WHAT ARE YOU SINGING TODAY?

Where are you today? 

Are you wavering in your trust in God’s ability to take care of you? 

Are you looking at your enemies with bitterness and anger? 

Are you looking at your resources instead of God’s provision? 

Are you tempted to think that praying faithfully for those who are going through difficulties is not worth much, and you wish you could do more? 

Or are you helping your brothers and sisters in Christ to maintain a godly perspective in their trial?

Psalm 20

1 May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!

May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!

2 May he send you help from the sanctuary

and give you support from Zion!

3 May he remember all your offerings

and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah

4 May he grant you your heart's desire

and fulfill all your plans!

5 May we shout for joy over your salvation,

and in the name of our God set up our banners!

May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!

6 Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed;

he will answer him from his holy heaven

with the saving might of his right hand.

7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

8 They collapse and fall,

but we rise and stand upright.

9 O Lord, save the king!

May he answer us when we call. 

This psalm of David seems to be a song of preparation, as the king went to battle. We find the request to God for His help, confidence in the saving power of the LORD, and total dependence on Him.

The children of Israel, as they sang this inspired song, were reminded of their necessary relationship to God and their need to pray for their king and nation.

Today, our wars are different. We don’t live in a theocratic nation, and

we are not Israel.  But still we are totally dependent on God. If our lives were more similar in dependence, behavior, and trust, then we would certainly conduct our lives in a much more godly way.

Every trial in our life should be accompanied by much prayer. Our responsibility is to pray fervently for those going through trials. We hear of the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ, but often we pray for them just for a minute, or forget to altogether. Why do I know? Because I tend to do that too often, myself.

As the Israelites sang and prayed, they were reminding each other about the power, love, and control of their God.

They were asking God to come to their aid in times of trouble. Trouble is real and the need of His protection is necessary. In the first verses of the prayer, there is a rehearsal of the life of worship and obedience they had lived. As they sang, I believe they were reminded of the need of faithfulness in their daily lives. Their ability to pray according to God’s sovereign will and character depended on their daily walk.                       

We are reminded of these same truths by James:

James 4:2-3

…You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 

And again by John:

1 John 5:13-15

13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. 

Our prayer life must be informed by the Scriptures. Our prayers should be aligned with God’s purposes and will. How often we pray for God to provide comfort and ease to our life, more than we seek to be made more like Christ and to fulfill our purpose of reaching the lost.

The children of Israel desired that in the day of their salvation it would be clear that God was the One Who would be worshiped and praised.

Their confidence in God was demonstrated by Whom they were trusting as they went to battle. Their trust was in His name and not in their own strength or abilities. Most people, as they went to war, counted their chariots and their horses. They compared them to the enemies’ assets and went to war, confident in their perceived superiority. God’s people went to war assured of God’s power and aware of their lack of strength. As we read the Old Testament, we are overwhelmed with examples of God leading the Israelites to victory when the odds were against them. We also have the sad examples of when they relied on their own strength and were soundly defeated.

As you are praying through your trials, are you looking at your resources as cause of discouragement or hope? Are you trusting in human resources, or in the power of God? Are you despairing because your situation seems too overwhelming? Are you looking to people to come to your aid and consequentially feeling discouraged or bitter? Are you looking to a relative, friend, or even the government to provide solace for your need?

The Israelites didn't seem to learn quickly, but their lessons came frequently, in order to teach them total confidence in God.  Trusting God required that they depend totally on Him for the outcome. They needed to trust the wisdom and ability of God to provide help in their time of trouble.

They knew that in the end, God’s purposes would be fulfilled and that God would be beside them, both during and after their trial.

Where are you today? Are you wavering in your trust in God’s ability to take care of you? Are you looking at your enemies with bitterness and anger? Are you looking at your resources instead of God’s provision? Are you tempted to think that praying faithfully for those who are going through difficulties is not worth much, and you wish you could do more? Or are you helping your brothers and sisters in Christ to maintain a godly perspective in their trial?

Is your song today a song of dependent worship, or is it a sad song of lament? May your song sound like Psalm 20!