You have given me the inheritance of those who fear Your name

Psalm 61 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Confidence in God’s Protection.

Hear my cry, O God;
Give heed to my prayer.
² From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
³ For You have been a refuge for me,
A tower of strength against the enemy.
⁴ Let me dwell in Your tent forever;
Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah.

⁵ For You have heard my vows, O God;
You have given me the inheritance of those who fear Your name.
⁶ You will prolong the king’s life;
His years will be as many generations.
⁷ He will abide before God forever;
Appoint lovingkindness and truth that they may preserve him.
⁸ So I will sing praise to Your name forever,
That I may pay my vows day by day.

Have you ever been in the midst of a difficult circumstance and felt that you needed to begin your prayer, like David, asking God to; Hear my cry, O God; Give heed to my prayer. Like David we have confidence in God, yet sometimes it seems as though our prayers are not heard. We continue to lift our need or concern to God and nothing seems to change. Even in those times we need to continue toward God. He may not deliver us out of the difficulty, still He is our refuge. Even in the most difficult situation, there is a supernatural peace we have in His presence.

There can be things which hinder the answer to our prayers. In Daniel 10 we read of a time that Daniel prayed for an answer and the answer was delayed.       He said to me, "O Daniel, man of high esteem, understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you." And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. 12Then he said to me, "Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. 13"But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.…    God heard Daniels prayer from the first day and his prayer was answered that day. We live in this physical realm, a fallen world affected by the curse of sin. There are times when we don’t see, we can’t seem to connect to the realities that already exist in heaven. That’s how Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.” Ephesians 6:12-13, encourages us when we are engaged in spiritual warfare.     For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

Know this:  if you are struggling through a difficult time, God hears you. If what you are walking through is a consequence of your own decisions or actions, run to God not from Him. Just as the father in the parable of the Prodigal son, God is waiting and watching.   … while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. (Luke 15:20)        If on the other hand what you are struggling with is out of your control, a result of the evilness of other people, an attack of the enemy or the fact that we live in this fallen world, have confidence, like the psalmist say:    For You have heard my vows, O God; You have given me the inheritance of those who fear Your name.

When it seems as though our prayers are not changing our circumstances, still as we draw near to God something happens, something changes.

  And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. ²⁹ For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:28-29)   

 Through the difficult times we are conformed to the image and likeness of Christ. God doesn’t cause the evil and bad things that happen. But for those who love God, for those who are called according to His purposes, He will cause those things to work for our good. In the beginning we were created in the likeness and image of God.  God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness (Genesis 1:26) Jesus finished work on the cross has redeemed us from sin, but we are restored to the image and likeness of Him as we walk through this world “according to His purposes”.   That’s why James says:  Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ⁴ And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing…¹² Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. (James 1:2-12)

Regardless then of our present condition may our prayer today be as the psalmist:  Hear my cry, O God; Give heed to my prayer.  From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.  For You have been a refuge for me, A tower of strength against the enemy.  Let me dwell in Your tent forever; Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings  For You have heard my vows, O God; You have given me the inheritance of those who fear Your name. So I will sing praise to Your name forever. Both in and through my life, may Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.    Amen.