A Prayer for God’s Unfailing Protection
Version: RSV
Psalm 36
1. Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. 2. For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated. 3. The words of his mouth are mischief and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good. 4. He plots mischief while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he spurns not evil. 5. Thy steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, thy faithfulness to the clouds. 6. Thy righteousness is like the mountains of God, thy judgments are like the great deep; man and beast thou savest, O Lord. 7. How precious is thy steadfast love, O God! The children of men take refuge in the shadow of thy wings. 8. They feast on the abundance of thy house, and thou givest them drink from the river of thy delights. 9. For with thee is the fountain of life; in thy light do we see light. 10. O continue thy steadfast love to those who know thee, and thy salvation to the upright of heart! 11. Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. 12. There the evildoers lie prostrate, they are thrust down, unable to rise.
I overslept almost a full hour this morning! So many mornings I take about 15 minutes to sit quietly, let the sleep settle out of my eyes and my mind and sip on my coffee while I prepare for my morning devotions. But not today! I had to “hit the ground running!” Was it an “accident” that I didn’t set my alarm last night? Is it “chance” that Jim almost every day of his life wakes up before 6 am, so got me up when he realized I had overslept? Is it coincidence that I found myself in Psalms this morning?
One of my dearest, most spirit-filled friends calls all of those “Godincidences.” She believes, as I have come to, that nothing in this world happens by mere chance! Man has free will, but God is ultimately in charge. We may divert his plan for time, but in the end—HE WINS!
David has no doubt that is the case! He has seen the formidable enemy and does what he always does—asks for God’s blessing. More than that, he is certain of God’s blessing, so “unleashes” it by lifting his voice in prayer. Even back in David’s day, ungodly influences interfered with the attempts of the godly to live good and holy lives. Even then, corrupt and power-hungry “spurned not evil” and had ”ceased to act wisely and do good.” That was before television— MTV, “reality” TV, the NFL, or any mega-billion dollar networks and “super corporations” that seemingly rule the world!
But guess what!? They don’t. Unless we let them. How do we counter all the negativity, sinfulness, evil and corruption in our world? The same way David did! We ask God to allow us to “feast on the abundance of His house.” We thirst after the “fountain of life” and beg Him to shine His light upon our path. God is unchangeable. He can overcome a fortified army with hundreds of chariots and He can overcome the enemies of our day. We must choose to fill our time with thoughts of Him, though. We must purposefully pursue His steadfast love, and rely solely on Him and His salvation. That’s how we win! And that’s how we go out into the world every day. That’s how we go to sleep at night and that’s how we get to heaven. By trying and working and praying that we will become godly in our attempts. The attempt is adequate if it’s genuine and from the heart.
I hope you spend your day ardently seeking after the light of God and reflecting it on to others in your path.
Mary
