David is a Man After God’s Own Heart

Psalms 17:1–5
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This psalm is a prayer of David as he was surrounded by enemies but encouraged by his faith in God.  Danger was pressing in on him, so help from the Lord was urgently needed. He would not  have been a man after God’s own heart, had he not been a man of prayer. Sometimes Scripture uses the parts of the human body to describe God’s activities with respect to His people. He does not have eyes, but He sees us. He does not have ears, but He hears our cries.

1. God’s ears (vv. 1-2). The enemy opposed David, so he cried out to God for vindication. David’s prayer was sincere, and he wanted God to judge righteously.
2. God’s eyes (vv. 3-5). David had nothing to hide. His heart was right and his walk was righteous. We must be able to say the same of our heart and walk to expect answered prayer.

As a righteous man David pleads with God to “hear,” “listen” (attend) and “give ear” to his prayer (v.1). The first condition of real prayer is a good conscience. We cannot hope to get anywhere with God if we come to Him simply to put on a show. He knows us too well. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:” (Psalm 66:18). Far from being proud in assuming his purity, his claim was based on his relationship with God which was one of close fellowship.

Application

Have I had any refining experiences in my life? If not, I no doubt will have. In order to come out pure I must let the Lord have his way in my life and then I can say with David - “I have been tried and proven.”