May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob defend you. May He send you help from the sanctuary, and strengthen you out of Zion. May He remember all your offerings, and accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah. (Psalm 20:1-3)
There is a belief among Jewish commentators that this psalm was placed after Psalm 19 for this reason: the latter concludes with a prayer; this psalm begins with a petition. It is therefore concluded, so say the rabbis, that prayer and petition — especially in terms of redemption — go hand in hand, albeit, prayer should always precede the other. So then, David prayed, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer” before saying, “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble.”
Imagine going to the boss’ office with the intention of making a request, knocking on their door and then turning to leave before they could open the door to receive you. If you were gone before they got to the door, they would likely turn around and go back to whatever they had been doing. In other words, there is a certain protocol that should be executed if we expect to get an answer to our requests. And so, if we are going to petition God for deliverance and salvation, it is needful that we first approach Him in prayer — i.e. speak to Him. It isn’t appropriate to expect something of the LORD without first going to Him in prayer. Furthermore, we need to be prepared to be patient until He answers and then respect whatever the answer is.
When we do approach the Father in a prayerful attitude, we believe He is near; and if near, prepared to answer our petition. Notice that when the disciples asked Messiah to teach them how to pray, He started by saying, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-10). In other words, before asking Heaven to supply our daily bread or deliver us from evil, we are to acknowledge His greatness and be obliged to submit to His Will. We certainly believe that God is able and ready to deliver and redeem His people, but we must recognize that, as we go before the King of kings, He is worthy of our honor and respect. So then, as we boldly approach the Throne of Grace, let it be with humility, honor and a servant’s heart.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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