Mensa Otabil - The Lord Saves His Anointed
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As we learn about intercessory prayer and how God answers the petitions we make of Him on behalf of other people, we look at verse number six: «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.»
In this passage, as I said, David is teaching his people how to pray for the king, their leader. In our time, it becomes a framework for how we intercede not only for our leader but for our friends, spouses, and so on. The lessons here have been applied to where we live now. The three things I want you to note about this verse: the first one states that the Lord saves His anointed. The question is, who is this anointed? Who is this person known as His anointed? Well, in the Old Testament, in Israel, the anointed was the king.
The reason he’s called the anointed is that oil is poured on him to establish him on the throne to rule the people. He is normally called the anointed. There were other people who were anointed, but they were not called the anointed. The king is called the anointed. In the New Testament, Jesus is called the anointed; His name, Christ, means the anointed one. So in the New Testament, Jesus is the anointed, but Jesus doesn’t need to be saved; we don’t need to pray for Him.
So, who is He anointed in the New Testament? In the New Testament, it is everyone who has Christ in their hearts. Once you invite Jesus Christ to come and live in your heart — what we call being born again, being saved-once you’re a Christian and you are in a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, you are the anointed. The passage says God saves the anointed; every believer who trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ is anointed, and God saves them, God delivers them. It says that God answers His anointed from heaven.
Now, when we talk about heaven, we don’t want to see heaven as a geographical location, a certain distance somewhere in some far galaxy, and so on. Heaven is a dimension. Jesus made us aware that heaven is around us, so heaven is the dimension of God. It’s a spiritual dimension that God operates in, and so out of that dimension of the supernatural, of heaven, God answers us. God doesn’t answer us from far away, somewhere in the sky, for the answer to drop long distance to get to us. No, God is in us, with us, and around us, and He answers us from heaven, from His habitation, from His realm, from His dimension, and He answers us. That’s why He can instantly change a situation and turn it around for you. The Lord answers us from heaven, from the dimension of the spiritual. Then, the third thing it says is that the Lord saves with His right hand.
Now, you know, when you read verses like this in the Bible, I don’t want you to imagine God with two hands-a right hand and a left hand. The right hand is a figure of speech; it means God’s favor and power. The right hand denotes power, so God will favor you. God will come through with His power to deliver you. He will deliver us with His right hand; He will favor us, bless us, and show us His power. As we intercede for people, that’s what God does for us: He delivers His anointed, He answers from His habitation in heaven, and by His hand of power and His hand of favor, He blesses His people and sets them on high. May you be a recipient of all of these blessings from the Lord this day.
Let’s pray with me: Heavenly Father, you have anointed me with your Spirit. I receive your help and deliverance in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. Well, I’ll catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.