Selfish Prayers Don’t Include God

Psalm 83:1 Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God

Is praying selfish? Usually when we pray, we say, “Dear God, I need, I want, give me, my, and mine.” We can think that is selfish, and it certainly can be. Psalm 86 basically begins, “Lord, hear my prayer.” In other words, “Bow down your ear.” Psalm 83 begins, “Keep not thou silence.” In other words, “Lift up your voice.” It continues, “O God…hold not thy peace.” He is saying, “I’m the one who needs peace. Please, don’t hold it for Yourself.” Then he says, “Be not still, O God.” The Bible says that we are to be still and know that He is God. So, David says, “God, we are going to be still. Don’t You be still.” It is almost as if the psalmist is reverently saying, “God, don’t just stand there. Say something; do something.”

So, is praying selfish? Think about David when he prayed about Goliath. Was that selfish? What would you pray if you were David facing the Philistines, Saul, or Absalom? You don’t have to wonder because the psalms give exactly what David said in these situations. So, is praying selfish either as an idea or specifically when I am praying, “Dear God, help me”? What you learn from reading the psalms is that prayers are only selfish when they don’t include God. How in the world can you pray and not include God? Doesn’t every prayer begin, “Dear Father, we pray”? That may be, but that doesn’t mean it is including God.

Instead of explaining what it is for prayers to be selfish, let’s see how we should include God with Psalm 83 as a pattern. First, the psalmist had a common interest. Verse 2 says, “For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult; and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.” Were these enemies a threat to God? Was God in physical danger because of these enemies? No, the psalmist was, but he had so closely aligned his interests with God that he could pray this way.

Verse 3 says, “They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden

ones.” Verse 4 says, “They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.” These were God’s people, God’s covenant, God’s land. It continues, “For they had consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee.” So, David had a common interest. He realized the ownership of God. When you have a common interest with God, then ask what you will. If you are praying the wrong way, God can show that to you.

The psalmist had a common history. Verse 9 says, “Do unto them [the enemies of God’s people] as unto the Midianites; as to Sisera, unto Jabin, at the brook of Kison.” We may or may not know what this is referring to, but the psalmist knew and God knew. It is wonderful when you can look back at your life and say, “Wow, that was God. God led, God provided, and God undertook for me.” Verse 11 says, “Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb…” David is appealing to a common history. People without a common history are not a people. For centuries Israel did not have a country, ground upon which to stand, but they continued to be a nation in part because they have a common ethic for celebration and a common history. Many of the people of Israel today may not acknowledge Jehovah, but they do have a common history and a common celebration. The psalmist had a common history.

The psalmist had a common purpose. Psalm 83:16 says, “Fill their faces [God’s enemies] with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD.” This is not a matter of God answering David’s prayer so he could be great and comfortable. No, he is saying, “God, please hear my prayer that people can seek your name.” Verse 18 says, “That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.” So, the psalmist prayed with a common purpose, “God, I am Your person and I need, but, God, may You be glorified.”

Shoot for the moon because God owns it, and when you acknowledge God’s ownership that is part of prayer. What is it you want so all fired much that you can’t lock God in on it? That is what is selfish. It is not selfish to be a servant. It is not selfish to look to God. God is not going to pray to me. He is God, the sovereign of the universe. He commands. He is truth. I can obey or reject, but He is God. He doesn’t ask me. I ask Him. That is as it is to be. So, is praying selfish? Should I pray for others? Certainly, but the premise of all prayer is that it includes God. The psalmist had a common interest, a common history, and a common purpose. That is the way we should pray today.