“May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed. May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the name of our God. May the Lord answer all your prayers.
Psalm 20:4-5 NLT
Psalm 20 is a “Psalm of David” so to whom is this prayer directed? The Bible scholars call this a “Royal Psalm” as it is written, they say, by the people about their King, David himself. So perhaps a better title would be a “Psalm about David”, with “about” replacing “of”. But from this perspective the Psalm makes more sense, and David merely recorded the Psalm from the prayers and other sentiments said about him. So, is this a Psalm we can discard as just being about David or does it have some helpful content for us today?
Yesterday we looked at God’s response to His people in their “times of trouble” and today we consider a more positive perspective as we look forward beyond any current problems to what lies ahead. What plans have we pilgrims made? What are our “heart’s desires” as we journey onwards in our lives? We must have some, because otherwise we will quickly die in our faith. Remember the verse, “Where there is no vision, the people perish …” (Proverbs 29:18a)? What we hope to do, and how we are going to make it happen, becomes our vision for the future. In the natural, we make plans for holidays, or employment. For where we live or who we are going to marry. But what about our spiritual lives, a part of us that is even more important? Sadly, many people become pew warmers, going through the motions of Christianity, but failing to leverage its potential in their live. A verse of advice from Paul to Timothy – 2 Timothy 3:5, “They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!” I’m sure we have all come across religious people in our lives – I met two men yesterday who were more interested in looking after their church building than the Person who should be worshiped there.
There is much written in the Bible about what a pilgrim should be doing. Jesus said that we should follow Him, but what does that look like? To find out we must read the Bible over and over again, and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to us what Jesus wants us to do and how we are to do it. As an example, we read the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age“. On my prayer walks each morning I speak to people, looking for an opportunity to share the Gospel, but I’m sure all of us pilgrims do the same. Jesus’ Commission is not just for missionaries traveling to remote parts of the world. Jesus also wants us to pray. Matthew 6:6, “But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you“. Notice that Jesus said “When you pray” not “If you pray”.
And we pilgrims pray for each other. The Apostle Paul was a great prayer warrior – Colossians 1:9, “So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding”. And we cannot overlook Paul’s wonderful and touching prayer in Ephesians 3, “When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit”. It’s a prayer that rises to a crescendo, rich with vision and purpose, as Paul prayed, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think“. The challenge to all believers is, does our vision extend to allowing God to “accomplish infinitely more …” in our lives.
The prayer over David included asking God to grant him success for his plans, for answered prayers, victory, and the fulfilment of his heart’s desires. And the same prayer hangs in the air over all God’s people. God’s Word is eternal, not just for one man on one occasion. In excitement today, we need to grab hold of all that God has for us, because that was why He sent His Son, Jesus. One day we will be with Him, and hope to hear those words, “well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23).
Dear Father God. We are citizens in Your Kingdom, workers for You on Planet Earth. Please lead and guide us in Your ways. And we pray for our fellow believers, that You will envision them with power in all they do. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 