How To Get Ready for Battle!

Psalm 20

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 May the Lord answer you when you are in distress;
    may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
    and grant you support from Zion.
3 May he remember all your sacrifices
    and accept your burnt offerings.[b]
4 May he give you the desire of your heart
    and make all your plans succeed.
5 May we shout for joy over your victory
    and lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the Lord grant all your requests.

This psalm, attributed to King David, is usually thought of as the people praying for King David before he goes into battle.  Perhaps it was the battle with the Syrians in 2 Samuel 10 that David led.  There are a couple things to note as the people lift up their King before he goes into battle. 

First, they call upon the name of the Lord. They use his holy name Yahweh, and also the God of Jacob, who gave Abraham the covenant promise. May he send help from the sanctuary and the hills of Zion.  The sanctuary recalls the temple where God dwelt with his people, and the hills of Zion refers to all of Jerusalem that would one day be one.  So they start with remember who God is and how is with the people. 

Second, they ask if God would remember their sacrifices.  Sacrifices were given before battle as a sign of trusting in God.  They would point to the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made for us as we trust in Him for our battles.

My favorite part of the psalm is when they ask God to give David the desires of His heart. This wasn't his whims or fancies, because David's desire was to deliver the people through God's hands.  Since David's desires were already conformed to God's desires, they knew his plans would succeed.  

Finally, they are so confident of the outcome of the battle because of these preceding prayers that they already had lifted the banner of victory. This was a public banner declaring the Lord's triumph over their enemies. 

What battle are you facing today? You can use the form of this prayer to help focus on what to pray for: 

1.) Remember who God is and his faithfulness to you and all people who love him. 
2.) Ask God to remember the ultimately sacrifice of His Son, who he promised would cover your sin and deliver you. 
3.) Trust that God will give you the desires of your heart if you heart is conformed to his will and an outcome that glorifies him and his people.  

After you have done this you can confidently declare the victory God will give you and trust in faith that His will be done! Amen. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Acts 22 - Paul Sees the Light

Image
6  “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.   7  I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me,  ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’  8  “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.  “  ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth,  whom you are persecuting,’  he replied.   9  My companions saw the light,  but they did not understand the voice  of him who was speaking to me.  10  “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked. “  ‘Get up,’  the Lord said,  ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do. This is the famous story of the apostle Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus.  Paul was going there to persecute Jewish Christians and throw them into prison and he meets Jesus is a spectacular way.  Not only is he blinded by a briliant light, but he hears the Lord's voice audibly.  And the Lord asks him, "Lord, Lord why are you persecuting me!"  Paul thought he was serving the Lord, but he was persecuting him b
Read more

2 Timothy 4 - Fight the Good Fight! Finish the Race!

Click Here to Read or Listen to 2 Timothy 4 4 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. Paul gives a closing charge to Timothy. First of all, he is to preach the word. God's Word speaks to all situations and seasons. The Word of God will sometimes correct us. Our lives can get of out alignment with God's will as outlined in
Read more

Hebrews 6 - Have You Graduated From Elementary School of Faith Yet?

Click Here to Read or Listen to Hebrews 6 6 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so. The author once again picks up with the theme of moving on to Christian maturity.  He teaches them to move on from the "elementary" teachings about Christ. What does he mean by that?  He gives clues by citing repentance, faith, cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, and teaching on the judgment and resurrection from the dead. We might call these the basics of the Christian faith. If you read through the Apostle's Creed, which our church confesses in our 8am service, it contains many of these core doctrines.  Click here to see the Apostle's Creed Written Around “When we consider the
Read more