This simple verse teaches us so much about how to pray. 

First, King David asks for more than a momentary intervention. He asks for a course of life, a set of habits. He wants to know God’s will, to apply God’s will, and to declare God’s will. 

David was not interested in settling for knowledge separated from context. He wanted God’s truth for every situation. He wanted to know God’s heart and mind in every circumstance. 

This is the kind of prayer God loves to answer with a resounding Yes.

Second, King David asks for a life that would reflect well on God. He wanted others to see in him God’s unmistakable grace and strength. He wanted everyone to know the source of his accomplishments. He wanted everyone to see how good God is. 

King David wanted to live the kind of life God can bless. He wanted what God wanted for him. 

Again, this is the kind of prayer God loves to hear and answer.

Let us pray.

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I will ask God to shape me to live the life he desires for me.

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Our Father, I want to know your will and your ways in all things. Empower me to live according to your truth and with a pure heart and clean hands. Amen.