Resources/Articles
"I Will..."
I will behave myself wisely
in a perfect way.
Psalm 101:2
One of the sons in the parable Jesus taught in Matthew 21:30 said, “‘I go, sir’ and went not.” It is a serious illustration of what we might often promise God in our prayers. For all the promises we have made to God in our prayers, how many of them have we kept? Do we diligently seek the way to bring those promises to pass or have we conveniently allowed them to escape our minds?
Our prayers to God are significant to Him, especially when they contain promises. In Psalm 101, David makes several promises by saying, “I will behave myself wisely,” “I will walk within my house with a perfect heart,” “I will know no evil thing,” “Whoso privily slandereth his neighbor, him will I destroy: him that hath a high look and a proud heart will I not suffer,” “He that walketh in a perfect way, he shall minister unto me,” “He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house.”
In all of these commitments, David is establishing boundaries in his life he knows are essential components of his relationship with God. If he had not made and established these important boundaries, his intimacy with God would not have properly influenced him.
How often have we spoken to God in prayer, saying, “I am going to stop allowing my friends to influence me to do wrong,” “I am going to stop watching those wicked TV programs,” “I am going to make better choices,” “I am going to behave better,” or “I am going to be more responsible?”
Responsibility is what we are offering to God in prayers like this. We are stating our acceptance to the way of righteousness as better than the way of the wicked. The key is dependence on God, not doing this on our own. Giving God the opportunity to help us meet our responsibilities is the essence of our true devotion to Him. Otherwise, these prayers are just formalities. If we are genuinely sincere, we will fulfill our promises to what we say we will do. May the “I will” in prayer be witnessed in the “I did” in life.
