DAVID'S PRAYER

Passage: 2 Samuel 7:18-29

Key verse: 28

NIV

David’s Prayer(A)

18 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said:

“Who am I,(B) Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 19 And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree,(C) Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human![a]

20 “What more can David say(D) to you? For you know(E) your servant,(F) Sovereign Lord. 21 For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.

22 “How great(G) you are,(H) Sovereign Lord! There is no one like(I) you, and there is no God(J) but you, as we have heard with our own ears.(K) 23 And who is like your people Israel(L)—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name(M) for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders(N) by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed(O) from Egypt?[b] 24 You have established your people Israel as your very own(P) forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.(Q)

25 “And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise(R) you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, 26 so that your name(S) will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established(T) in your sight.

27 “Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28 Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy,(U) and you have promised these good things to your servant. 29 Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with your blessing(V) the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”

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Footnotes
  1. 2 Samuel 7:19 Or for the human race
  2. 2 Samuel 7:23 See Septuagint and 1 Chron. 17:21; Hebrew wonders for your land and before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt, from the nations and their gods.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

David's Prayer of Gratitude

18 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, (A)“Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? 19 And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God. (B)You have spoken also of your servant's house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God! 20 And what more can David say to you? (C)For you know your servant, O Lord God! 21 Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. 22 (D)Therefore you are great, O Lord God. (E)For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 23 (F)And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name (G)and doing for them[a] great and awesome things by driving out before your people,[b] whom (H)you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods? 24 (I)And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O Lord, became their God. 25 And now, O Lord God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken. 26 And your name will be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you. 27 For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28 And now, O Lord God, you are God, and (J)your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. 29 Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord God, have spoken, (K)and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.”

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Footnotes
  1. 2 Samuel 7:23 With a few Targums, Vulgate, Syriac; Hebrew you
  2. 2 Samuel 7:23 Septuagint (compare 1 Chronicles 17:21); Hebrew awesome things for your land, before your people
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

1. Who am I, O Lord? (18-21)

David was king, but he was not proud. He knew himself because he knew God. He knew that he and his family were nothing special, but God, by his grace, had done a great thing for him, and was now promising to do greater things.

2. How great you are, O God! (22-24)

God did a great and awesome thing by redeeming Israel from Egypt and driving out the Canaanite nations and their gods from the land to give it to his people. This made God's people Israel special.

3. Now Lord, do as you promised! (25-29)

God's word is trustworthy. David believed God's promises. God promised that he would bless David's house to continue before him forever. God has kept that promise by sending Jesus to be the eternal King.

Prayer: Lord, you are great and you are faithful to keep your promises. Help me to believe your promises and trust your blessing and praise your name forever.

One Word: Know God and know yourself