"I Want to Be Taught"

Scripture: "Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground." -Psalms 143:10, NIV

As a little child from the ages of three to five, I learned how to ride different types of bikes. At three, I was rolling around my apartment in my red tricycle. Then, at age four, I was rolling outside on my Big Wheel (anyone my age remembers the Big Wheel … smile). At age five, I had a bigger journey and that's learning how to ride a real bike with two wheels. During this process, I obtained advice from my cousin Terry and when I would fall, he would dust me off and tell me what I should do the next time. After a good period of time has passed, I grasped the concepts that my cousin Terry gave me and I became a natural at riding my bike. If truth were told, we had to be taught some things in order to become good at it. Those things include cooking, driving, ironing, cleaning, and school courses. In the spiritual, we ought to have the same desire to be taught. We ought to have the desire to be taught by our Heavenly Father through His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. We ought to have the desire to be taught by those who have been there and done that and can give us the best of advice and not sugar coat anything to us. Today's text provides us with a great reason to be taught by our Heavenly Father.

Today's focal book is the book of Psalms. This particular psalm, Psalms 143, was written by David. Scholars conclude that this is a prayer given by David to God while David was being persecuted by King Saul. One thing that my research pointed out that we can learn from David is that though David prayed while he was in affliction, he did not pray the same repetitious prayer. He came to God with different and heartfelt prayers. This ought to encourage us, as men and women of God, to find ways to love on God differently while we pray. Do not just come to Him and ask Him for what you desire, but love on Him! Let Him know how much He means to you! Let Him know how awesome you think He is! Let Him know that there are none greater than Him! Then, get into the meat and potatoes of your prayer and the desires of your heart. Within this psalm, David wants to be taught by the Father, thus leading us into our main scripture.

David opens up today's text with what he wants to be taught. He says, "Teach me to do your will, for you are my God". Ladies and gentlemen, if we would ask God to teach us on how to do His will, we would avoid so many of the pitfalls one could encounter/have encountered in our lives. I could recall in my teenage years how many people asked me if I was a preacher and I would say no. I would hang around preachers and they would be like "You're next". After while, all of them were right. In May of 2005, I began to operate in my calling into the ministry and preached my initial sermon in March of 2006. Had I listened to God through His people sooner rather than later, who knows where I may be. It is important to get in tune with the Father so you can avoid the error I made. Though I'm walking in His will now, greater blessings could have came if I did it earlier. When you understand your call and will for your life from God, listen to Him, and see what moves need to be made. David wanted to be taught to do God's will because God was his God. If we think about it, remember when you were a child and your parents told you what they wanted you to do and when you did it, you made them proud. That's how God would be of you now. If you respect Him enough to be your God, your Father, and you would do what He asks you to do, then He would be pleased and blessings would come your way.

Lastly, David concludes the text by saying, "may your good Spirit lead me on level ground". Here, David is exhibiting his trust in God when he makes this statement. Then again, God never failed David throughout his life. God was there with David, all the time, despite the things David had done. In the same light, God has been with us throughout our lives, despite the things we have done right or wrong. When you asked God to teach you to do His will, you ought to want His Spirit to lead you on level ground. When you are led by the Spirit of God, He's going to keep you level and also, help you to make the wise decisions.

In closing, we have been taught so much throughout our lives. However, have you allowed God an opportunity to teach you? Have you allowed Him an opportunity to teach you about His will for your life? If not, I encourage you to tap into God, commune with Him, pray to Him, and seek what it is He wants you to do. When you do that, His Good Spirit will lead you and keep you on level ground.