Make Me Know the Way I Should Go

I’m big on goals (more about that here) and I bet you are, too. After a year like we just had, one might be tempted to throw up hands and not bother to make goals 2021. Sure, 2020 was not what any of us predicted, but many people accomplished more than we expected to. And we know what others don’t: God was not shocked by 2020; He had and has good plans for you; He had and has goals worthy of your time, energy, and prayers.

So how can we know of His good plans and worthy goals for 2021? How do we seek God’s direction for the tasks He is setting before us, both large and small? King David models just what to do: 

Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. — Psalm 143:8 ESV

In this Psalm, David is being persecuted, so he seeks God as his source of encouragement, of steadfast love, and (to our point) of God’s direction. Perhaps the tone of his prayer comes from a fear that God had made known the way but somehow David had missed it. His prayer has broad application for us in a time of so much difficulty, when we wonder if we “missed it”. We still need His encouragement, the reassurance of His steadfast love, and to “know the way (we) should go.”

I often personally use David’s prayer as a template as I seek God, and you could do that, too. In recent weeks, here’s what my prayers have looked like when they concern…

…time periods

                        make me know the way I should go

                                                today

                                                this week

                                                this month

                                                this year

…specific tasks

                        make me know the way I should go

                                                in this message I am preparing

                                                in my time with this church board

                                                in how to spend my day off

                                                in how to talk to that challenging church member

…my personal needs

                        make me know the way I should go

                                                in my thinking

                                                in my planning

                                                in my speaking

                                                in my prioritizing

Perhaps David’s is one of those examples we need even more during times of significant change. Could prayers like His impact your devotions this month? In what areas of your life and ministry do you, like David, wonder if you have missed his leading? 

~ Eric Oleson