Mensa Otabil - The Lord Will Answer You
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Welcome to a brand new week, and we go back to the Book of Psalms. As you know, we’ve been looking at the Book of Psalms throughout this year, and we end with the 20th Psalm. So we will start from verse number one: May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob defend you. Psalm 20 is a Psalm of David, but it’s a very unique Psalm because David wrote this Psalm not from his point of view but from the point of view of the congregation of Israel, the nation of Israel, praying for their leader, praying for their king. This positions people to know how to pray for their leader-maybe a child praying for their parent, a husband praying for his wife, a wife praying for her husband, or praying for your pastor, somebody who leads you and whose welfare benefits you. This is what this Psalm is all about.
There are two things that verse one talks about-the prayer that we should focus on as we intercede for the people who lead us. The first one is, «May the Lord answer you.» This is the first thing that David wanted the people to pray for. The children of Israel knew David was a man of prayer; he goes to God to pray. He says, «When you are praying for me, pray that God will hear me when I pray, and God will answer me.» Of course, that is how we should also pray for our leaders. Pray for your pastor; pray for your parents; pray for someone you love, and say, «Lord, answer them in prayer.»
That does not mean that God will answer their prayer no matter what it is, but when their prayers are pleasing to Him, and it’s in His will and beneficial to their nation or to their people, then, Lord, answer them. So anytime you pray for somebody whose life is beneficial to you, one of the things you pray for is, «May the Lord answer you.» I pray for each one of you that the Lord will answer you as you pray throughout this week and throughout this season. May the Lord answer you.
So that’s the first thing David says they should pray for. The second thing it says is, «May the Lord defend you.» I pray that same prayer for each one of you: may the Lord defend you. David was a fighter; he went to war many times. He tells his people, «As you pray for me, pray for God to protect me; pray for God to defend me.» Each one of us has people whose lives must be defended for our benefit. It could be a friend, a spouse, a pastor, or your leader-somebody who needs to do well so that you do well as well.
David says when you’re praying for such people, pray that God will answer their prayer, and secondly, pray that God will defend them. I pray that prayer for you, that God will defend you. Now, each one of us, at various points in our lives, is involved in one struggle or another. We are all dealing with stuff, and sometimes we get overwhelmed by what we are dealing with. They look so big, and we don’t know whether we’ll come through or whether we’ll be successful. So we pray for everyone we look up to, everyone we love who is going through a hard time, and we say, «May the Lord defend you.» There is no circumstance in life that is greater than the name of the Lord. The name of the Lord is our strong tower; the righteous run into it, and they are safe.
As you trust in the name of the Lord, as you look up to the Lord, as you go to Him in prayer asking Him to protect and defend you, we also come together behind you and say, «The Lord will defend you; the Lord will answer your prayer; the Lord will be your help; the Lord will be your strength.» The same Lord who brought you to the beginning of this year and the beginning of this month will take you through to the end of the month, the end of the year, and into a brand new year. May the Lord answer you, and may the Lord defend you.
Let’s pray. Say, «Heavenly Father, You are the God who answers. I know You as my defender in times of war. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.» The Lord will answer you, and the Lord will defend you. I’ll catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.