Bible Study Guides – David’s Prayer Life

November 4, 2012 – November 10, 2012

Key Text

“Trust in Him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us.” Psalm 62:8.

Study Help: Messages to Young People, 247–252; Testimonies, vol. 4, 533–537.

Introduction

“David’s prayer was continually directed to God. His trust was in God, and he walked before Him in a perfect way.” The Signs of the Times, August 17, 1888.

1 EARNEST CONSISTENCY

  • What habit can we learn from David—and why? Psalm 55:16, 17.

Note: “Our only sure defense against besetting sins is prayer, daily and hourly prayer. Not one day zealous and the next careless, but through watchfulness and earnestness becoming vitalized by intercourse with God. Prayer is necessary, and we should not wait for feeling, but pray, earnestly pray, whether we feel like it or not. Heaven is open to our prayers. Prayer is the channel that conducts our gratitude and yearnings of soul for the divine blessing to the throne of God, to be returned to us in refreshing showers of divine grace. With very many, this channel is allowed to freeze up, and then the connection with heaven is interrupted. … Oh, that we would spend more time upon our knees and less time in planning for ourselves and in thinking we may do some great thing.” This Day With God, 277.

  • Describe the depth of spiritual experience we are to learn from David’s example. Psalm 38:9–15; 42:1, 2, 5; 84:2.

Note: “True prayer engages the energies of the soul and affects the life. He who thus pours out his wants before God feels the emptiness of everything else under heaven.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 535.

2 BEHOLDING GOD’S CHARACTER

  • How did David gain a clearer view of God through prayer? Psalm 77:1–14.

Note: “The psalmist David in his experience had many changes of mind. At times, as he obtained views of God’s will and ways, he was highly exalted. Then as he caught sight of the reverse of God’s mercy and changeless love, everything seemed to be shrouded in a cloud of darkness. But through the darkness he obtained a view of the attributes of God, which gave him confidence and strengthened his faith. But when he meditated upon the difficulties and danger of life, they looked so forbidding that he thought himself abandoned by God because of his sins. He viewed his sin in such a strong light that he exclaimed, ‘Will the Lord cast off for ever? will he be favorable no more?’ (Psalm 77:7.)

“But as he wept and prayed, he obtained a clearer view of the character and attributes of God, being educated by heavenly agencies, and he decided that his ideas of God’s justice and severity were exaggerated. He rejected his impressions as being the result of his weakness, ignorance, and physical infirmities, and as dishonoring to God, and with renewed faith he exclaimed, ‘This is my infirmity; but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High’ [Psalm 77:10].” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 3, 1149.

  • What tragic hour in David’s life confirms how outward circumstances do not necessarily reflect whether or not God accepts our prayers? Psalm 3:1–8.

Note: “Our heavenly Father is never unmindful of those whom sorrow has touched. When David went up the Mount Olivet, ‘and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot’ (II Samuel 15:30), the Lord was looking pityingly upon him. David was clothed in sackcloth, and his conscience was scourging him. The outward signs of humiliation testified of his contrition. In tearful, heartbroken utterances he presented his case to God, and the Lord did not forsake His servant. Never was David dearer to the heart of Infinite Love than when, conscience-smitten, he fled for his life from his enemies, who had been stirred to rebellion by his own son. The Lord says, ‘As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.’ Revelation 3:19. Christ lifts up the contrite heart and refines the mourning soul until it becomes His abode.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 11.

3 DEEP REPENTANCE

  • Despite the greatest sin of David’s life, what attitude had enabled him to be restored as a man after God’s own heart? Psalms 32:1, 2; 51:1–14; 103:13.

Note: “The prayer of David after his fall, illustrates the nature of true sorrow for sin. His repentance was sincere and deep. There was no effort to palliate his guilt; no desire to escape the judgment threatened, inspired his prayer. David saw the enormity of his transgression; he saw the defilement of his soul; he loathed his sin. It was not for pardon only that he prayed, but for purity of heart. He longed for the joy of holiness—to be restored to harmony and communion with God.” Steps to Christ, 24, 25.

“Great had been David’s fall, but deep was his repentance, ardent was his love, and strong his faith. He had been forgiven much, and therefore he loved much. Luke 7:48.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 754.

“David often triumphed in God, and yet he dwelt much upon his own unworthiness and sinfulness. His conscience was not asleep or dead. ‘My sin,’ he cries, ‘is ever before me’ [Psalm 51:3]. He did not flatter himself that sin was a matter with which he had nothing to do, and that should not concern him. As he saw the depths of deceit in his heart, he was deeply disgusted with himself, and prayed that God would keep him back by His power from presumptuous sins, and cleanse him from secret faults.” The Youth’s Instructor, July 5, 1894.

  • What assurances are given to repentant souls? Jeremiah 3:22; Matthew 5:4.

Note: “In pronouncing a blessing upon those who mourn, Jesus did not design to teach that there is any virtue in living under a perpetual cloud, nor that selfish sorrow and repining has any merit of itself to remove a single stain of sin. The mourning spoken of by Christ is a godly sorrow for sin, that works repentance unto eternal life.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 2, 205.

“Have you fallen into sin? Then without delay seek God for mercy and pardon. When David was convicted of his sin, he poured out his soul in penitence and humiliation before God. He felt that he could endure the loss of his crown, but he could not be deprived of the favor of God. Mercy is still extended to the sinner.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 177.

4 RESTORATION TO PURITY

  • What must we always remember about God? Psalm 145:8, 9; I John 4:16.

Note: “The one thing essential for us in order that we may receive and impart the forgiving love of God is to know and believe the love that He has to us. 1 John 4:16. Satan is working by every deception he can command, in order that we may not discern that love. He will lead us to think that our mistakes and transgressions have been so grievous that the Lord will not have respect unto our prayers and will not bless and save us. In ourselves we can see nothing but weakness, nothing to recommend us to God, and Satan tells us that it is of no use; we cannot remedy our defects of character. When we try to come to God, the enemy will whisper, It is of no use for you to pray; did not you do that evil thing? Have you not sinned against God and violated your own conscience? But we may tell the enemy that ‘the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.’ 1 John 1:7. When we feel that we have sinned and cannot pray, it is then the time to pray. Ashamed we may be and deeply humbled, but we must pray and believe. ‘This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.’ I Timothy 1:15. Forgiveness, reconciliation with God, comes to us, not as a reward for our works, it is not bestowed because of the merit of sinful men, but it is a gift unto us, having in the spotless righteousness of Christ its foundation for bestowal.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 115, 116.

  • On what theme did David often focus his prayers? Psalms 19:12–14; 51:10.

Note: “One of the most earnest prayers recorded in the Word of God is that of David when he pleaded, ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God.’ Psalm 51:10. God’s response to such a prayer is, A new heart will I give you. This is a work that no finite man can do. Men and women are to begin at the beginning, seeking God most earnestly for a true Christian experience. They are to feel the creative power of the Holy Spirit. They are to receive the new heart, that is kept soft and tender by the grace of heaven. The selfish spirit is to be cleansed from the soul. They are to labor earnestly and with humility of heart, each one looking to Jesus for guidance and encouragement. Then the building, fitly framed together, will grow into a holy temple in the Lord.” Our High Calling, 159.

5 THE REWARD OF FERVOR

  • How can we enjoy a rich spiritual life? Psalm 119:10, 145.

Note: “In sincerity, in soul hunger, cry after God. Wrestle with the heavenly agencies until you have the victory. Put your whole being into the Lord’s hands, soul, body, and spirit, and resolve to be His loving, consecrated agency, moved by His will, controlled by His mind, infused by His Spirit.

“Tell Jesus your wants in the sincerity of your soul. You are not required to hold a long controversy with, or preach a sermon to, God, but with a heart of sorrow for your sins, say, ‘Save me, Lord, or I perish.’ There is hope for such souls. They will seek, they will ask, they will knock, and they will find. When Jesus has taken away the burden of sin that is crushing the soul, you will experience the blessedness of the peace of Christ.” Our High Calling, 131.

  • What characterizes all who truly take God at His word? Psalms 50:23; 51:15.

Note: “The joy of Christ is a pure, unalloyed cheerfulness. It is not a cheap gaiety, that leads to vanity of words or lightness of conduct. No, we are to have His joy, and His greatest joy was to see men obeying the truth. … Plead with God, saying, ‘I make an entire surrender. I give myself away to Thee.’ Then be joyful. The Word is in you, purifying and cleansing your character. God does not want His children to go about with anxiety and sorrow expressed in their faces. He wants the lovely expression of His countenance to be revealed in every one of us who are partakers of the divine nature; for we have power to escape the corruptions of the world.” Our High Calling, 148. [Author’s italics.]

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1 What does true prayer involve?

2 How can you gain a clearer view of God?

3 What should you do if you fall into sin?

4 How can you receive a new heart?

5 How can my prayer life be more like David’s?

© 2003 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.