Sunday 12th April
Read Psalm 3:7-8
Arise, Lord! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. 8 From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people.
In the real world, when not only you, but a few or even hundreds of others are depending on you, anxiety has a way of creeping into our minds. So, David cries out to God, again remembering God’s deliverance of the past. He pictures his enemies as ravenous beasts baring their teeth, ready to devour him and David asks God to break their teeth rendering them powerless. The final part of his prayer shows that David was depending on God for the victory that would protect not just him but his people. His prayer is not for himself alone but for the blessing of his people. The Lord’s prayer has a similar focus, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). If your world has fallen apart it is difficult to remember to pray in the light of God’s kingdom purposes and to pray that God will act so that He will be glorified and His people will be blessed and strengthened. David turned his horrible experience of betrayal, emotional pain, and nearly being killed into a song of praise giving thanks for the opportunity to trust. It’s not unlike the encouragement of Paul in Phil4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
Geoff Hinch
