Note: This is for my friends (many) who are in the midst of some of the most horrific events at the hands of “God’s” people. To you I send you the love of the Father and the peace that passes understanding.
Introduction: Today in the middle of my devotions, The Father led me to pray for some friends. It was not a subtle request. It was a swamping of urgency. For several minutes nothing was visible but their pain. Even now more than an hour later the residue lingers in the tears at the edge of my eyes. The following devotional is for you.
Psalm 35:4-8 contains David’s prayer for help in the time of need. He was beat down and surrounded by those who wished him ill. In these verses he specifically asks for Help from the Lord.
He asks: Father, there are those who wish to kill me. They want me to come to harm. Father I am asking You to cause them to be ashamed and disgraced. David is showing us an awesome principle. He is showing that the battle is not his, but the Lord’s. It is clear from the context and the incident that causes David to pray this that he is overwhelmed with the people who have betrayed him and were actively plotting against him. He is so under the gun (maybe spear might be a better metaphor for David) that he didn’t have anything left to fight within himself. This is one key to overcoming those who wish us harm.
In the same verse he asks the Father to cause those who have been planning him harm to turn away and run away. The key here is that we ask the Father to bring them down.
The next part is fuel for our soul. It gives me a great sense of who God is and how He responds to us. David gives God some suggestions to God on how he wishes the Him to deal with the people who wish him harm. This is awesome because in the proper way it gives us permission to suggest to God what punishments you wish on those oppose you. Note: These are suggestions.
- God, would you let them be like the chaff that the wind blows away. In those days you separated the grain from that which wasn’t any good by tossing it together into the air. The wind would blow and the grain would fall. Whatever was blown away was useless. David suggests that He send an angel to do this to his opponents.
- God, he says, would you make their road dark and slippery as one of your angels chases them. This is what the Father showed me here. When you are opposed and oppressed, you are fearful and have feelings of being alone. What we ask for is for those in opposition to us experience this same fear and depression.
The third thing that David says about these people is that they have set out ways to trap us and dug pits for us to fall into. The traps are aimed at us in such a way that they would discredit us. The purpose is that whoever is being focused on would become impotent. It is always based in personal preference and not from a focus on the Father.
The pits are scenarios that are set up so as to cause the focus of their evil to fall. It has several ways that it is done.
□ It can be done by accusing a person of sexual sin. (It usually doesn’t matter if it is true or not, because when it becomes public it damages almost irreversible harm.)
□ Many times it is aimed at financial misdeeds.
□ Others it is aimed at your personality.
□ Other times it is aimed at your method of doing things.
□ Sometimes it is based in truth but the criticism is not done in a Biblical manner.
- David reserves a special set of suggestions for this last group of people. He asks the Father to cause them to come to ruin suddenly. (The author has seen this happen.) He also asks that the Father allow them to be caught in their own traps and pits. The key here is seeking wisdom in the raging battle. Then your response (not reaction) would be to challenge them with the Word. The Word is powerful and able to divide between the human spirit and the human soul. In other words the Word when spoken to the spirit of those who are trying to sabotage us will cause them to have to respond to God, even when they react to you.
Calling on God with clarity, even brutal clarity, is acceptable to Him. He already knows the state of our heart, so why not be honest with Him and tell him that life stinks!
Father, I am praying that You would go to the wall for those whose lives are being sabotaged. Would You allow the traps and pits which are intent on their harm to be used against them instead? I am blasting heaven today for these people who are having a tough season. Would you come by their side and give them Your comfort.
BTW: If you have a friend who is going through this kind of time, forward this to them.
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