show you His glory in your life

• Ask Him to receive glory FROM your life

To dig even more into how Psalm 86 can guide your prayers, take a look at this article from Desiring God. https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/seven-simple-daily-prayers

Nicole’s Notes:

As I said before, this Psalm is actually a prayer. We know God called David a man after His own heart, and I see a lot of God’s heart in this prayer. Let’s dig a little deeper into what we know about God from this passage, as it truly serves as the backbone of David’s prayer. And what an example to us — when you don’t know what to pray, tell God what you know to be true about Him.

In Psalm 86, we see these truths about who God is:

I. God is available (verses 1-7)

II. God is unmatched in glory (verses 8-10)

III. God is personal, intentional and intimate in His love for us and toward us (verses 11-17)

Have you ever stopped to think about the reality that when you need God, when you cry out to God, He is there? Like, always there. You don’t have to go through a receptionist or make an appointment. You just think toward Him, whisper His name or even let your heart groan in His direction — and He is there. Available.

Who in your life is available to you? Think of the most available person in your life — why are they available? Is it out of obligation or love? Do you acknowledge their availability? Is your acknowledgement out of obligation (a paycheck) or love? Now think about the people you are available to — uh oh, conviction, huh? Yeah, me too. Sometimes I am less available to the people who mean the most to me.

Human availability is vastly different from the availability of our Father.

David prays for God to hear him, to answer him, to guard him, to have mercy, to forgive. And God does all of that. God is a listening, available God. Perhaps it’s this particular season I am in, but I cannot get over this truth about God — He is available to me. Not for me to abuse or take advantage of, but for me to be heard, seen, loved and acknowledged. I need God a lot these days, and He never fails me. He also never makes me feel like my needs are too much for Him. He listens to me. His availability gives credit to my needs — assuring me that I can need Him.

Take some time to reflect on God’s availability to you — thank Him for it. Praise Him for it.

A massive theme throughout scripture is the glory of God. Those words are churchy and honestly so hard to define. Here’s why — there’s absolutely nothing we can compare God’s glory to. There’s no analogy I can make to help explain the glory of God. It is actually unexplainable, but hear this — God is MOST glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. Does His glory depend on us? No way! But when God becomes supreme in our life, He is truly honored BY our life. Our greatest offering of praise is to live a life which brings glory TO God.

Take some time to reflect on God’s glory in your own life. How have you seen it? How have you reflected it?

Now, stretch your mind to reflect on God’s glory beyond your own life. Think about Him globally. Think about Him eternally. Think about how what you know to be true of God is just as true to the orphan in Africa, the unbeliever in Chicago, the tribe in South America, the muslim in Southeast Asia. And on and on and on.

His glory reaches the Heavens. His glory fills the earth. His glory is the radiance of who He is — HE IS glorious. All things exist to BRING Him glory — including you. The purpose of our lives is to bring Glory to His.

His glory stretches beyond you, but always includes you. Humbling.

Stand in awe of His glory. And then thank Him for being YOUR God. He is God Almighty, God of all. And He is YOUR God.

Standing in awe of God’s glory can drop us to our knees in surrender. It did for David. In the very next breath after proclaiming the glory of God, it’s almost like David thought — ’now what does this mean for me? How can I display His glory in my own life?’ We see this in verses 11-13.

Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart that I may fear your name. I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. For great is your love toward me.

Teach me.

I will walk in YOUR TRUTH.

Give me an undivided Heart.

I will praise you.

I will glorify your name forever.

I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a solid daily prayer.

What in your life is dividing your heart? Many times an undivided heart is a result of pursuing something more/over pursuing the Lord. How does this look in your life? Sometimes, a divided heart is a result of un-forgiveness, bitterness, anger or jealousy.

Take a look at what may be dividing your heart and submit it to God. As big, eternal and glorious as our God is, He is compassionate, kind and loving to us. He is perfect. Stand in awe of Him.

Psalm 86 | The Message:

Bend an ear, God; answer me. I’m one miserable wretch!

Keep me safe—haven’t I lived a good life? Help your servant—I’m depending on you!

You’re my God; have mercy on me. I count on you from morning to night.

Give your servant a happy life; I put myself in your hands!

You’re well-known as good and forgiving, bighearted to all who ask for help.

Pay attention, God, to my prayer; bend down and listen to my cry for help.

Every time I’m in trouble I call on you, confident that you’ll answer.

There’s no one quite like you among the gods, O Lord, and nothing to compare with your works.

All the nations you made are on their way, ready to give honor to you, O Lord,

Ready to put your beauty on display, parading your greatness,

And the great things you do— God, you’re the one, there’s no one but you!

Train me, God, to walk straight; then I’ll follow your true path.

Put me together, one heart and mind; then, undivided, I’ll worship in joyful fear.

From the bottom of my heart I thank you, dear Lord; I’ve never kept secret what you’re up to.

You’ve always been great toward me—what love! You snatched me from the brink of disaster!

God, these bullies have reared their heads! A gang of thugs is after me— and they don’t care a thing about you.

But you, O God, are both tender and kind, not easily angered, immense in love, and you never, never quit.

So look me in the eye and show kindness, give your servant the strength to go on, save your dear, dear child!

Make a show of how much you love me so the bullies who hate me will stand there slack-jawed,

As you, God, gently and powerfully put me back on my feet.