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Psalm 86:1

A Prayer by David. Hear, LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.

1A Prayer by David. Hear, LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.
2Preserve my soul, for I am godly. You, my God, save your servant who trusts in you.
3Be merciful to me, Lord, for I call to you all day long.
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Psalm 86:2 →
Notice

“Poor and needy” is David’s reason for asking YHWH to listen, a plain admission of need that leaves no strength or status to impress with.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

What need would you name after David’s words, “Hear, LORD, and answer me”?

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What makes “poor and needy” easy or hard for you to say to God?

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What answer are you seeking from YHWH as you read David’s plea?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

11 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.

This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Psalm 31:2Bow down your ear to me. Deliver me speedily. Be to me a strong rock, a house of defense to save me.Both prayers ask God to hear, with Psalm 31 adding a plea for swift rescue and a place of defense.
Psalm 40:17But I am poor and needy. May the Lord think about me. You are my help and my deliverer. Don’t delay, my God.Both prayers use the words “poor and needy” as the speaker turns to God for help.
Daniel 9:18My God, turn your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by your name; for we do not present our petitions before …Both prayers ask God to hear; David names his need, while Daniel appeals to God’s great mercies amid desolation.
Matthew 5:3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.Both speak of poverty before God, though Matthew specifies poverty of spirit and Psalm 86 leaves the need broader.
Psalm 5:1For the Chief Musician, with the flutes. A Psalm by David. Give ear to my words, LORD. Consider my meditation.Both are prayers attributed to David that begin by asking the LORD to attend to his words.
Psalm 34:6This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.Psalm 86 asks the LORD to hear someone poor; Psalm 34 recounts the LORD hearing and saving a poor man.
James 1:9–10Let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his high position;Humble circumstances link these texts, though David asks for an answer while James tells the brother to glory in his high position.
James 2:5Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom which he promised to those who …Both mention the poor in relation to God: David seeks an answer, while James speaks of faith and the promised Kingdom.
Luke 4:18“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim release to …The poor are central in both texts: David names his own need, and Luke announces good news to the poor.
Isaiah 66:2For my hand has made all these things, and so all these things came to be,” says the LORD: “but I will look to this man, even to he who is poor and of a …Both concern the LORD’s attention to the poor; Isaiah also names a contrite spirit and trembling at God’s word.
Isaiah 37:17Turn your ear, LORD, and hear. Open your eyes, LORD, and behold. Hear all of the words of Sennacherib, who has sent to defy the living God.Both prayers ask the LORD to hear; Isaiah’s plea names Sennacherib’s words of defiance against the living God.
Where this verse fits

Wanting a steady prayer habit. job loss or money fear. feeling distant from God.

What the Bible says about money →What the Bible says about doubt →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Pray David’s opening plea aloud before breakfast

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Encouragement

You do not have to hide your need when you pray. David makes his poverty the reason for his plea: he asks YHWH to hear and answer.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 86:1. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 86 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).