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Psalms 86
1Hear, LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.
2Preserve my soul, for I am godly. You, my God, save your servant who trusts in you.
3Be merciful to me, Lord, for I call to you all day long.
4Bring joy to the soul of your servant, for to you, Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, abundant in loving kindness to all those who call on you.
6Hear, LORD, my prayer. Listen to the voice of my petitions.
7In the day of my trouble I will call on you, for you will answer me.
8There is no one like you among the gods, Lord, nor any deeds like your deeds.
9All nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord. They shall glorify your name.
10For you are great, and do wondrous things. You are God alone.
11Teach me your way, LORD. I will walk in your truth. Make my heart undivided to fear your name.
12I will praise you, Lord my God, with my whole heart. I will glorify your name forever more.
13For your loving kindness is great toward me. You have delivered my soul from the lowest Sheol.
14God, the proud have up against me. A company of violent men have sought after my soul, and they don’t hold regard for you before them.
15But you, Lord, are a merciful and God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth.
16Turn to me, and have mercy on me! Give your strength to your servant. Save the son of your servant.
17Show me a sign of your goodness, that those who hate me may see it, and be shamed, because you, LORD, have helped me, and comforted me.
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Read Psalms 86 three times
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Questions this passage answers
Who is God?
God is the one living Creator who made everything and depends on nothing, and Scripture answers this question mainly by telling us his character rather than by defining his substance. When God described himself to Moses he said he is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abundant in loving kindness and truth, and yet will by no means clear the guilty. The New Testament adds that this God is finally known in Jesus Christ, who has made him known.
Who wrote the Bible?
The Bible was written by many human authors over a long period, and Scripture presents itself as God-breathed rather than as human opinion. Some books name their writer, some do not, and honest study says which is which. Paul calls every Scripture God-breathed, and Peter says no prophecy came by the will of man but that people spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, which is the Bible's own account of how both authors are involved at once.
Can the Bible be trusted?
Scripture claims to be true and invites examination rather than avoiding it. It says God's word is truth and that it stands when everything else fades, and the New Testament writers appeal to eyewitnesses, named places and public events rather than to private experience. Trust in Scripture is finally trust in the God who speaks in it, and the clearest reason a Christian gives for that trust is that Jesus treated these writings as God's own word.
How should I pray?
When the disciples asked this, Jesus answered with a pattern rather than a technique. Pray to your Father, in private, without performance and without needing many words, because he already knows what you need. The prayer he gave begins with God's name, kingdom and will, then asks for bread, forgiveness and protection. Scripture adds that we may bring everything, that the Spirit helps our weakness, and that we can ask with confidence when we ask according to God's will.