Likely, David was in the midst of suffering at this point in time, potentially when Saul was chasing after him in 1 Samuel 23-24. I believe this is probably a prayer to the Lord crying out and saying why he doesn’t deserve this kind of treatment. He’s exhausted, he knows his trust in the Lord has been unwavering, and he wants to be judged fairly.
Knowing all of this, my mind immediately thought of Job. Job knew he was a blameless man, and yet Satan attacked him in the worst of ways. The whole time Job didn’t recognize that there was another character in the story. He assumes that God is responsible for all of his suffering (and well, his friends and his wife don’t help this situation at all). He defends himself to God, just as David is doing in Psalm 26.
So why is this an important type of prayer to pray? I don’t really know the answer to this, but what I do know is that I want my prayers to exude confidence like this. I want to be so sure of the Lord’s protection over me that I can pray just as David did here. And even though Job questions God throughout the entire book, he eventually comes to repentance and trusts the Lord in confidence because he understands more of who God is and his character.
In verse 6+7 David says, “I wash my hands in innocence and go around your altar, O Lord, proclaiming thanksgiving aloud, and telling all your wondrous deeds.” Let’s be a faith family that does this well. Because I think the more we share what all the Lord has done and is doing in our lives, the more confidence we will radiate.
- Bethany Powell