Quote from Forum Archives on April 28, 2008, 4:17 pm

Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>

 

OUR STRENGTH AND SHIELD

April 27, 2008

 

 

Text: Psalm 28:1-9

 

   Davy Troxel of New Albany, Indiana, writes, “My 8-year-old son came home from school with a stuffed animal he had won at the class Valentine's party.  ‘How did that happen?’ I asked.  ‘Well,’ he explained, ‘the teacher put all our names together, and then picked one out.  I cheated, though,’ he said, looking guilty.  ‘I prayed!’” (Davy Troxel, Christian Reader, "Kids of the Kingdom.")

 

Christians everywhere know the importance of prayer.  The call to prayer is a spiritual discipline in which all Christians are called to engage.  Prayer is both an expression of our belief in God and our conversation with God.  We hear God, and God hears us, through prayer.  Sometimes, though, we forget an important truth of prayer.  We could probably stand to be more like Davy’s eight year old son who believed that prayer accomplishes great things.  The power of prayer is vital and real.  Through prayer, we meet God, who is our strength and shield.

 

Psalm 28 is one of the Davidic hymns.  “To you I call, O Lord my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me.” (Psalm 28:1)  There were many times in the dramatic life of David when he could have appropriately lifted up his voice with these words: as a shepherd-boy beating back the beasts threatening the flock; as an ill-equipped warrior standing tall before the giant Goliath; as a fugitive on the run from a rampaging king; as the king of Israel himself facing the huge challenges looming before Israel; as a sinner in need of God’s restoring touch.  “For if you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit.  Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.” (Psalm 28:1-2)  Regardless of his situation, David was a man of prayer.  I don’t know if David ever felt like he was “cheating” when he prayed, but he certainly believed that God heard and answered prayer.  Perhaps that is why God loved him so.

 

As we all well know, some of our prayers are petition and intercession.  In other words, we make requests to God on behalf of ourselves and others.  We are invited by Scripture to pray these types of prayers.  In Matthew 21:22, Jesus tells us, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”  Our communication with God is not all us talking to God.  Through His Word, prayer, and sometimes visions, God speaks to us.  When responding to some Jews about unbelief in John 10:27, Jesus answered, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

 

David praised God in his hymn, singing, “Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy.” (Psalm 28:6)  David knew this only because he also listened to God and knew who He said He is.  This is significant because we are to know to whom we pray.  This is why I believe that requests for prayers from well-known personalities who like to express disdain toward religion in general and God in particular are useless and futile.  If we cannot pray to anyone who can actually answer prayer, why waste our time and breath?  We should know with certainty with whom we are speaking in prayer.

 

“The Lord is my strength.”  This simple sentence indicates whether we are going to present ourselves with humility or arrogance before the Lord.  Corrie Ten Boom, who survived the concentration camps of Nazi Germany, used this little story to demonstrate: “A woodpecker tapped with his beak against the stem of a tree just as lightning struck the tree and destroyed it.  He flew away and said, ‘I didn't know there was so much power in my beak!’  When we bring the Gospel there is a danger that we will think or say, ‘I have done a good job.’  Don't be a silly woodpecker.   Know where your strength comes from.  It is only the Holy Spirit who can make a message good and fruitful.” (Corrie Ten Boom, “Each New Day,” Christianity Today, Vol. 36, no. 3.)

 

A little story like that may sound quite fanciful, but it points to a great reality.  One of the consistent confrontations Jesus had with religious leaders was over their failure to humble themselves before God.  Jesus loved those knowledgeable and powerful men as much as he loved anyone else, but they refused to live in accordance with God’s will.  Matthew 23, a chapter typically subtitled “seven woes,” begins with a warning: “Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ‘The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.  So you must obey them and do everything they tell you.  But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.’”  The Bible testifies that some Pharisees retained a prideful attitude even in prayer; in fact, they even made the act of prayer another reason for their pride.

 

In contrast, we are to declare along with David, “The Lord is my strength.”  My act of prayer is not a source of strength.  Instead, it is my recognition that my prayer is lifted to the Source of all strength.  Then, and only then, can I properly praise God in prayer, song, and life.  “The Lord is the strength of his people; a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.” (Psalm 28:8)

 

“The Lord is my shield.”  I frequently read from Psalm 121 in funeral services.  Verse 3 tells us, “He will not let your foot slip – he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”  I sometimes cannot help but wonder what that means when I am reading it in the context of someone’s funeral service.  A loved one has died and is being mourned, but the Scripture reads, “He will not let your foot slip”?  Is the Bible wrong?

 

That is completely the wrong way to understand this.  Again, we must know to whom we pray.  As much as God loves His creation – He called it good, remember – and as much as God loves His people – who are His creation – it remains that it is God’s will that prevails, not ours.  In another prayer, we are instructed, “Thy will be done,” not our will.  In every way, then, God is the shield of those who believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior.  As terrible as things can become on earth, whether through natural disasters or illnesses or human injustice, those are not necessarily what God shields us from.  In Luke 12:4-5, Jesus tells us plainly what God shields us from: “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.  But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell.  Yes, I tell you, fear him.”

 

God shields us from hell.  God shields us from becoming a possession of satan.  Not one New Testament disciple ever questioned the reality or strength or purpose or love of God because of the suffering that came through human persecution or any other source.  Historical indications lead us to conclude that every disciple except one died as a martyr because of their faith in Jesus Christ and service to God.  John is the only one who may have died what we call a “natural” death.  Yet the enduring belief held by every one of those men, if not expressed in word then by action, was that the Lord is my shield.  That is what David meant as a psalmist, and that is what the disciples meant as followers of the Christ.  Through Jesus, we are released from the bondage of sin and death.  In last week’s Bible study, we read Revelation 20:14, “Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.”  The Lord is our shield because He separates us from death and Hades so that we may live in His presence throughout eternity.

 

As announced earlier in the service, the annual National Day of Prayer is celebrated with services throughout our land on the first Thursday of May.  In spite of misguided efforts by some to create a breach between the Christian faith and good government, many of our elected officials issue proclamations recognizing the National day of prayer.  President George Bush proclaims, “America trusts in the abiding power of prayer and asks for the wisdom to discern God's will in times of joy and of trial.  As we observe this National Day of Prayer, we recognize our dependence on the Almighty, we thank Him for the many blessings He has bestowed upon us, and we put our country's future in His hands…  By surrendering our lives to our loving Father, we learn to serve His eternal purposes, and we are strengthened, refreshed, and ready for all that may come.  On this National Day of Prayer, we ask God's continued blessings on our country….  The Congress, by Public Law 100-307, as amended, has called on our Nation to reaffirm the role of prayer in our society by recognizing each year a ‘National Day of Prayer.’  NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 1, 2008, as a National Day of Prayer.  I ask the citizens of our Nation to give thanks, each according to his or her own faith, for the freedoms and blessings we have received and for God's continued guidance, comfort, and protection.  I invite all Americans to join in observing this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.” (National Day of Prayer 2008, A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America, April 21, 2008)

 

Calls to prayer are heard and heeded by the faithful because we know to whom we pray.  Concerning prayer, John Guest wrote, “It is remarkable to think that God has given us a partnership with him in directing the course of human events.  It is extraordinary to realize that our prayer can change events and circumstances in the world around us.  But what is just as remarkable is that when we pray, we change.  More often than not we become the answer to our own prayers as we open up ourselves to God in prayer.” (John Guest, “Only a Prayer Away,” Christianity Today, Vol. 33, no. 15.)  “The Lord is my strength and my shield.”

 

 

Rev. Charles A. Layne

First Baptist Church

PO Box 515

179 W. Broadway

Bunker Hill, IN 46914

765-689-7987

bhfbc@bhfirstbaptist.com

www.bhfirstbaptist.com

 

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