It is a great idea to read through the book of Psalms on a regular basis. Today, let’s look at Psalm 63. David starts his psalm by declaring his allegiance to God (Verse 1). As Christians we should all have made Jesus Lord of our lives (Rom 10:9). The king thirsted and longed for God, seeking after Him early in the day, in his secret place of prayer (Verses 1,2). We are also called to thirst for the things of God (Matt 5:6) and spend time in the secret place in prayer (Matt 6:6). King David meditated on God in the night and talked of his close spiritual relationship with Him (verse 8, 6). It is good for us to meditate on God’s word (Phil 4:8); it builds up our faith and brings us revelation (Rom 10:17); God also desires intimate fellowship with all of us (James 4:8; 1 John 1:3). In Psalm 63, David dwells on God’s power and glory (verse 2), God’s great love for all of us (verse 3), God’s abundance that He showers on us (verse 5), His help (verse 7), strength and protection (verse 8, 7), particularly from those who would harm us (verses 9,10). God’s love for us is unconditional (1 Cor 13:1-13) and all His promises are, “yes and Amen” (2 Cor 1:20). It’s no wonder that King David rejoiced in God (verses 7, 11), gave Him glory (verse 11) and praised Him with joy (verses 3,5). The author of psalm 150 wrote: “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord” (Ps 150:6). Re read psalm 63, it will bless you.

God completed His creation in 6 days and on the 7th day, He rested (Gen 2:2-3). When Jesus’ disciples returned from a preaching mission that He had sent them on, He took them to a deserted area to, “rest for a while” (Mark 6:31b; NKJV). Jesus and His disciples were caught in a storm in a boat, and He was sleeping; Jesus was truly resting (Matt 8:24). King David exhorted us to, “Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him” (Ps 37:7; NKJV). We as Christians, can and should live active, creative and productive lives but at the same time we should walk in God’s rest (Heb 4:9). His rest is a cessation of labour, toil and burdensome effort in our own strength (Matt 11:28-30), casting all our cares on Him (1 Peter 5:7), doing things His way (Matt 11:29) and enjoying His refreshment (Matt 11:28b). Jesus said, “Come unto Me all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28; NKJV). He went on to say, “Take My yoke upon you “(Matt 11:29a) – that means to be teachable, humble and submitted to Him and do things as He directs us (Matt 11:29). Jesus added that His way is easy (Matt 11:30). Psalm 23 paints a beautiful picture of God’s rest, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul” (Ps 23:1-3; NKJV). Let’s get into the word and allow the Holy Spirit to teach us about God’s rest!

Prov 15:28 tells us that the prayer of the upright is His delight and in verse 29 of that same chapter we read that God, “hears the prayers of the righteous” (NKJV). (See also 1 Peter 3:12). Psalm 34:17 declares that God not only hears the prayers of the righteous but also, “delivers them out of all their troubles” (NKJV). James also talks about the prayers of the righteous saying that, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16; NKJV). (See also Matt 7:7; John 14:13,14; 15:7; 16:24). 1 John 5:14 enlarges on this by saying that God hears us when we pray according to His will. In addition, Jesus told us that we need to address our prayers to God the Father in Jesus name (John 16:23). What is the secret to answered prayer? Praying in faith (Matt 21:22; Mark 11:23-24). We do this by believing that we receive the answers to our prayers when we are praying (that is before the answer actually comes). Faith isn’t the only thing needed; we also need to be forgiving as Mark 11:25 tells us. One last point on prayer – “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17); in other words, stay in communion with God throughout the day as much as possible. Prayer is our lifeline to God, follow the example of Jesus and make it a daily habit (Mark 1:25, Luke 5:16).

In Psalm 44:6,7 the writers show great dependence on God. They say they will not put their trust in their weapons, but it is through God and His name that they have defeated their enemies. Also, in Psalm 60:12, we read: “Through God we shall do valiantly, for it is He who shall tread down our enemies” (NKJV). In the New Testament we are also assured of having victory over satan. The author of the book of Hebrews wrote: “that through death He (Jesus) might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the devil and release all those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb 2:14-15; NKJV). Jesus gave us authority over satan. “I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19; NKJV). (See also Luke 9:1). So, we see from these verses that Jesus taught His disciples to use His authority and not their own, not only for dealing with satan but also for ministering to the sick. Romans 15:5 reminds us that without God we can do nothing, but we can do: “all things through Christ who strengthens” us (Phil 4:13; NKJV) and “We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom 8:37; NKJV). Let’s remember that as we go through our day and ask God to help us in all we do and speak.