Day 73: Psalms 31:19-24
Psalm 31:19-24 19Oh, how great is Your goodness, Which You have laid up for those who fear You, Which You have prepared for those who trust in You In the presence of the sons of men! 20You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence From the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion From the strife of tongues.
Dear God, You have heard our prayer. Again and again, You have delivered us, even as You delivered Your servant David from King Saul repeatedly as well as from Goliath, the Philistines, the bear, and the lion. You have repeatedly shown us Your forgiveness, Your kindness, and goodness to us. Your mercies are new every morning. From Your Spirit within us come rivers of living waters feeding us through our union with Christ. By Your presence within us and all around us You have helped us today. When all our strength was gone, still You helped us. When they set traps for us that we could not see, You delivered us. Whether it was like the deliverance of Daniel from the lions or Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fire or the way You delivered Paul from the plot to kill him by the Jews of his day, or even if it is the deliverance of Stephen who died on earth in honor and whose martyrdom is recorded on earth and in heaven, Lord, I know that You will deliver us and You have delivered us again and again.,
Psalm 31:21 Blessed be the LORD, For He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city! 22For I said in my haste, “I am cut off from before Your eyes;” Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications When I cried out to You. 23Oh, love the LORD, all you His saints! For the LORD preserves the faithful, And fully repays the proud person. 24Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the LORD.
God, You are God indeed. You deserve all the worship and praise. You have delivered Your people again and again. You have been a strong city of refuge to me. Jesus Christ, Your eternal Son, is the perfect faithful one who has applied His faithfulness to all who trust in Him. Like the ancient walled cities, You have protected us in and through Jesus from those who would come in to destroy us. The walls withstood each and every one of the attacks of the enemy.
In this period of protection, You have continued to feed my soul and help me grow within even though they have sought my harm. You have let me rest in safety from their many attacks. How can we help but love the One who has perfectly loved us!
I was thinking that You had abandoned me and left me without hope. I was afraid that You had forgotten me because of my sin. But You fulfilled Your promise. You never leave me nor forsake me. You hear and answer my prayers when I cry out to You. Thank You, Lord. Thank You for hearing my prayers. Jesus thanked You for hearing, Father, so long ago, pointing out that You always hear Your children. Thanks be to God.
Lord, Your answers to prayer and Your help on the behalf of Your children encourages all the family of God. O Lord, as You encourage me I am able to encourage others. Thank You, O Lord my God. Now I can tell others from my heart how You hear and answer prayers. O Lord, You have delivered me. Let me tell the world. Lord, You do preserve Your children who seek and follow You. You help those who call on You in Spirit and in truth. You know how to preserve the righteous even while You chastise or even destroy the wicked. II Peter 2:9 says, “the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment.” Lord, You repay and will repay the wicked doer.
Lord, I can tell others to be of good courage, because the Lord will come and deal with all our problems in His time. In the meantime, He strengthens us through the trials and enables us to stand strong. All those who hope in the Lord know this is true and see it fulfilled in their lives again and again.
Growing in Prayer 