Psalm 20

So, since it's August 20th, I was reading Psalm 20 this morning and found an interesting cycle. The psalm is a psalm of trust and was written by David. My Bible's footnotes say, "The tone of the psalm is one of blessing, such as a king might bestow on his people, perhaps on the eve of battle." It seems likely to me that David might have written this when he and his armies were in battle. But as believers, every day can seem like a battle...some days even a war...and we are called to fight the enemy each and every day. This can make for discouraging times and defeating moments.

There'a a cycle here, that David calls to our attention through his prayer.

TRUST > REQUEST > PROVISION > PRAISE

If we look at the psalm, we see that David TRUSTS God first (v. 7 "Some trust in chariots and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God."). We need to trust in God's provisions for us before we even ask of Him. In Matthew 17:20, Jesus tells His disciples, "...if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will moved; and nothing will be impossible for you." When we trust Him first and have true faith, THEN we can ask anything. We can make our request once we believe that "He (can) grant you according to your heart's desire, and fulfill all your purpose." (Psalm 20:4)

Verses 2 & 3 of this psalm also reminds us that we can't go before God unarmed with trust and praise. "May He send you help from the sanctuary, and strengthen you out of Zion; May He remember all your offerings, and accept your burnt sacrifice." David reminds us that we can ask anything, but this comes after we've made sacrifices and offerings to God. Similar to Sean Connery in the movie, "Entrapment,"

"First we trust, then we try."

And like my son just said to his big sister, "Annie, we gotta clean up this living room. But first, we gotta make a mess." Even he knows one has to come before the other! :)

When we trust, we can ask and He will provide according to what He knows we need. We can hope that is our heart's desire, but our heart's desire needs to be in the right place. When He does answer us (and He will), we can praise Him for watching out for us and protecting us.

"Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand." (v. 6)