Prayers from Psalm 86
By Doug Hunt
Psalm 86 has always resonated with me in a unique way. As I read it, I can almost feel the emotions that David expresses. David is raw and honest. I often wonder if he was in tears when he wrote this Psalm. There is also a clear hopeful understanding that God is the only One who can meet his needs and the only One worth living for. I love the humanity of David! It gives me hope!
Below are several prayers written as I slowly read Psalm 86. The prayers are not meant to be read as a Bible study or my interpretation of meaning. They were my honest, in the moment responses to what God was saying through His Word. I did not overthink them or try to make certain points. They are my genuine prayers that I hope will help you connect with God.
I would suggest that you start each day by slowly reading through all of Psalm 86. Ask God to speak to you. Ask Him to help you realize that He is with you. Then I would encourage you to read only one prayer per day. Read it multiple times if that helps you.
After you have read the prayer, pause and respond with the following question:
What should I specifically pray in response to this written prayer? Is there a need, concern, confession, thanksgiving, prayer of worship or action that I need to take?
A Prayer of David
PSALM 86
(NASB)
1 Incline Your ear, O Lord, and answer me;
For I am afflicted and needy.
2 Preserve my soul, for I am a godly man;
O You my God, save Your servant who trusts in You.
3 Be gracious to me, O Lord,
For to You I cry all day long.
4 Make glad the soul of Your servant,
For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
5 For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.
6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
And give heed to the voice of my supplications!
7 In the day of my trouble I shall call upon You,
For You will answer me.
8 There is no one like You among the gods, O Lord,
Nor are there any works like Yours.
9 All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord,
And they shall glorify Your name.
10 For You are great and do wondrous deeds;
You alone are God.
11 Teach me Your way, O Lord;
I will walk in Your truth;
Unite my heart to fear Your name.
12 I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart,
And will glorify Your name forever.
13 For Your lovingkindness toward me is great,
And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
14 O God, arrogant men have risen up against me,
And a band of violent men have sought my life,
And they have not set You before them.
15 But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth.
16 Turn to me, and be gracious to me;
Oh grant Your strength to Your servant,
And save the son of Your handmaid.
17 Show me a sign for good,
That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed,
Because You, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
PSALM 86:1
Incline Your ear, O Lord, and answer me;
For I am afflicted and needy.
God, I feel every bit of this verse!
The emotion.
The desperation.
The need.
I feel it deep inside of me today.
Afflicted. Poor. Soul weary.
And I am unable to “fix” it!
Honestly, I don’t like thinking of myself as needy. It sounds so weak. Sounds so small. But the truth is, I am those things and I need to embrace that my need for You is much greater than I even realize.
My need for You never ends.
And I am learning that is good and the way I need to be!
So here I am today God!
Here is my need!
Here is my affliction!
Here is my emotion!
Here is my worry!
Here is my fear!
Here are all the things in front of me tempt me to be afraid!
Here are my insecurities!
Here is my need to control.
Here is my need to be the fixer.
And here You are!
Listening and ready to speak.
So please open up Your mouth and speak.
I am ready!
PSALM 86: 2-4
Preserve my soul, for I am a godly man; O You my God, save Your servant who trusts in You.
Be gracious to me, O Lord, For to You I cry all day long.
Make glad the soul of Your servant, For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
As I am constantly holding my feeble heart up to You ,
I am hoping in You.
I am hoping in that part of You that is a soul mender.
I am hoping in that part of You that is a soul healer.
God, I know I am not perfect. Not even close.
And I will never pretend to be.
What a waste of time that would be for us both!
But I do trust You!
I do believe in You!
I do set my sights on being more like Jesus.
That is the honest desire of my heart!
So, with all my emotion, I am begging and trusting!
Grace! Grace! I desperately need grace!
I beg You to mend my soul that struggles to find joy!
Heal that broken part of my soul that struggles to walk in peace!
Here it is!
All of it!
Every bit!
PSALM 86:5-6
For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.
Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
And give heed to the voice of my supplications!
Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!
As I meditate on these words today, I am drawn to deep gratitude!
You are ready to forgive, even me in all my faults!
You are ready to forgive because at Your core You are overflowing with goodness!
Oh how I need to experience Your goodness every day!
Oh how I need to receive Your forgiveness every day!
So here I am calling to You.
I choose to stand confidently in the center of Your faithful love.
I believe that You are listening.
I believe that You are sympathizing.
I believe that You are waiting with arms wide open.
I believe that You are ready to forgive even the worst things in my heart.
So I am begging with hope and confidence in Your all encompassing, never failing, generous love!
Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.
PSALM 86:7
In the day of my trouble I shall call upon You, For You will answer me.
God, there have been so many days of trouble!
Most of them were due to my own choices.
So many careless decisions.
So many moments of impatience and selfishness.
So many moments of willful disobedience.
So many times when I knew, without a doubt, that I was choosing to do wrong!
Lots and lots of days of trouble!
Lots of days of going against Your love!
It is sad, but it is the truth.
I have created “days of trouble!”
But then there is You!
You! Knowing my heart!
Knowing my choices!
Knowing the days of trouble that I would create!
There You were and here You are!
Your ear open.
Your heart ready.
Your grace extended!!
Listening.
Waiting.
Loving.
Ready.
Ready to answer.
Ready to forgive.
Ready to hold me in my days of trouble and make them days of peace!
You do that! You do that for me!
Thank You for not turning away in my days of trouble when I call.
Thank You for listening and answering.
I know I will call again.
And I know You will keep listening.
PSALM 86:8
There is no one like You among the gods, O Lord,
Nor are there any works like Yours.
God I worship You today!
You are completely alone in Who You are!
You are the only One who is truly God!
There are so many other things that I slip into treating like a god.
So many things that I think too highly of and value too much.
All of them are nothing compared to You!
And every single one of them falls infinitely short of reality.
None of them are God!
Above them all is You and You alone!
None of those things can do what You do.
None of those things can save my soul.
None of those things can give life.
None of those things give lasting joy.
None of those things can provide.
None of those things are holy.
None of those things have power.
None of those things satisfy.
None of those things are eternal.
None of those things really do anything of worth.
They all fade. They all fail.
But You! But You!
Your works! What You do!
Perfection! Reality!
There is no one like You!
You are God!
PSALM 86:9-10
All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord,
And they shall glorify Your name. For You are great anddo wondrous deeds;You alone are God.
God.
You are the only one who will ultimately be worshiped.
I am sure there are all kinds of things that I put in front of You along the way.
There are many things like my reputation and desires that I treat as god.
Without realizing it, I worship them.
But the truth is that You alone are God!
You are the only One who is great!
You are the only One who does things that can be described as wondrous.
When it is all said and done, my reputation, my works, my desires and all that will fade.
But, You will remain because You alone are God!
You are the One that deserves the honor.
You are the One that every nation will bow down and worship with great joy!
Every nation will glorify You!
What an amazing image!
Please start right here with me.
Please forgive me for the times when I worship small things.
I know I need Your grace.
Today, help me worship You alone.
PSALM 86:11
Teach me Your way, O Lord;
I will walk in Your truth;
Unite my heart to fear Your name.
God, You are not asking me to figure out how to live this life my own.
You have all the instructions I need!
And, You are the perfect teacher.
So now, help me be a good student!
I am ready to be taught.
Help me learn from You on how to live in this world.
Protect me from listening to the wrong teachers.
Protect me from going down paths that You do not want me to go.
As I walk with You,
I want to be right in the middle of Truth.
The only Truth!
Honestly though,
It can be so easy for me to veer off of Your path.
Why is it so easy for me?
I know that it is my heart. My distracted heart.
My mind.
I get distracted by things that look like a good path.
I convince myself that I know a better way.
Who am I kidding?
How could I possibly know better than You!
Today, I am offering You my heart.
Lead my heart to be headed in one direction.
The direction of You!
Lead my heart to be filled with awe and wonder at Your Name!
Lead my heart to love Your teaching!
Teach me to walk the path of You!
PSALM 86:12
I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart,
And will glorify Your name forever.
Lord, when I pause to think about it,
It is impossible for me to count all of the good things in my life.
Sure there are things that I wish could change,
But there is so much good!
But the good that You do for me, is not the reason that I should give thanks.
It is not about what You do for me or what You give me.
It is not about things.
It is not about looking at my life and deciding if You have done enough to earn my gratitude and worship.
But sometimes that is how I treat You!
Forgive me for treating You like You have to prove Yourself to me!
You deserve thanks because You are You!
You deserve my entire heart because You are You!
You deserve Glory because You are You!
So have my heart!
All of my heart no matter what is given or not given!
Be glorified in me in every season no matter the season!
You are always,
Always,
Worthy of Glory!
PSALM 86:13
For Your lovingkindness toward me is great,
And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
God, when I have a bad day,
When I feel like life is not fair,
In those moments when I even have questions like,
“Are You really paying attention to my life?”
Or, “Does God really love me?”
Help me remember the most miraculous act of Your love.
You delivered my soul!
You have given the unmatched gift of life!
Full, eternal, perfect, life with You!
What else could I need?
Yes, help me remember that truth in the deepest part of who I am!
Can there ever really be a reason to doubt Your love?
No!
You have poured out never ending, faithful love through Your Son, Jesus!
And it overflows into every moment, no matter what is going on!
Thank You God for what You have done!
Thank You!
I just say with David,
“Your lovingkindness toward me is great!”
Thank You!
PSALM 86:14-15
O God, arrogant men have risen up against me,
And a band of violent men have sought my life,
And they have not set You before them.
But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth.
God.
The battle is real!
Honestly, there may not be actual people physically attacking me.
There may never be.
But, the battle is so real!
There is a battle in my mind.
The battle of my pride that comes at me with the force of “violent men.”
The battle of my insecurities that seem to come from every side!
There is the spiritual battle in the temptations I face.
And, honestly, I can be so quick to give in!
There are days when I am not much of a fighter!
God, please help me fight better!
Help me keep You at the front of my mind!
I know that in the battle You are there!
You are there with the weapons of Your mercy and grace!
You fight for me with love filled patience!
You fight for me with unmatched kindness!
You fight for me with truth that defeats lies!
Your faithful love surrounds me!
You are ready to protect me in every attack!
There is no battle that You cannot win!
So, as the attacks come today,
Help me to look to You!
Help me trust in the power of Your mercy and grace.
PSALM 86:16-17
Turn to me, and be gracious to me;
Oh grant Your strength to Your servant,
And save the son of Your handmaid.
Show me a sign for good,
That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed,
Because You, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
God of grace, I need You!
I still need You and I will always need You!
I need Your grace!
I need Your strength!
Help me never think I’ve got this on my own.
Why would I even try to be my own strength when You are right here!
There are many days when I really resonate with David’s cry to see a ”sign for good.”
It is so easy to miss Your goodness when I am looking in the wrong direction.
So as I walk in this life.
As I face the challenges that will come.
I will remember that You are always strong!
In those times when I feel helpless,
I will remember that You are there.
I will remember that You are with me.
On those days when I feel overwhelmed,
I will come to You, the God of all comfort.
I will come to You,
The God of grace.
Amen
Abiding in Jesus 