David's Three Marks of Diligent Prayer

Thomas Manton, that keen observer of David's heart, discerned three essential characteristics of the psalmist's prayer life in Psalm 119:147—marks that distinguish mere religious habit from genuine devotion. First, David's prayer was personal—a secret communion between his soul and the Almighty alone. He did not cry out in the synagogue for applause, nor perform his petitions before witnesses. "I cried," he declares.…