Prayer for Deliverance
Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me;
fight against those who fight against me!
Take hold of shield and buckler,
and rise up to help me!
Draw the spear and javelin
against my pursuers;say to my soul,
“I am your salvation.”
Let them be put to shame and dishonor
who seek after my life.
Let them be turned back and confounded
who devise evil against me.
Let them be like chaff before the wind,
with the angel of the Lord driving them on.
Let their way be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
For without cause they hid their net for me;
without cause they dug a pit for my life.
Let ruin come on them unawares.
And let the net that they hid ensnare them;
let them fall in it – to their ruin.
Then my soul shall rejoice in the Lord,
exulting in his deliverance.
All my bones shall say,
“O Lord, who is like you?
You deliver the weak
from those too strong for them,
the weak and needy from those who despoil them.”
—Psalm 35:1-10
We are living through a time of chaos and great uncertainty, concerned about contracting COVID, concerned about unknowingly transmitting the virus, cautious of the air we breathe, avoiding signs of friendship and affection like handshakes and hugs, concerned about our economic viability, feeling alone and lonely, grieving lost contact with family and friends, and grieving our lost ways of life. Grieving in isolation is an unhealthy combination.
In August, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released results from a study showing adults in the US are experiencing deteriorating mental health conditions tied to the pandemic, including increased anxiety and depression, increased substance use, and increased suicidal ideation. Compared to 2019, anxiety disorder is three times higher, depressive disorder is four times higher, twice as many people reported serious consideration of suicide, and the use of substances has increased.
Our sense of security, physical health, mental health and spiritual health are under attack by forces beyond our control. What are we to do?
God uses people in His service. He uses shepherds, carpenters, fishermen, psychiatrists, psychologists, doctors of all disciplines, nurses, nursing assistants, janitors, spiritual leaders and all sorts of people in His holy service, and He uses properly prescribed treatments. If you hear whispers suggesting you should feel shame for needing the help you need, please disregard the whispers. We all need help and God calls us to help one another and to see His glory revealed through the situation. Pray for God to lead you to people who can help, pray for God to place the right person in your path at the right time, and while you seek help from His servants, turn to God, cover yourself with His armor, and ask Him to fight on your behalf.
Sometimes God heals miraculously in response to prayer, sometimes He chooses to use doctors, nurses and treatment plans, sometimes He chooses to let us wait in our troubling condition, according to His will. He loves each of us. He loves you and He hears your prayers and He responds.
In Psalm 35, David acknowledges battles taking place in the spiritual realm and asks God to fight on his behalf. He uses imagery of physical warfare and battles in a court of law, and while his words apply to tangible battles they also apply to battles in the spiritual realm. God is sovereign over heaven and earth. He created everything and everything is subject to His power and authority, and we know that He loves us, He hears our prayers and He responds.
Jesus promises that Satan seeks your life (see John 10:10). Scripture promises that Satan devises evil against you (see 2 Corinthians 2:11). Jesus promises that Satan is a murderer and a liar (see John 8:44). God’s holy word promises that we each contend with evil forces (see Ephesians 6:10-13 and 1 Peter 5:8-9). David prays asking God to fight against those who are fighting against him, to turn back and confound those who devise evil against him, and to send His angels to drive them away, making them “like chaff in the wind” (Psalm 35:5).
He concludes the section of the psalm set forth above writing, “All my bones shall say, ‘O Lord, who is like you? You deliver the weak from those too strong for them, the weak and needy from those who despoil them” (Psalm 35:10). David knows and trusts that God delivers, and that God will deliver him from his enemies. The statement is beyond theoretical pontification, it is personal – David really believes, he knows in the depths of his soul and spirit, that God will deliver him in his time of need. So he prays and waits and trusts in faith.
What battle are you fighting? Surrender to our Lord Jesus Christ and ask God to help. Ask Him to fight on your behalf. Ask Him to send His angels to fight for you. When Jesus was surrendering Himself to guards and Peter struck out with his sword, defending Jesus, Jesus stopped him saying,
“Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must happen in this way?” Matthew 26:52-54
When Jesus asks, God the Father sends angels to help Him. God’s holy word, including David’s prayer, indicates that He sends angels to help His adopted children as well.
While God and His angels act on our behalf, we have certain responsibility. Recognizing that battles are being waged in the spiritual realm, God’s holy word urges us to cover ourselves with the armor of God, standing firm in truth, righteousness and faith, proclaiming the gospel of peace with the certainty of our salvation and the “sword of the spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). And He urges us to pray in the spirit all the time.
Like David, know with certainty that God is with you, He loves you, He hears your prayers and He responds. Trust in His promises. Trust in His holy word and consider converting Psalm 35 into your personal prayer. May the Lord of grace, peace and truth comfort you and give you His rest.