Teach me to do your will

READ: Ezekiel 41,42; Psalms 143; James 4

SCRIPTURE: Psalms 143: 10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

OBSERVATION: Psalm 143 is the last of seven Penitential Psalms or Psalms of Confession (the others being Ps.6;32;38;51;102;130). It is said that David wrote this psalm when he fled from his son Absalom who conspired against him. In this prayer psalm, David was not praying to know God’s will but asked the Lord to teach him to do God’s will. As indicated in the psalm, the psalmist must have been in distress and was desperate to come out of the problems he faced. David was dismayed and longing for the return of good old days and deliverance from the Lord. Even in such a situation, he understood the importance of doing God’s will in his life. Though we walk through “the valley of the shadow of death,” submitting ourselves to do God’s will is the best thing we can do. We can find God’s comfort and strength in doing his will. David knew this truth well. David was confident about his relationship with God and knew his inabilities to do God’s will. So he prayed, “Teach me to do your will.”

David’s prayer shows his dependence on God in doing God’s will. God alone can help us to do his will without any lapse. Then David asked for the guidance of the Spirit of God. He trusted God would lead him on “level ground.” The place where the Holy Spirit guides will be free from any dangers. Many of us already know God’s will and what is right or wrong. However, we fail to practice it in our lives by saying excuses and citing our weaknesses. Like David, we too can ask the Lord to teach and enable us to do his will. When “the Spirit of truth comes,” he guides us into all the truth (Jn.16:13). The Holy Spirit never misleads us, for he knows the thoughts of God. We can trust God in everything. When we are surrounded by many issues of our lives, instead of trying our ideas to solve them, we can seek God’s will and ask God to give us his instruction and guidance to fulfill it.

APPLICATION: God can rescue me from any dangers. The Lord is good to those who seek and trust him. God teaches and trains me to do his will. Human ways that “appear to be right” lead to death (Pro.14;12), but God guides me to life. I can do God’s will by obeying his instruction and following the guidance of the Spirit of God.

PRAYER: Father God, thank you for your unfailing love and unchanging word. Lord, teach me your ways and strengthen me to do your will. Holy Spirit, I depend on you to do God’s will; lead me every day to do God’s will and live according to his word. Amen.  

- Arputharaj Samuel
+91 9538328573

Day – 326