Psalms 7:3-5 (NKJV)

‘O Lord my God, if I have done this: if there is iniquity in my hands, if I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me…Let the enemy pursue me and overtake me…And lay my honor in the dust.’

Herein is a fearful but forthright prayer. It is not correct for me to be pleading for the mercy of God and yet I dwell in iniquity. It is counter productive. It doesn’t work. David understood that the mercy he was pleading for and the deliverance he so desperately needed, were connected to how he himself lived his life. He could not be seeking help from God and yet repaying evil to those who were at peace with him? That would not make sense.

What can we learn from this? It teaches us that mercy from God is not an abstract but is directly connected with my current lifestyle. Where I need to repent and restitute, I need to do that as part of the process of obtaining mercy. If I don’t walk away from iniquity, then the mercy I plead for shall not happen.

Can you boldly pray this prayer of David? Can you say to the Lord, ‘if I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me, let the enemy pursue me and overtake me; and lay my honor in the dust?’ Let’s work hard at ensuring that we get to the place where we can indeed make this bold and audacious prayer, for only then is truth truly dwelling with us.

‘Lord, it takes a lot of boldness to pray what David did, but that’s the prayer of truth. I need your mercy so desperately, therefore, I must ensure that I do not live in such a way as to cancel my very deepest need for mercy. I must be a man of mercy and truth and in so doing, Lord; I know you likewise will show me mercy. Maybe my enemies are overwhelming me because I have lived and still live in iniquity. Show me myself and reveal to me things I need to make right, that I may indeed enjoy the full deliverance that you have available to me. Amen’