Introduction
David went into the tent which housed the Ark and sat before the Lord. This attitude of devotion seems not to be mentioned elsewhere in the Old Testament, but it is a characteristic posture of prayer in the ancient East. It may be seen in Mohammedan worship to this day.
Both David and his nation were "on a roll." The enemies of the past were crushed (especially the Philistines); the Israelite tribes were uniting and beginning to prosper; and now Jerusalem had become the religious center.
David now ponders it all. This portion of the narrative - 2 Samuel 7:18-29 - is referred to as "David’s Prayer." It is a chance to reflect, a chance to pause for thought, a time to sort everything out. Good prayer - nourishing prayer - will do that. All of us need to take time to pause and reflect, to "center ourselves down," and really listen to our lives.
David’s prayer is a natural response to the promises that had been made to him and to the success of his kingdom. His prayer includes many things. Here let us speak of three: humility, praise, and acknowledgment.*
(*I am indebted to David F. Payne for these thoughts. He speaks of these three responses and two
others in his contributions to the Daily Study Bible Series: 1 and 2 Samuel - Westminster Press,
1982, pages 191-192.)
1. Humility
Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and said, "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me thus far?"
- 2 Samuel 7:18
David was feeling good about things and it was a proud time of his life. Grateful humility, not boastful arrogance, was his response to it all. He recognized that it was God who had brought him this far.
In our own prayers humility is needed. But feeling and showing humility are difficult. Our human condition moves us in the direction of thinking it’s mostly up to us. Oh, we know that God has created us; "but the important thing is what we do with it." We’ve all heard the appealing slogan, "If it is to be, it is up to me."
Gerald Kennedy (and others) have told versions of this story:
A rabbi, a cantor, and a humble synagogue cleaner were preparing for the Day of Atonement. The rabbi beat his breast, and said, "I am nothing, I am nothing." The cantor beat his breast, and said, "I am nothing, I am nothing." The cleaner beat his breast, and said, "I am nothing, I am nothing." And the rabbi said to the cantor, "Look who thinks he’s nothing."
True humility truly is very difficult! We can sense the depth of authenticity of David’s humility in this prayer. Somehow we can sense how it’s different from the way we want to be "proud of our humility."
2. Praise
True praise of God is paying attention to all of creation. To know that all is from the hand of this Creator.
O Lord God ... there is none like thee, and there is no God besides thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
- 2 Samuel 7:22
David could have added all that we have seen with our eyes, too. But sometimes the vast glories of this earth overwhelm us and we lose perspective. True praise is remembering the source and putting first things first.
Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. - Matthew 6:33
There was a famous violinist who was asked the secret of her success. She replied: "Well, I used to get up, have breakfast, do the dishes, do the beds, and other minor chores, and then I would do my practicing. But I got nowhere. I finally decided to put my practicing first ... with a program of ‘planned neglect’ for the other little things which I could do later in the day."
Isn’t that great? Isn’t that fine! "Planned neglect!" Perhaps that’s another word for praise of God.
During this time of introspection David was putting things back in perspective and realizing that Yahweh - the Lord - was to be remembered always and to be put first in praise and thanksgiving.
For the moment everything was going well for David. His enemies had been overcome and none of the great world powers of the future had yet risen. David’s word was listened to throughout a wide empire inhabited by many people. Even though this success would bring danger and temptation later on, for now, at least, all was well. And David gave praise and thanks to the Source of it all.
3. Acknowledgment
Praying itself is an acknowledgment, a realization that there is Someone beyond ourselves that has caused all things to be.
And now, O Lord God, thou art God, and thy words are true, and thou hast promised this good thing to thy servant; now therefore may it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee; for thou, O Lord, hast spoken, and with thy blessing shall the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.
- 2 Samuel 7:28-29
Children have a natural knack for acknowledging God. A young boy who had done something bad was told by his mother that he could not go to a picnic that had been planned for the next weekend. But when the day came she was sorry for him and told him that he could go. He seemed quite indifferent. She asked him, "Don’t you want to go?" He replied, "I’m sorry, but I have already prayed for rain."
Such simple faith makes us smile a little, but perhaps this kind of acknowledgment is closer to the truth than our vapid utterings.
In this prayer of David (especially verses 25-29) we see great acknowledgment that God had given what he promised and that he would indeed keep all of his promises for the future. The main purpose of these verses may well have been for later generations to read, in times when the blessings in verse 29 seemed rather dim.
Humility, praise, and acknowledgment. Three great responses to what God has done for us all. The next time you pray, why not try doing all three?
Conclusion
The key to understanding this chapter is the play on the various meanings of the word house. According to the footnotes in my Oxford annotated Bible ...
• in vv. 1-2 it means "palace."
• in vv. 5, 6, 7, 13 it means "temples"
• in vv. 11, 16, 19, 25, 26, 27, 29 it means "dynasty."
• and in v. 18 it means "family status."
It was in terms of all these meaningful things that David prayed. He has left us a marvelous legacy of a model prayer. Perhaps only the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6) and Jesus’ High
Priestly Prayer (John 17) are on the same plane with this prayer of David.
Prayer
O God, when confronted by mystery, help us to remember that we do not have to explain all we we know or understand or believe.