Psalm 141:3-4 (NKJV)
Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men who work iniquity; and do not let me eat of their delicacies.
How often do you ask God to purify your thoughts, words and deeds? More often than not, my own prayers focus on the serious needs of others as well as some regarding my own, but rarely do I find myself praying as David did in today’s verses. I hope you are doing better than I am. One of the reasons that David is known as “a man after God’s own heart” was his on-going acknowledgement of his fallen nature and sinful actions. David was often a man with a broken and contrite heart—exactly the kind of sacrifice the Lord is looking for from each and every one of His children (Ps. 51:17).
It is one thing to utter a prayer of protection regarding the evil deeds of others, but what about protection from our own sinful nature? How often do you see yourself as your greatest enemy when it comes to holiness? David prays about three major and on-going concerns within his own lifestyle: The words of his mouth, the inclination of his heart, and the direction of his actions. David was a king, commander, father, husband, and follower of the Most High God so his words carried great weight. David didn’t want the same mouth that prayed as incense to be used for lies or any evil thing. He asked God to “keep watch over the door of my lips,” so that he would not say evil or foolish things. How often do we ask God to do the same for us? James described the destructive ability of our words as “a fire, a world of iniquity…that sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell” (Jas. 3:6). Do we really think we can guard against this potential tempest on our own?
David also prayed about the inclination or bent of his heart, and the Apostle Paul agonized over it in Romans 7. Spurgeon said that, “The way the heart inclines the life soon tends and evil things desired bring forth wicked things practiced. Unless the fountain of life is kept pure the streams of life will soon be polluted.” So, how does one keep the “fountain of life” pure? We need God’s help, and we need it desperately! Jesus taught us to pray this way when He said, “…and lead us not into temptation.” Spurgeon nailed it when he wrote, “The present pleasure and commodity of sin is in high estimation with the sinner, and much sweeter to him than what he may lawfully enjoy; the pleasures of sin are his delicacies. No man can keep himself from being taken with the allurements of a sinful course, except the Lord preserve him.” And there you have it—our desperate need for the Lord’s help in resisting the natural bent of our hearts towards sin!
Finally, David prayed about his actions. “David didn’t want to walk in the ways of ‘men who work iniquity,’ so he didn’t want to eat at their table either. This may have been a literal situation for David, but the principle of not enjoying all the luxuries that the wicked partake of is always relevant to God’s people” (Enduring Word commentary). Do you find yourself traveling down some roads because others are leading you there? Perhaps not by direct invitation, but by their example? “Evil company corrupts good habits” (1 Cor. 15:33) and while one might be able to handle walking alongside such people, it is far more difficult to resist the delicacies put before you once you reach that particular table of sin. It is best not to go near it in the first place.
Satan is not the bigger concern in our lives when it comes to sin, nor is it the unending enticements the world throws at us all day, every day. No, the bigger concern is our own sin nature, and that is why it should regularly be on our prayer list, and probably nearer to the top than the bottom. When it is, we will be men and women after God’s own heart, too.
