“A Prayer of David. Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.”
My Notes
What Does Psalms 17:1 Mean?
"Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips." David opens with three requests for God's attention — hear, attend, give ear — escalating in intensity. His claim to be heard rests on one qualification: his lips are not feigned (mirmah — deceit, treachery). He's not performing. He's not posing. The prayer is genuine.
The appeal to "the right" (tsedeq — justice, righteousness) means David is bringing a legal case. He's asking God to hear his cause as a righteous judge hears a plaintiff. The prayer is simultaneously intimate (a cry) and formal (a case for justice). David approaches God as both father and judge.
Reflection Questions
- 1.How much of your prayer life comes from feigned lips — performing rather than being honest?
- 2.What would your prayers sound like if you stopped editing for God and just told the truth?
- 3.Why does David lead with the qualification of honesty rather than with a list of his merits?
- 4.When was the last time a prayer felt genuinely yours — not borrowed from someone else's language?
Devotional
Hear. Attend. Give ear. Three ways of saying the same thing, each one pressing harder. David wants God's attention and he's willing to ask three times to get it.
But the qualification is what makes this prayer land: not out of feigned lips. I'm not performing, God. I'm not saying what I think you want to hear. I'm not curating my prayer for an audience. This is real. These lips aren't fake.
That qualifier should challenge every prayer you've ever prayed. How many of your prayers come from feigned lips? From the version of yourself that knows the right words, the right tone, the right level of spiritual composure? How often do you pray what you think God wants to hear rather than what you actually need to say?
David's prayer gets heard because it's honest. Not because it's eloquent. Not because the theology is perfect. Because the lips aren't feigned. The words match the heart. The cry matches the crisis. The prayer matches the person.
God has a filter for fake prayers. Not that he rejects imperfect ones — every prayer is imperfect. But he can tell the difference between a genuine cry and a performance. David knows this. And his opening argument isn't "I'm righteous" or "I deserve an answer." It's: "This is real. I'm not pretending. Hear me because what I'm saying is true."
The most powerful qualification for prayer isn't eloquence, faith, or theological precision. It's honesty. Unfeigned lips. A prayer that sounds like you, not like someone you think God prefers.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Hear the right, O Lord,.... The psalmist appeals to the Lord as a Judge, sitting on the throne judging right, that he…
Hear the right - Margin, as in Hebrew, “justice.” The prayer is, that God would regard that which was “right” in the…
This psalm is a prayer. As there is a time to weep and a time to rejoice, so there is a time for praise and a time for…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture