Praying not to be drawn to evil

“I call to you, Lord, come quickly to me; hear me when I call to you. May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.” (Psalms 141:1-2 NIV)

Prayer should be an integral part of our lives as Christians. David understood this as he asked God to come quickly as he called to him. He wanted his prayers to be like incense wafting up to God or the evening sacrifice. We find similar sentiments connected with our prayers as Christians – John wrote about the twenty-four elders “holding golden bowls full of incense which are the prayers of God’s people” (Revelation 5:8). Prayer should be part of our daily life as well as part of our worship of God. But what do we pray about?

“Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil so that I take part in wicked deeds along with those who are evildoers; do not let me eat their delicacies.” (Psalms 141:3-4)

How often do we ask God to put a guard on our mouth and keep watch over our lips? David was obviously concerned that he not say things that were wrong or inappropriate. James also wrote about this, telling Christians that what we say can corrupt us and set “the whole course of one’s life on fire”. I’m sure we realise that what we say can get us in trouble faster than just about anything. How many people just say what is on their mind without considering either what they are saying or the consequences those words might have? We need to ask God to “keep watch over the door of my lips”!

I’m sure we pray for forgiveness but do we ask God to help us not be attracted to what is evil? This is reflected in the prayer Jesus taught his disciples: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13). While forgiveness is vitally important, it should be just as important to endeavour to steer clear of the temptation to be involved in what is sinful. Because sin can be attractive we need to be asking God to help us not “be drawn to what is evil”.

“Let a righteous man strike me – that is a kindness; let him rebuke me – that is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it, for my prayer will still be against the deeds of evildoers.” (Psalms 141:5)

I have heard Christians pray for God to defeat them if what they were doing was not what God wanted, but I can’t recall anyone asking God to have other Christians rebuke and correct them in any way, let alone physically strike them! But David realised his need for correction when he was wrong. He looked on a righteous man striking him as kindness and rebuke as oil on his head. Perhaps if we prayed more like this we would realise when we are heading towards what is sinful and wrong. Too many Christians that I have known don’t like to be corrected even if they are involved in sin. May we be open to correction by those who lovingly looking out for us.

“But my eyes are fixed on you, Sovereign Lord; in you I take refuge – do not give me over to death. Keep me safe from the traps set by evildoers, from the snares they have laid for me. Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by in safety.” (Psalms 141:8-10)

What better way to end this prayer and to remind us of what we need to do, to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. We need to make Jesus our refuge and pray that we will not fall for the traps and snares that people may place in our way. May we always pray that God will keep us safe.

Image by Miseria from pixabay.com. Free for use.

Readings for next week: Psalms 141-150; Luke 1