Psalm 25:4
Show me your ways, LORD.Teach me your paths.
Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.
Two requests in one line: show me your ways, teach me your paths. The psalmist asks to learn the road, not only to be told the next step.
Psalms for Guidance and Direction
Sixteen verses where the psalms ask to be led, or say that God leads, grouped by what you need direction for.
The psalms ask for direction more often than they promise it. Show me, teach me, lead me: these requests come again and again, especially in Psalms 25, 27, 86 and 143. Where a psalm does promise guidance, it is usually about the way a person walks, not a named answer to a single choice. Psalm 32:8 is the clearest promise: I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go.
The verses are grouped into prayers for direction, help with a choice, and guidance when the way is hard. Tick the ones you want and print them as one sheet.
Prayers asking for direction
Short requests to be shown the way. Two of them are prayed because of enemies, which is worth knowing before you borrow them.
Psalm 5:8
Lead me, LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies.Make your way straight before my face.
Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.
Lead me, and make your way straight before my face. The reason given is enemies, so this is guidance asked for under pressure.
Psalm 27:11
Teach me your way, LORD.Lead me in a straight path, because of my enemies.
Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.
Almost the same prayer as Psalm 5:8, again because of enemies. The request is for a straight path, which the King James Version calls a plain path.
Psalm 143:10
Teach me to do your will,for you are my God.Your Spirit is good.Lead me in the land of uprightness.
Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. The request is for help doing the right thing, and it ends by asking to be led in the land of uprightness.
Psalm 31:3
For you are my rock and my fortress,therefore for your name’s sake lead me and guide me.
For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me.
The psalmist asks to be led and guided for your name's sake. The request rests on who God is, called here a rock and a fortress.
Psalm 86:11
Teach me your way, LORD.I will walk in your truth.Make my heart undivided to fear your name.
Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.
Teach me your way, and I will walk in your truth. It adds a second request, for an undivided heart, so the prayer is about the one walking as well as the road.
When you have a decision to make
Verses about choices, steps and counsel. None of them names the answer to a particular decision. They speak about the person making it.
Psalm 32:8
I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go.I will counsel you with my eye on you.
I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
The speaker promises to instruct, to teach, and to counsel with an eye kept on the listener. It reads as a direct promise of guidance for the road ahead.
Psalm 25:12
What man is he who fears the LORD?He shall instruct him in the way that he shall choose.
What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.
The one who fears the LORD will be instructed in the way that he shall choose. The verse ties guidance to reverence for the LORD.
Psalm 37:23
A man’s steps are established by the LORD.He delights in his way.
The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.
A person's steps are established by the LORD, who delights in his way. The next verse adds that he may stumble but shall not fall.
Psalm 16:7
I will bless the LORD, who has given me counsel.Yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons.
I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.
The psalmist blesses God for counsel, then says his heart instructs him in the night seasons. Guidance here comes at night, from within.
Psalm 119:133
Establish my footsteps in your word.Don’t let any iniquity have dominion over me.
Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.
Establish my footsteps in your word. Steady steps are tied to scripture, and the psalmist asks that no wrong would have dominion over him.
Psalms for help and guidance when the way is hard
For guidance in a hard season, when the question is less which way to go and more whether anyone is leading at all.
Psalm 23:3
He restores my soul.He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
He guides me in the paths of righteousness, and the verse opens with he restores my soul. The guiding comes after the restoring.
Psalm 73:24
You will guide me with your counsel,and afterward receive me to glory.
Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.
You will guide me with your counsel. The psalm says this after admitting envy and bitterness, so it reads as a confession as much as a promise.
Psalm 139:10
even there your hand will lead me,and your right hand will hold me.
Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
Even at the far side of the sea, the psalm says, your hand will lead me. Distance does not put a person out of reach of that hand.
Psalm 48:14
For this God is our God forever and ever.He will be our guide even to death.
For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.
This God is our God forever, and he will be our guide even to death. The guidance promised here lasts the whole of a life.
Psalm 16:11
You will show me the path of life.In your presence is fullness of joy.In your right hand there are pleasures forever more.
Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
You will show me the path of life. The path ends in presence and fullness of joy rather than in a place on a map.
Which psalm is the prayer for guidance?
Psalm 25 is the fullest. In verses 4 and 5 the psalmist asks to be shown, taught and guided, and verse 9 says God guides the humble and teaches them his way. Psalm 143 is close behind: verse 8 asks to know the way in which I should walk, and verse 10 asks to be taught to do God's will. Psalm 86:11 is a short, complete prayer for direction that also asks for an undivided heart.
Psalms for guidance and wisdom
Guidance and wisdom overlap in the psalms but are not the same thing. Guidance is about the way to walk. Wisdom, in Psalm 111:10, begins with the fear of the LORD. Psalm 25:12 joins the two: the one who fears the LORD is instructed in the way that he shall choose. For wisdom itself, see the page on psalms about wisdom.
Questions
What is the best psalm for guidance?
Psalm 32:8 is the clearest promise of guidance, and Psalm 25:4 is the most direct prayer for it. Psalm 25 as a whole is the fullest prayer for direction.
Is there a psalm for direction in life?
Psalm 16:11 says you will show me the path of life, and Psalm 48:14 says God will be our guide even to death. Both speak about a whole life rather than one choice.
Which psalm says he leads me in the paths of righteousness?
Psalm 23:3. The King James Version reads he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake, and the World English Bible says he guides me.
Is there a psalm for help and guidance together?
Psalm 31:3 asks God, as rock and fortress, to lead and guide. Psalm 73:23 and 73:24 put being held by the right hand next to being guided with counsel.
Does a psalm promise to show me which choice to make?
No psalm names the answer to a particular decision. Psalm 25:12 says the one who fears the LORD will be instructed in the way he shall choose, which is a promise of teaching rather than a verdict.
Other moments
Psalms about WisdomPsalms about LightPsalms for Studying and ExamsPsalms About Faith and TrustPsalms for Work and SuccessPsalms for Travel and a Safe Journey
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