PSALM 21 It would seem that the victory prayed for and trusted in has been realized, and now David thanked God for the victory given. Praise psalm and like every praise psalm in the book of Psalms, this psalm features three ingredients. You have 1) an introductory call to praise, 2) then a list of reasons to praise God, and 3) a final resolve to praise the Lord.
1 The king rejoices in your strength, Lord. How great is his joy in the victories you give!
2 You have granted him his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips.
3 You came to greet him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.
4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him— length of days, for ever and ever.
5 Through the victories you gave, his glory is great; you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.
6 Surely you have granted him unending blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord; through the unfailing love of the Most High, he will not be shaken.
8 Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies; your right hand will seize your foes.
9 When you appear for battle, you will burn them up as in a blazing furnace. The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath, and his fire will consume them.
10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth, their posterity from mankind.
11 Though they plot evil against you and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed.
12 You will make them turn their backs when you aim at them with drawn bow.
13 Be exalted in your strength, Lord; we will sing and praise your might.
SECTIONS:
I A grateful, joyful King
II The judgments of God defend his people
QUESTIONS:
What does David rejoice in?
What blessings did God grant him?
What is the result of David trusting in the Lord?
What results does David expect to see when God goes before him in battle?
The bible says we also fight battless with the forces of evil around us? With the Lord what outcome can we expect?
What does David praise God for specifically?
THEME: Gratefulness for what God is doing, has done in the past, and will continue to do to keep us and defend us
Blueletterbible.org
Every Christian should know the joy of answered prayer. When we don’t experience the the blessing of answered prayer there could there be many reasons. There are some things mentioned in the bible that hinder our prayers. But remember that these are not always the reasons why God doens’t answer.
1-Do we take time to abide in Jesus so we can hear him clearly give direction? John 15:7 says, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
2- Are we hindered by unbelief that Jesus would care to answer our prayer? Or if he is capable of doing anything in our situation? Matthew 17:19-21 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out? And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”
3-Are we asking with the right motive? Or our prayers selfish? James 4:2 You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.
4- Are we willfully disobeying any of God’s commands? 1 John 3:21- 22 Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God, and we will receive from Him whatever we ask, because we keep His commandments and do what is pleasing in His sight.
5-Are we praying in and for God’s perfect will? 1 John 5:14-15- “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.”
6- Do we have sin we will not admit or confess (like pride)? James 5:16- Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Isaiah 59: 1-2 “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor is His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”
7-Do we pray earnestly, fervently with all our hearts or is it half-hearted? James 5:16-18; “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.”
8-In our society we ofen want nstant results. Do you lack persistance and give up hope too easily if results are not immediate? Luke 18:1-7:Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. “There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ “For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
9- Do you need to reconcile with someone or forgive them? Matthew 5:23-24″Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
10-Do you ask people to pray with or for you? “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.”
11- Do you pray in Jesus name? Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.…
12- Do you doubt? “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
Lifehopeadtruth.com (Charles Haughee)
We can expect an answer from God when we bring our requests to Him—but it’s easy to forget that “No” is a possible answer. There are three core answers God can give to our prayers: “Yes,” “No” and “Not yet.” The trouble is that, from our perspective, it’s not always easy to tell the no from the not yet—and what’s worse, the not yet doesn’t come with a time frame.
God wants what’s best for you. And not just you—He wants what’s best for everyone, all around the world. He has a perfect perspective, which we don’t have. We see things through the lenses of our culture, our history, our limited lifespan. God sees all things, everywhere, all the time. He sees all the complicated interactions and relations between each of those things, in this moment and throughout time.We have to remember the difference between what God sees and what we see.
There are a lot of reasons God might say, “No” or “Not yet,” and one of those reasons might be that what we’re asking for doesn’t fit into His ultimate plan for us and those around us. God isn’t a genie who grants wishes, even if they’re bad for us. An important part of prayer is trusting that God wants what’s best for us. However He chooses to answer us, it will ultimately “work together for good,” even if we can’t see how in the moment. The challenge is learning to accept that truth.
“No” was the answer God Paul who had some affliction. Paul repeatedly asked for relief. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:9: “And He (Jesus) said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’”You’ll find that as your relationship with God develops, you’ll understand more of God’s answers to your prayers.
Gotquestions.org
In the Old Testament, fasting is linked with intercessory prayer. David prayed and fasted over his sick child (2 Samuel 12:16), Esther urged Mordecai and the Jews to fast for her as she planned to appear before her husband the king (Esther 4:16). Clearly, fasting and petition are closely linked.
There are instances of prayer and fasting in the New Testament, but nowhere is there any indication that the Lord is more likely to answer prayers if we fast. Rather, it seems to indicate the sincerity of the people praying and the critical nature of the situations. The more critical the situation, the more appropriate the fasting and prayer. In Mark 9, Jesus casts a demon from a boy. The disciples had been unable to perform the exorcism, although they had previously been given authority over unclean spirits (Mark 6:7). Later, in Mark 9:29, the disciples asked Jesus why they failed in their attempts to free the boy from the demon, and Jesus said, “This kind can come out only by prayer” But Matthew’s account adds the phrase “and fasting” (Matthew 17:21). In this particular case, the demon was exceptionally stubborn. Jesus seems to be saying that a determined foe must be met with an equally determined faith. Prayer is a ready weapon in the spiritual battle, and fasting helps to focus prayer and give it resolve.
Fasting gives believers the opportunity to express themselves in an undivided and intensive devotion to the Lord. This is expressed by abstaining for a short while from such normal and good things as food and drink. Prayer and fasting should not be a burden or a duty, but rather a celebration of God’s goodness and mercy to His children.
sermncentral.com (Eddie Snipes)
The Word of Faith movement is a loose collection of preachers and teachers who put great emphasis on worldly success and the power of a Christian to control their own future through positive acts. This concept is also known as “Prosperity Theology.”
Prosperity movements talks about God’s desire is for all Christians to be happy, healthy, and wealthy. These teachers often claim that God allows a person to “speak” their desires into reality, as though they had a creative power similar to that of God. Sickness, poverty, and other struggles are seen as evidence of a lack of faith. But study the book of Job. And what about Paul? Did he suffer adversity? God does not endow Christians with the power to have anything we want, whenever we want it. God grants requests that align with His will.
According to leaders in the Word-Faith movement only faith has the power. The Word-Faith doctrine is simple, but erroneous. To them, faith is the power behind everything and fear is the destructive power against it. We can fill our words with faith and spur God into action or we can fill them with fear and spur the devil into action. Either way, we are the ones in command. “Faith is God’s sources of power. God cannot work for you apart from your faith.”(Kenneth Copeland)
Psalm 62:11 God has spoken once, twice I have heard that power belongs to God.” Psalm 21:13.”Be exalted, O LORD, in Your own strength! We will sing and praise Your power.” Could this possibly be any clearer? It is in God’s own strength. And all power belongs to God. No one has the power by their own doing. God determines who will be used and how His power will be used. If God says something is done, no power in the universe can prevent Him, with faith or without faith. And if God says no, the answer is no. All the faith in the world cannot over rule God. Some preachers claim falsely that they are the masters of their own destiny.
Daniel 4 is the story of how God exalted King Nebuchadnezzar for a purpose of judging His people. This king was lifted up with pride. Nebuchadnezzar didn’t acknowledge God. He declared, “Look what I have done”. Nebuchadnezzar thought it was by his wisdom or power. God struck him down with insanity and he began to graze in the fields like a wild beast. God humbled Nebuchadnezzar by showing him exactly what he was without God’s power holding him up. After years of grazing, God returned him to sanity and king Nebuchadnezzar testified that God was the true God. Who did Nebuchadnezzar say had dominion? The Bible makes it clear that God lifts up and casts down according to His purposes.
Contrary to the Word-Faith doctrine, prayer is asking of God while examining ourselves and conforming to His will. Prayer is an acknowledgment of our personal relationship with God and an acknowledgement of our dependency on him. Our supreme example is Jesus, who when he faced death on the cross said to the Father, “Not My will, but Yours”.
My reflection on Psalm 21
“For the king trusts in the Lord; in the unfailing love of the Most High, he will not be shaken.”This is the only line I memorized in Psalm 21 because it was the one thing that my heart clings to most, the unfailing love of the Most High. It took me years to know that God loves me and that he will never leave or abandon me. I grew up in a home where I never had that assurance. My mom was a single mom who had to work. So she left me with a lot of different people, and some were very abusive.
My mother, who had no family example of love and acceptance but only anger and beatings, didn’t kow how to model motherly love. I’ve since forgiven her completely for things she did because of her own abusive childhood but it didn’t happen until Jesus had worked in me over a long period of time. But I have never forgotten the times I had felt unloved, uncared for and was abandoned in my childhood. So to know that the King of the universe loves me unconditionally, in spite of my faults and failures, was an incredibly healing truth in my life. I felt I could understand what the apostles meant when Jesus asked if when others were deserting him, they would also desert him. They said, “To whom should we go Lord?” With them I ask, Who else would I follow? Who else in this world is like you? You are love and compassion. You are absolute truth. I can trust you when I can’t trust anyone else. You will never leave or abandon me. When we know that kind of love, we will not be shaken by anything. We can be confused, sometimes fearful and anxious, even questioning, but never completely shaken by our faith in the one who loves us beyond measure or comprehension.
SONG: Unfailing Love, What the Lord has Done In Me, Arms of Love, The Love of God