Psalm 25 is a prayer of David expressing trust in God, seeking guidance, forgiveness, and protection. It highlights themes of divine guidance, the plea for forgiveness of sins, and the desire for personal guidance and protection from enemies. David emphasizes his trust in God, asking for God’s mercy and guidance while acknowledging God’s goodness and steadfast love. He prays for protection from shame and the treachery of his enemies, expressing confidence that those who wait for the Lord will not be put to shame. The psalm reflects a deep yearning for a closer relationship with God, grounded in humility and a recognition of God’s mercy and truth. Verse 4, in particular, is reflective of the former: Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths. In this article, we show how the Lord’s Prayer is actually a means to ask our Father in Heaven to teach us His ways.
The value of each Hebrew word in Psalm 25:4 is provided in the table below:
| Hebrew | English | Value of the Hebrew Word |
| דְּרָכֶ֣יךָ də-rā-ḵe-ḵā | Your ways | 254 |
| יְ֭הוָה Yah-weh | Yahweh | 26 |
| הוֹדִיעֵ֑נִי hō-w-ḏî-‘ê-nî; | Show me | 155 |
| אֹ֖רְחוֹתֶ֣יךָ ’ō-rə-ḥō-w-ṯe-ḵā | Your paths | 645 |
| לַמְּדֵֽנִי׃ lam-mə-ḏê-nî. | Teach me | 134 |
The sum of the statement “Your ways, Yahweh, show me” is (254+26+155)=435. The divisors of 435 are in the set {1, 3, 5, 15, 29, 87, 145, 435}. The sum of the divisors is 720; hence the Aliquot Sum is 720 – 435 = 285, which is the identifier of the Lord’s Prayer in the Gospel of Matthew.
| Book | Chapter | Verse | Sum |
| 40 | 6 | 9 | 55 |
| 40 | 6 | 10 | 56 |
| 40 | 6 | 11 | 57 |
| 40 | 6 | 12 | 58 |
| 40 | 6 | 13 | 59 |
| 285 |
Conclusion. When we are praying the Lord’s Prayer, we are also petitioning our Father to show us His ways.
Discussions
The verse from Psalm 25:4, “Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths,” resonates with themes found in the Lord’s Prayer, which is taught by Jesus in the New Testament (found in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4). The connection between this verse and the Lord’s Prayer can be seen in the shared themes of seeking guidance, reliance on God’s will, and the desire for spiritual growth and understanding.
In the Lord’s Prayer, the petition “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” directly parallels the plea in Psalm 25:4 for God to reveal His ways and paths. Both passages emphasize the importance of aligning oneself with God’s will and seeking divine direction in life. The request to be taught God’s paths suggests a desire to live in accordance with God’s commandments and to fulfill His purposes, mirroring the call in the Lord’s Prayer for God’s will to be paramount in the believer’s life.
Furthermore, the Lord’s Prayer includes requests for daily provision (“Give us this day our daily bread”), forgiveness (“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors”), and guidance away from temptation and evil (“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”). These elements can be seen as expanding on the desire expressed in Psalm 25:4 for guidance and teaching, indicating a holistic reliance on God for physical, spiritual, and moral support.
Both the verse from Psalm 25 and the Lord’s Prayer encapsulate a deep dependence on God, highlighting the believer’s need for divine direction, sustenance, and protection. They reflect a spiritual posture of humility and trust, acknowledging that true guidance and wisdom come from God alone.
The Lord's Prayer: A Mathematician's Creed 