Bible Pathways - June 28, 2009
June 28
Highlights In Today's Reading:
Saved from our enemies (18:3). How to praise God (chap. 18). The Commandments of God (19:8), the fear of the Lord (19:9) and the words of my mouth (19:14). Help from the Lord (20:7). We should all love the Lord as King David loves Him (chap. 21). This is a Messianic Psalm foretelling the suffering and death of Christ (chap. 22).
David desired that his conversation as well as his thoughts would please the Lord, and he prayed with all his heart: Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my Strength, and my Redeemer (19:14). This should be our prayer.
God does not force anyone to love Him or to live for Him. He only enters into and reigns in the hearts of those who desire Him. We cannot love Him or serve Him acceptably in ourselves — it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13). He is the source of any desire that we might have to please Him. God teaches His people to pray through reading His Word. Those who desire that their words, thoughts, and prayers please the Lord will read His Word (John 16:13).
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the Name of the Lord our God (Ps. 20:7-8). This means some rely on physical resources that seem sufficient. But the people of God who pray and trust Him will rise up triumphantly, for God alone is invincible.
King David habitually inquired of the Lord and testified how God delivered him on every occasion. He wrote: In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: He heard my voice . . . and. . . . He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me (18:6,17). We should pray and trust God even more to answer our prayers because of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer/Intercessor and His indwelling Holy Spirit!
On many occasions the King of kings showed how important it is to give much time in fervent prayer. Before selecting His 12 disciples, He prayed all night (Luke 6:12). After one of His most pressing days and feeding the 5,000, He went up into a mountain apart to pray (Matt. 14:23). After the Passover meal He went to the Mount of Olives. Being in an agony He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood (Luke 22:44).
We have a far greater need for times of separation from all activities just to be alone with the Father in prayer and meditation upon His Word. If our prayer life is to be effective, it may require the sacrifice of sleep, business, pleasure, or even friends. In every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:6-7).
Thought for Today:
The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. . . . His way is perfect: the Word of the Lord is tried: He is a buckler to all those that trust in Him (Ps. 18:28,30).
Christ Revealed:
As the One to whom the Psalms refer when they speak of the nails that pierced His hands and feet on the cross and the parting of His clothing (Ps. 22:16,18). When they had crucified Him, they parted His garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take (Mark 15:24; also Matt. 27:35; Luke 23:34; John 19:18).
Word Studies:
18:2 horn of my salvation my strong deliverer; 18:26 froward (first use) = crooked; froward (second use) = opposed; 18:45 close places fortresses or strongholds; 22:5 confounded put to shame; 22:7 shoot out the lip ridicule, hurl insults; 22:17 tell = count.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for International Shortwave Broadcasts in memory of Henry Rogers • Government Officials: Rep. Donna Edwards (MD), Rep. Jane Harman (CA), Sen. Carl Levin (MI), and Rep. Ed Pastor (AZ) • Country: Slovakia (5 million) central Europe • Major languages: Slovak and Hungarian • Religious freedom • 60% Roman Catholic; 8% Protestant; 4% Orthodox • Prayer Suggestion: Let the Lord have all your worries and cares; He is always thinking about you and things that concern you (I Pet. 5:7).
Optional Reading: Colossians 1
Memory Verse for the Week: Matthew 7:20
