A Prayer about God's Memory

We have looked at the language of the Psalms, considering first his presence and then the role of the heart. Now we shift to the role of memory—first God’s, then ours. We will now turn to Psalm 25.

This Hebrew alphabet acrostic Psalm is about trust and guidance in an unstable world that includes shame and guilt. The last verse is not a stand-alone prayer, but a needed bridge from the individual to the covenant community. I am not alone in this unstable and hostile world. David’s first-person singular prayers, 1-7 & 16-21, and creed, 8-15, are followed by a prayer, 22, for all the covenant people. David prays about themes common to many of us, external threats that create crisis, chaos and unwelcome change coupled with the internal wounds of his own sins.

God’s memory is mentioned at the end of the first prayer in verses 6&7:” Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!”

David prays for the LORD to remember his mercy and steadfast love (twice) and his goodness. What he wants God to forget, not to remember, are the sins of his youth and transgressions. This comes after a plea for what we commonly refer to as a guidance prayer/request based upon a trust in the LORD expressed in his description of the LORD as he prays.

The 25^th Psalm’s two prayers can be used as a Psalm whose very words can become our prayer using the words and images to expand the language of our prayers. This week our consideration of Psalm 25 and conversation about it will focus on what we want God to remember and to forget in our prayers.