'Sharing Christ's love in deed and truth.' Apostle John
Albany Presbyterian Church
Albany Presbyterian Church
We began studying another Psalm of confidence last week with Psalm 31. These Psalms are especially relevant in times that we’re facing today. Psalm 27 dealt with facing times of uncertainty and Psalm 31 helps us see how our strength in the Lord grows through prayer.
At the heart of the Psalm is how David found inner strength flowing from his faith in God even though he couldn’t see how God would work everything out. What we see is this: it was through prayer that David’s faith was built and his inner strength to face the trials was secured. The first principle about praying with faith is simple but found in the opening verse: “In You, O Lord, I put my trust; Let me never be ashamed; Deliver me in Your righteousness.” The application here is to pinpoint the problem prior to prayer. The second key is found in VV. 2-5 “Bow down Your ear to me, Deliver me speedily; Be my rock of refuge, A ortress of defense to save me. 3 For You are my rock and my fortress; therefore, for Your name’s sake, Lead me and guide me. 4 Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me, for You are my strength.” The second principle involves personalizing our prayers. By faith we can personalize our prayers asking God to be that strength in our specific times of weakness. The Spirit continues to show us powerful principles about prayer and faith as the Psalm continues. The third key is in VV. 6-8. The application here involves prayer from our hearts and pouring out our hearts to God in prayer. This is a principle taught in many of the Psalms but here we see a unique focus. David has trusted the Lord with all he is. In V. 5 he writes: “Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.” David’s faith is real as he draws near to God. Personalizing his prayers leads to pouring out his heart. Like Paul he could say: “Nothing will separate me from Christ’s love!”(Rom. 8) Strength in the Lord grows for believers when prayer is not simply a mental exercise but a heartfelt relationship of faith! What this means in this Psalm is that through prayer David laid everything out before God. David trusts God with all his struggles, all his emotions, his whole soul and this is how through prayer David finds is strength in God! Notice the contrasts he discovers in prayer. First David states in V. 6 “I have hated those who regard useless idols” and then he recalls: “But I trust in the Lord”. In prayer David remembers where his strength comes from. These people giving him heartache are trusting in idols but he trusts in the Living God! These are times where we are tempted to join the crowd. These are times where we could easily give into frustration and anger but in prayer David was strengthened in his faith in The Lord! “David’s heart comes out in prayer here. David had no patience for people who sought other gods. We’re tempted to imitate successful people we see in this world but David was not – he hated them for hating God!” Yes Christians are called to care for the lost and pray for them but we don’t join into their lifestyle.
Those who reject The Lord are standing against Him and following their ways is counterproductive in our walk with God. Where does our strength in The Lord in this world to behave God’s way come from even when it’s not popular? It increased in David through this heart to heart connection which developed through prayer! Through prayer his realization of God’s salvation in his life grew. He personalized his prayers asking God to be his strength and poured out his heart realizing more and more that God alone was his strength. Why does God’s Word call us to give thanks to God in all things? Because God loves us, is blessing and taking care of us, and because it keeps us focused. Continual thanks in prayer helps us to remember that: “Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father above who never changes (James 1:17). Thanksgiving helps us remember God is in control even when the world is offering the easy way out or tempting us to trust our own ways. Thanks to God keeps us focused on the One who is actually giving us all we need and more! It’s like the famous story of the man who went through trials and had a dream he was walking with The Lord on the beach. For each scene in his life he noticed two sets of foot prints in the sand – one belonging to him and one to The Lord. He noticed that many times along the path especially in the lowest times there was only one set of prints. This troubled him so he asked The Lord: “I noticed that during the hardest times of my life there was only one set of prints. I don’t understand why when I needed you the most you left me. The Lord told him: “My precious child I love you and will never leave you. When you saw only one set of footprints it I was carrying you! Of course the fact is God is carrying us all the time but we get the point! Isaiah 43:2 tells us: “When you pass through the waters I will be you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.” When we’re going through difficulties we’re strengthened in the Lord as we pray because we stay focused on Him and then we see the blessings around us even in the trials! What’s the result? Even in these times of trouble he will rejoice! V. 7 “I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy!” The word for mercy here is the Hebrew word for God’s steadfast love (“hesed”). “This refers to God’s covenant loyalty, God’s bounding of Himself to His people like a husband to his wife.” This is why David rejoiced!
As David pinpointed his prayers, personalizing them, pouring out his heart to God he drew closer to The Lord knowing The Lord’s incredible steadfast love that never changes! He could say with Nehemiah: “The joy of The Lord is my strength!”(Neh. 8:10) How did God show His covenant love? How did David’s heart find strength in God as he poured everything out before God? We see it in VV. 7-8 – three essential ways God strengthened David. David’s heart – “For You have considered my trouble; You have known my soul in adversities.” God sees his troubles – God knows them inside and out and more than that God knows his distress. This means God knows and identifies with what He is dealing with. David’s help - 8 “And have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy.” God didn’t just leave him alone God was providing help and deliverance from his enemies. God would never “throw us under the bus!” David’s hope – “You have set my feet in a wide place.” I remember driving on very narrow roads in Bali up treacherous mountains and how relieved I was when we got back down on normal roads. This is the idea here. David feels he has been walking these narrow paths metaphorically and now God has given Him hope by setting his feet in a wide place. What we find in this life is that there will be times it feels like we’re walking on a path carved into the side of a cliff and one wrong move and we’re doomed. In those times we must keep focused on God in prayer and in His Word and God will remind us of who He is. He will bring us to places where we sense there is hope. But what we must remember is that our hope is in Him alone. David felt he was in one of those wide spaces sensing safety but he knew that his security was in God alone not in something he or anyone else had done! As we sense good changes may we always keep our focus on God – knowing whether we’re in hard times or better times He is our rock and strength! Give God thanks in all things!
God’s Blessings
Pastor Ben