You Can Pray Like King David

King David was a man so extraordinary that, in Acts 13:22, God described him as “a man after My own heart, which shall fulfill all My will.”

That is a huge compliment from the God of the universe. How would you like to be referenced as a role model of righteousness?

As was the case with other great servants of God, David was not perfect. In I Chronicles 28:3, he described why he was not allowed to build a Temple: “God said unto me, you shall not build an house for My name, because you have been a man of war, and have shed blood.”

Despite his mistakes, God used King David as His human leader over the Kingdom of Israel because, overall, he remained humble, repentant and yielded to God’s will. While this remarkable man lived millennia ago, there is much to learn from his powerful example.

The best way to absorb the traits of a man who lived “after God’s own heart” is to consider David’s heart itself.

Christ instructed how to discern a man’s heart in Luke 6: “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (vs. 45).

Psalms is filled with the “good treasure” recorded straight out of King David’s heart. He authored about half—at least 73—of the 150 psalms. These psalms are essentially prayers (Psalm 17, for instance, begins: “A Prayer of David”) that were set to music for ancient Israel to hear publicly. But they were also written so we could study them and learn what the prayers that came out of the king’s mouth were like.

With this in mind, there are four qualities of David’s prayers that made them effective.

Praise

One quality David exhibited throughout his psalms was an abundance of praise. He showed boundless reverence to the true God. He understood his insignificant place in comparison to the Being who made all things that exist, and lauded Him liberally. That much is evident in Psalm 8:3-4, where he stated, “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; what is man, that You are mindful of him?”

The king also wrote: “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name” (Psa. 103:1). A closer examination of this passage reveals an attitude of complete submission. The Hebrew word translated “bless” can also mean “to kneel” and the term translated “that is within” is just one word that can mean “inward part…as faculty of thought and emotion…entrails (of sacrificial animals),” according to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible.

This suggests David considered every cell in his body and every emotion and thought in his mind to be “kneeling”—or humbling itself—before God, as if a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1). Have you ever had this image of yourself when bowing your head, or getting down on your knees to pray?

Here are additional excerpts of psalms in which David opens with unparalleled praises to God. You may wish to think on and use these passages as you come before God’s throne in your personal prayers, and incorporate some of these words as you honor the great God of heaven and Earth.

• “I will love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised…” (Psa. 18:1-3).
• “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork” (19:1).
• “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein” (24:1).
• “O God, You are my God; early will I seek You: my soul thirsts for You, my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; to see Your power and Your glory, so as I have seen You in the sanctuary. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. Thus will I bless You while I live: I will lift up my hands in Your name” (63:1-4).

When we give honor to God, we remind ourselves of His awesome power. It helps us learn to fear Him. Be sure to think about what God has done—from the awesome handiwork of Creation to the intricate details in His Plan for mankind—and talk about them bountifully in your intimate prayers.

Gratitude

The second trait is closely related to the first. King David did not spare in giving thanks to God. He knew that, while he lived, he would practice a life of thankfulness. “For in death there is no remembrance of You: in the grave who shall give You thanks?” (Psa. 6:5).

Read the verses that follow and see David’s grateful attitude toward the God who gave him everything.

• “Therefore will I give thanks unto You, O Lord, among the heathen, and sing praises unto Your name” (18:49).
• “Sing unto the Lord, O you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness” (30:4).
• “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing: You have put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; to the end that my glory may sing praise to You, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto You forever” (30:11-12).
• “I will give You thanks in the great congregation: I will praise You among much people” (35:18).

Do we show thankfulness to God as David did? He was a king over Israel, and we were called to become kings (I Pet. 2:5; Rev. 1:6; 5:10). We should therefore develop this kingly quality!

There should be no shortage of things to thank God for in your prayers. He called you, gave you His Spirit, and offers you protection—not only now, but also for serious, prophetic events just over the horizon (Psa. 62:2).

Perhaps you can recall a time He healed you or performed a miracle. Be thankful for this. Today, we enjoy niceties David himself could not have dreamed of, especially in the modern nations of Israel. Express gratitude for the things you have that most others throughout history and even throughout the world today do not. The list of things to be grateful for could go on—refer to additional psalms for guidance.

A Contrite Heart

The third trait highlights David’s desire to repent and have a contrite heart. It is no secret that at times he sinned “big.” He committed adultery with Bathsheba and killed her husband, Uriah the Hittite, one of his faithful mighty men (II Sam. 23:39). He also broke God’s command to not number the armies of Israel (I Chron. 21), which eventually led to the deaths of 70,000 people.

Yet when confronted about these and other sins, David was always contrite and genuinely changed his heart. It was this willingness to repent that made him a “just man” in spite of his failures (Prov. 24:16).

The following verses evidence David’s serious regret over his sins and his subsequent desire to change:

• “O Lord, rebuke me not in Your anger, neither chasten me in Your hot displeasure. Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am weak…” (Psa. 6:1-2).
• “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of Your tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight: that You might be justified when You speak, and be clear when You judge…Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow…Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Your presence; and take not Your Holy Spirit from me…You desire not sacrifice; else would I give it: You delight not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise” (51:1-4, 7, 9-11, 16-17).

David meant these words. He is a dynamic “ensample” for us (I Cor. 10:11; Rom. 15:4). As with him, we should ask for the gift of repentance regularly and remain humble enough to implore our God to purge us from our sins whenever necessary.

Sincerity

David’s fourth prayer trait involves the manner in which we are to serve God. As Christians, we are to always “fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth…” (Josh. 24:14). The Hebrew word translated “sincerity” also appears throughout David’s psalms as “upright” and “perfect.” One such place is Psalm 15: “Lord, who shall abide in Your tabernacle? Who shall dwell in Your holy hill? He that walks uprightly [sincerely], and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart” (vs. 1-2).

David was a genuine and sincere person and it came through in his heartfelt prayers, and God was pleased by this. Think. How many other servants did He use to record prayers that would be read by His servants for all time? (More on the significance of this later.)

A sincere heart offers a tremendous return. Notice in Psalm 18 how God rewards our sincerity: “I was also upright before Him, and I kept myself from my iniquity. Therefore has the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His eyesight. With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; with an upright man You will show Yourself upright…” (vs. 23-25).

God reacts to our sincerity with sincerity of His own! He is open with those who are sincere. He showed David things that would not be fully understood until our days.

David did not “fake” his faith in God. In Psalm 17:1, he asked God to “attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goes not out of feigned lips.”

When we pray, we should be ready to hold ourselves confidently to the same high standard of integrity with God’s help.

Pour Out Your Heart!

The Psalms reveal other traits that David demonstrated through his prayers, including passion, zeal and attention to detail. All-in-all, he poured his heart out. From a young age, David had a uniquely bold personality and a lot of faith. Even as a shepherd, he chased after a lion and killed it with his bare hands (I Sam. 17:34-35), and later confronted the giant Goliath—who terrified the entire army of Israel (vs. 10-11)—with just a sling and a few stones.

That is boldness. Though we may not have David’s level of faith—yet—we should be growing toward it. We can start by praying as he did.

Considering all that we can learn about his attitude toward God, it could be said that the Psalms were David’s greatest legacy for us to learn from.

Think about this. Why would God inspire so many of one man’s prayers to be documented? Was it so we would all “eat humble pie”? Or so that we may think to ourselves, Wow, David was so good at talking to God. I’ll never be able to pray like him.

Of course not! God wants us to imitate David’s example by incorporating what worked for him.

The next time you come before God in prayer, come full of praise. Offer plentiful thanks for everything—blessings and trials—because we learn and grow from both. Present yourself with a contrite heart for those things in which you fall short, because, as David’s own wise son Solomon prayed, “There is no man that sins not” (I Kgs. 8:46). Lastly, let your prayer be sincere.

If you work to apply these four traits, your prayers will be precious, effectual (Jms. 5:16), and important to God. With effort, you can be a man or woman “after His own heart.”