Teach me your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name. (Psalm 86:11 NASB)

We often wake knowing that our day, or perhaps the week ahead, has much that must be done or should be done or we would like to do. Sometimes we also know there are demands or uncertainties present. These can cause us to begin questioning whether we can meet the challenges they may bring.

Then again we may awake to just another day. Even so, it will arrive with demands and decisions we must make. It will require our strength and attention to things yet unknown. Either of these, knowing what’s ahead or stepping into the unknown, should call us to prayer. He is the One who knows the way and is our strength.

David seems to have faced something like this. In Psalm 86, he records feelings of being “afflicted and needy.” But then he prays, choosing to trust his day and himself to God’s guiding presence. At the same time, he also shows understanding of how easily we seem to turn from trusting Him, our focus becoming how we ourselves can handle things. Wisely he extends his prayer asking God to keep him focused, dependent and reverently aware of His presence and great strength. May we be as wise.

–Curt Brannan