Written by: Carla Trundle (24-7 Prayer)
Psalm 2 v 1-3
Why are the nations so angry?
Why are the people making useless plans?
The kings of the earth prepare to fight, and their leaders make plans together
against the LORD and his appointed one.
They say, “Let’s break the chains that hold us back and throw off the ropes
that tie us down.”
Notes
Sound familiar? Isn’t it funny how history repeats itself? The author of this
psalm could have been writing about today’s international climate. Our presidents
and Prime Ministers lead us (rightly of wrongly) into war, and people are left
feeling disempowered and disengaged with national and international affairs.
In this post-modern era of no absolutes and an “anything goes” attitude, many
find themselves adrift, without a stable foundation to build their lives upon
and reject Jesus (God’s appointed one) and the church as another system of control.
In David Fincher’s film Fight Club (2000), an unnamed man searches for his identity by rejecting the IKEA-furnished, Gap-clothed, money-motivated shell numbing him to life. Through community and violence he searches for empowerment and finds who he truly is by attacking the authorities of the day. Not for the faint-hearted, this controversial film was boycotted by many for its brutality and anarchic subject matter. For me this film is a wake-up call; it holds a mirror up to the emptiness of popular culture and looks at the hopelessness and cynicism of this generation. Why are young people flocking from our churches in the thousands? What answers are we giving them (in a language they can understand) to the issues they struggle with? Do they see us as loving, welcoming, discipling communities, or as people preoccupied with structures and rules?
Psalm 2 is a prophetic glance into the future of Israel and its rejection and execution of Jesus. As people in this day and age struggle with identity, many of them are repeating the same pattern of rejection. With war, famine and corruption spreading instability, young people are walking away from the only constant this life can offer. How can we help them?
Prayer
Lord, give us boldness today. Put friends and family who don’t know you on our
hearts and minds. Help us to pray, encourage and love people. Help us to be
something different and constant in an unstable world. Amen
Psalm 2 v 4-6
But the one who sits in heaven laughs; the Lord makes fun of them.
Then the LORD warns them and frightens them with his anger.
He says, “I have appointed my own king to rule in Jerusalem on my holy mountain,
Zion.”
Notes
When I was ten I loved to play a game with my uncle John. At 6 foot 8, John
is a gentle giant of a man who loved to challenge me to an arm wrestle! I didn’t
realise at the time but big uncle John was letting me win to boost my confidence.
This incredibly strong man allowed me to defeat him (and gloat in my victories)
because it was within his power to let me.
In Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of the Babylonian nation that enslaved Israel, had a dream that none of his advisers could explain. He saw a great statue with a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of iron and feet of iron and clay. As the king watched, a great rock was carved from the earth and struck the feet, crumbling the statue. Only Daniel, God’s servant, could interpret the dream, and he explained to the king that though he did not choose to serve the Lord, his kingdom only existed because God allowed it. God was allowing Nebuchadnezzar to win temporarily to serve God’s own plan.
Here the psalmist describes the Lord laughing at the rulers who are plotting against him, reminding them that they only serve his purposes. God has appointed his own son as the eternal ruler of his kingdom, but until the day of Jesus’ return he will use the rulers of our world with or without their knowledge. When faced with the confusion of all that is happening in global politics today, it serves us well to remember that God uses rulers today as much as he did thousands of years ago. Though we may not understand why he allows rulers to oppress and persecute, we need to trust that God sees the eternal goal.
Prayer
Lord, we bring our rulers before you today. Give them wisdom and compassion
as they lead our countries forward. Amen
Psalm 2 v 7-9
Now I will tell you what the LORD has declared:
He said to me, “You are my son.
Today I have become your father.
If you ask me, I will give you the nations; all the people on earth will be
yours.
You will rule over them with an iron rod.
You will break them into pieces like pottery.”
Notes
This psalm is known as a Messianic psalm, a prophecy of the coming of Jesus
and the authority he would be given. Written to be sung at the coronation of
kings, it tells of the incredible authority the Lord bestows upon them. When
I first started reading the Bible my favourite books were the Gospels. To me,
they were far more interesting than the rest of the Bible - all apart from the
opening chapter of Matthew. I mean, how dull is a massive list of names? How
do you pronounce Amminadab and Shealtiel anyway? It took me a while to understand
its significance to the life and authority of Jesus. Matthew was trying to highlight
the direct line from King David (to whom God bestowed his authority) and Jesus
of Nazareth, born 28 generations later - the son of God made human.
By the time Jesus was born, the Israelites hadn’t ruled their own nation for many years. The Romans were in power and descendants of David worked as carpenters in Nazareth. But from humble beginnings God bestowed all his authority: “If you ask me, I will give you the nations; all the people of the earth will be yours.” Only with this authority could Jesus make the ultimate sacrifice of death and open the way for each of us to come to God.
So how does this relate to you and me? We have this incredible direct line to God; we can approach him with humility and he will listen to us! But there’s more than that! When we’re saved we become children of God as well. Through Jesus we share his authority; when we ask in his will and by his name, our prayers are answered!
Prayer
Lord, help us to be bold in our prayer lives. Help us to stand in the confidence
of all that Jesus has given us and pray for your power to move in our lives
and those of the people around us! Amen
Psalm 2 v 10-12
So, kings, be wise; rulers, learn this lesson.
Obey the LORD with great fear.
Be happy, but tremble.
Show that you are loyal to his son, or you will be destroyed by his anger, because
he can quickly become angry.
But happy are those who trust him for protection.
Notes
I am very privileged to have a really secure family. I have a great relationship
with my dad who adores all three of his children. I’ve never lacked love in
my life, so I’ve always found it easy to grasp the loving side of God’s nature.
What I have often struggled with is balancing love and grace with a God of wrath.
“Show that you are loyal to his son, or you will be destroyed by his anger,
because he can quickly become angry.”
My friend Carl Tinnion helped me with this by likening God to water. I love water; I’ve spent many a summer night at Bosham harbour, near where I live, jumping into the estuary! I spent much of my childhood near the sea and absolutely love swimming, but I always knew that water requires respect. It gives us life, but it also has the power to take it away. Swimmers unwise enough to drift into strong currents risk drowning. Even a harmless puddle has the potential to take your life. We respect the awesome power that water carries, yet acknowledge that we need water more than food to survive. We live with a healthy balance of enjoyment and caution.
Fear of God is similar. We shouldn’t be afraid that God would lash out in hate, but we should fearfully respect that God is almighty and powerful. By holding this in balance we can love, worship and never underestimate our Lord.
Prayer
Father, help me today to grasp more fully the breadth and depth of your power!
Amen
Psalm 5 v 1-3
LORD, listen to my words.
Understand my sadness.
Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, because I pray to you.
LORD, every morning you hear my voice.
Every morning, I tell you what I need, and I wait for your answer.
Notes
Who’s seen the film Bruce Almighty? I have to say I recently had that hilarious
privilege last night - Jim Carrey at his extravagant but less annoying self!
And Morgan Freeman as a God who mops floors and fixes lightbulbs - genius! Carrey
plays a whiney, self-absorbed news broadcaster who blames a run of bad luck
on God. God decides to teach him a lesson by bestowing upon him all of his powers.
Cue the parting of the red soup, walking on puddles and teaching your dog to
relieve himself on the toilet. Underneath all the slapstick and hilarity are
a few thought-provoking moments.
When God orders Bruce to pray, Bruce immediately rattles off exactly what he thinks God wants to hear: “Please God, end world famine and poverty, Amen.” Then he asks, “How was that?” God replies, “Not bad for a start, but tell me what you really care about.” God doesn’t require the right answer, he just wants us to have conviction in our prayers. He can see straight through us! He knows when we mean what we say, or when we’re just paying our dues.
Conviction in prayer is something today’s psalmist had. He’s not just a whiner who’s quick to blame God for all his woes. His words show honesty and discipline in his prayer life: “Every morning, I tell you what I need, and wait for your answer.” Ask yourself what time you make for talking with God each day. Do you need to make more time? Or maybe you need to try a time of day when you’re more alive, or a place or method that helps you to focus. Talk to God about all that you’re doing and feeling, but remember to listen to what he has to say in response.
Prayer
Lord, I pray for everyone reading this today. Please, Lord, help them to
approach you with honesty this morning and bless their courage by drawing close
as they tell you their fears, hopes and joys. Amen
Psalm 5 v 4-8
You are not a God who is pleased with the wicked; you do not live with
those who do evil.
Those people who make fun of you cannot stand before you. You hate all those
who do evil.
You destroy liars; the LORD hates those who kill and trick others.
Because of your great love, I can come into your Temple.
Because I fear and respect you, I can worship in your holy Temple.
LORD, since I have many enemies, show me the right thing to do.
Show me clearly how you want me to live.
Notes
What I love about these verses is that the psalmist takes precisely the right
attitude towards his enemies, even though he’s obviously livid with them. Instead
of repaying them in like and doing as he was done by, he knows the only way
to defeat them is to stay above blame. He also knows that he can’t do this without
God’s help. Even in his anger he knows to throw himself on God’s mercy and wisdom
to get him through: “Lord, since I have many enemies, show me the right thing
to do.”
The book of Proverbs is full of pearls of wisdom on how to deal
with people that attack you. Chapter 25 v 21-22 advises,
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him.
If he is thirsty, give him a drink.
Doing this will be like pouring burning coals on his head,
and the Lord will reward you.”
There are a few practical steps you can take to make life a little easier to manage. Firstly, watch your mouth. Don’t let gossip about how you may or may not have been wronged affect your speech. Secondly, ask God to highlight in you any wrong attitudes and antagonistic behaviour. The best way of disabling an attack is to remove your enemy’s ammo by being kind to them. God is fully aware that we are imperfect and impatient, so he’s prepared to help us withstand attack.
Prayer
Lord, help us to take grievances to you and not to try to retaliate. Give us
your patience and perseverance and help us to be bless those who attack us.
Amen
Psalm 5 v 9-12
My enemies’ mouths do not tell the truth; in their hearts they want to destroy
others.
Their throats are like open graves; they use their tongues for telling lies.
God, declare them guilty!
Let them fall into their own traps.
Send them away because their sins are many; they have turned against you.
But let everyone who trusts you be happy; let them sing glad songs forever.
Protect those who love you and who are happy because of you.
LORD, you bless those who do what is right; you protect them like a soldier’s
shield.
Notes
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me! As a child
I learnt that rhyme as a mantra against taunts. We’ve all been there, putting
on a brave face because “I don’t care what they think anyway”. For many of us,
that’s truer now than it was in the playground. Gossip and lies stem from comparison,
insecurity and resentment. For many people, school, college or even the workplace
can be places of backbiting and one-upmanship.
Today is no different to when the psalmist wrote, “Their throats are like open graves; they use their tongues for telling lies.” Psalm 64 v 3-4 says, “They sharpen their tongues like swords and shoot bitter words like arrows. From their hiding places they shoot at innocent people…” Open war, though horrific, is often a lot simpler than this line of assault. There are clear boundaries and battlefields; the enemy wears a different uniform. The problem with lies and the attack of character is that any one of us can suffer from it, and everyone is guilty of it at one time or another.
This psalmist shows wisdom in handing judgement of those who have wronged him over to God, because ultimately we’re too guilty ourselves to ever cast the first stone. “With the same tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing… Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?” (James 3 v 9-11).
Take time to examine how you use your mouth. Ask God to show you where you are not using your mouth to build up and encourage others.
Prayer
Lord, so much of what we say does not honour you. Forgive us, Lord. Holy Spirit,
help us to examine our words today. “Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; Keep
a watch over the door of my lips” (Psalm 141 v 3). Let every word be like worship
to you. Amen
word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken
from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993
by Word Publishing Milton Keynes