A Prayer

I love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. [Psalm 18]

Father,

We are so very grateful that the truths of these words are not limited to David. They are true for all of us also. You are our rock and our fortress, our shield and our strength. And that is why we are doing as well as we are in a world that seems, at times, to be coming apart. You are taking care of us. Thank You for that, Father.

And when life becomes difficult, when things are all crazy, how good for us to know that we can call on You and You will rescue us from our enemies of whatever sort.

So, it only makes sense for us to agree with David that You are worthy to be praised. You are the God who has made huge promises to watch over us, and You are the God who is keeping all of Your promises.

There are times, though, Father, when we falter in holding on to these things. There are times when the evil one fools us. He deceives us with his lies, and as a result, we fail to hold on to these precious truths. There are times, Father, when we think that we are on our own, that there is no rock of stability under our feet and that we are alone when it comes time to deal with our enemies. Forgive us for this insult, for this unbelief. Grant to us a stronger trust in You as the God that You actually are.

We ask for these blessings not merely, or even primarily, for our own sake. We ask for these blessings so that our lives will reflect who You actually are to the people around us. Younger saints look to those of us who are more mature in the faith. They look to us as examples. Bless us, Father, so that we can give them good examples to imitate. Then there are the unbelievers who know what we claim as Christians. They need to see us live out those claims so that they might also come to worship You. So, bless us, Father, for these reasons, so that we will fulfill our calling to be Your people in this world. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.