IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

Daily Bread

Praying for Protection from Evil

Date: Sep. 8, 2021

Passage

Psalm 64:1-10 (ESV)

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

  Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;
    preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
  Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
    from the throng of evildoers,
  who whet their tongues like swords,
    who aim bitter words like arrows,
  shooting from ambush at the blameless,
    shooting at him suddenly and without fear.
  They hold fast to their evil purpose;
    they talk of laying snares secretly,
  thinking, “Who can see them?”
    They search out injustice,
  saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.”
    For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.
  But God shoots his arrow at them;
    they are wounded suddenly.
  They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them;
    all who see them will wag their heads.
  Then all mankind fears;
    they tell what God has brought about
    and ponder what he has done.
10   Let the righteous one rejoice in the LORD
    and take refuge in him!
  Let all the upright in heart exult!

Daily Bread

Key Verse: 64:2

  Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
    from the throng of evildoers,

When there are people who try to bring us down unjustly, or accuse us behind our backs, we long for an impartial judge to whom we can present our case. This psalm shows us that we have such an advocate in God. When King David heard about people who were conspiring against him and laying traps for him, he laid out his complaint clearly before God. David knew how clever people are when they set their hearts on doing evil, and he asked God to hide him from their plots. God gave David inspired language to expose the evil in the human heart.

If we pray specifically about our troubles or even just our worries about the future, laying everything before God, we can receive God’s comfort. God is pleased when we bring our agonies before him. In this way we can also resist the temptation to fight evil with evil, keeping our heart upright. Then we can have great confidence in God. We can be sure that eventually God’s justice will be revealed and all people will see it and praise him.

Prayer: Prayer: Father, thank you for inviting us to come to you when we are unfairly treated. Give me a pure heart and confidence that I will see your justice.

One Word: One Word: Lord, protect me from evil

Daily Bread

A Good King is Humbled

2 Kings 18:1-16

Key Verse: 18:5

He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him.

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