Go-To Prayer



Psalm 27
1The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
2When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall.
3Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.
4One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.
5For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.
6And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
7Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me!
8You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”
9Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation!
10For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in.
11Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
12Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence.
13I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!
14Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

This is a spectacular psalm. It is, in fact, my go-to psalm. When I want to connect with God through His Word, this is the first passage that comes to mind every time. Every verse is worthy of meditation, prayer emphasis, memorization, and study.

From the very first line we are reminded that because we belong to God and are with God, we have no reason to fear anyone else. Fear of others will paralyze your life and remaining in God’s presence is the antidote for that fear. Now I realize it is easier said than done, to live a life without fear, since it can grip all of us from time to time. So, the question arises, how long do you let fear control you? How quickly are you able to realize your standing in the stronghold of God and His protection is yours? It isn’t whether fear assails but how you handle it that matters. God hasn’t changed. He’s always there but sometimes we forget that stronghold and try to go it alone – that’s when fear is given a place of power in your life. It need not be that way – ever. (Again, easier said than done.)

The admonition to seek God’s face has always fascinated me because we know that His face is not available to us this side of the veil. He is too holy and glorious. We are too sinful. But still we are encouraged to seek His face. I believe that is because we spend a great deal of time seeking His hand. We want God to do something for us rather than be simply worshiped by us. Notice the tenor of the psalm. David comments about all the places God hides him from his enemies. He doesn’t ask for it, God simply does it. So instead David turns his energies toward worshiping God and seeking His face.

Finally, David asks God to further instruct his heart as to the ways of the Lord. That’s a great prayer right there. “Teach me Your way, O Lord.” That is what I want every single day of my life; that God would teach me His way so that my own ways fade into the background, unexplored. I pray that our time would be so consumed with learning of God and His ways that we don’t have time to pursue the junk our minds can conceive. Teach me Your way, O Lord!

Because the Psalms are so very lyrical there have been countless songs written with them in mind. Chris Tomlin wrote and sings “Whom Shall I Fear” based on the ideas found in this psalm. I share a link to that song with you today so that you can be inspired by the ideas we find in David’s words for us today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOkImV2cJDg

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Excusez-moi

Image
2 Kings 23:31-37 31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-fiv
Read more

יהוה שָׁמַר--Yahweh Shamar (God Watches)

Image
Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. There are numerous passages I cling to when stress takes over my life. I would be hard pressed to declare a favorite, but this psalm would come close. So this morning I listened to Psalm 121 about 20 times as I meditated through the verses. First, I want to point out that the word or idea of shamar appears in every verse expect 6. The NIV uses the word "watch" while the ESV uses "keep". The
Read more

Narrow Door

Image
Luke 13:22-30 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them , 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at tabl
Read more