When I began reading Psalm 3 weeks ago, I had to press pause. There are so many layers pieced within these verses that I realized that I needed the time to stop and reflect—to really grasp what I am meant to learn. Tonight my daughter was refusing to pray at dinner because she was sad (mainly because she wanted chicken nuggets and not the chicken I had just prepared--so we saw through this and knew it was a four-year-old power play). But alas, my husband and I explained that it’s important to pray to God, especially when you are sad because God will help. When she does this we usually continue on to pray and she sits there and when she decides she's ready to eat she will usually ask us to pray with her. We do because prayer is important in our home and we want it to be genuine. This explanation is a good example of what I have learned from David in this Psalm. Psalm 3:5 (NIV) says the Lord sustains me. In other versions you could read it is as: the Lord Protects me, the Lord watches over me, God answers me, the Lord gives me strength. Although different, these translations encompass how David describes God. Which made me think…God is my life support.
God just isn't my life support, God is
the life support. David
describes God as his shield, his protector, his glory, and his confidence. Within
David’s prayer, he also recognizes that God does and will answer his cry and
that his prayers will be answered. David is very aware of those who are out to
get him and those who doubt his capability, yet, David acknowledges in praise
that God does not doubt in his mission and who he is as a person.
There is one weapon that the enemy likes to use against us and that is our emotions. The enemy understands that some emotions are difficult to reign back once they start to take hold. David reminds us that our emotions are nothing unless we provide it more fuel. When we allow doubt and fear into our soul –what room do we leave for God to enter? Recognizing the good that comes out of what we are going through is difficult to see. We can’t see what it looks like on the other side but God does. David reminds us that even if we feel like we have hit rock bottom—we can approach God with a humble and sincere heart and recognize that we are in need and we need help, but not just any help, God’s help. God is there, waiting and ready to step in and provide.
When we take that moment and wholeheartedly seek, thank and surrender our worries, fears, heartaches to God it is like taking a long deep breath and when we finally let the air back out a huge weight has been lifted.
I grew up with structured prayers that we recited, memorized, and said at specific times, for specific reasons. Organic prayers do not come naturally to me, but I am learning how to become comfortable and intentional in how and what I pray through meditation and yoga (If you are following along on my Facebook Page, then this might look familiar in my *Be Intentional* Series. I have also summarized this experience here, which can be found on the left panel of this blog). I believe structured prayers have a place and a purpose and God answers any prayer no matter what form it takes -- God is the life support. He wants to help us through our struggle, be with us in our joy, and help us grow where we feel weak.
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