David Asks God to Make Him Pure.

How much do you pray? Do you pray every day? For five minutes? Ten? Are any of your prayers unselfish?

In Psalm 141, David prays unselfishly that God would make him more obedient, more pure-hearted, and more pleasing to God.

“Lord, set up a guard for my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips. Do not let me turn to any evil thing or perform wicked acts … Do not let me feast on their delicacies. Let the righteous one strike me—it is an act of faithful love; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head; let me not refuse it.” Psalm 141:3-5.

Take a look at David’s requests. We should pray the same things:

1. Stop me from speaking harmful words.
2. Stop my heart from turning toward temptation.
3. Do not let me enjoy the things that wicked people enjoy.
4. Send a righteous person to rebuke me. Rebuke is a gift, even an anointing, the same way Samuel anointed David king.
5. Give me an attitude that WELCOMES rebuke. When someone has the guts to call me out about my sin, please give me a heart that receives that message. It is a gift and an anointing—please do not let me turn away or try to avoid rebuke. Make me listen, humble myself, repent, and do better!

Can you pray that way? David is the only person in scripture that God describes as “a man after His own heart.” Can you be a man or woman after God’s own heart?

Pray. Dear God, set a guard over my mouth. Make me more careful about my words. Help me to “hate evil, you who love the Lord,” as it says in Psalm 97. Help me to hate the things that tempt me, and to find ways to cut them out of my life. Make me someone You could describe as being “after God’s own heart.” Make me more like You.

ΑΩ