2 Samuel 7:18-22 – True Prayer is Marked by Gratitude and Humility
David is almost overwhelmed as he begins his prayer in v18: ‘Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?’ He’s just amazed at what God has already done for him to this point. Which is a reference to God bringing him from the sheepfolds to reign as king over Israel. Yet as David realises in v19, that’s nothing compared to what God has now promised to do for him. At this point, David is almost lost for words. v20: ‘And what more can David say to you?’
David’s ‘Who am I?’ here is similar to his ‘What is man?’ in Psalm 8. ‘What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him’. We live in a society where people have a sense of entitlement. But that sense of entitlement should be so far from us as Christians. People are quick to shout ‘I know my rights’! But what rights do we really have? They only thing we deserve is Hell. David can’t get over the fact that God has chosen him. When he says in v20 ‘for you know your servant’, that’s almost certainly ‘know’ being used in the deeper, Biblical sense. Like when God tells the people through Amos ‘You only have I known of all the families of the earth’. It’s not that God doesn’t know facts about certain people. But he has only truly known – he has only chosen – some. It’s all of grace, and David’s just amazed at that. God knew all about David. Yet he still chose him, and David is just so humble and grateful.
Did you notice how he refers to himself over and over again in his prayer? 10 times he calls himself ‘your servant’. He says in v22: ‘Therefore you are great. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you’. He’s the polar opposite of Nebuchadnezzar who a few centuries later would say: ‘Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power for the glory of my majesty?’ Whereas David says, v29, ‘with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever’. It’s all God’s blessing – it’s all of grace.
Questions
- What amazes David?
- How can we show gratitude and humility in our prayers?
Prayer Points
- Give thanks for all that Christ has done for you.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.