Day Five: 31 Days of Prayer

July 5, 2010

Morning

Psalm 16:1 Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge.

Do you like being a passenger? When you are a passenger, you are placing your safety in the hands of another person. When you are a passenger, you are expressing confidence in another person’s character and competence. I am always an uncomfortable passenger. Whenever I board an airliner, I secretly hope the pilot is having a good day. Don’t you?

Here David declares that he is a passenger in life. He is not in control. But he does more than hope. He prays, “Keep me safe, O God.” “Keep safe” translates the Hebrew word “shamar,” which means guard, preserve, watch, protect, dog my steps, tend the flock. David is asking God to be his watchman, to stand guard over his life, to wait upon or care for him. David understands that true peace and security are found only in God—not in our abilities, other people, money, or weapons. The word for God here is El, which means the Omnipotent, All-Powerful Creator. “If God created us,” David reasons, “He can keep us.”

As you pray, ask God to remind you throughout this day that you are not in ultimate control of your life. Proverbs 16:9 In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. Then humbly pray today and every day what David did, “Keep me safe, O God.” Make God your pilot, not your copilot. He’s better at flying your life than you are. Isaiah 48:17 This is what the Lord says…, "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. Close by thanking Him that He is both willing and able to see you safely through life.

Evening

In the closing moments of this day, meditate on the word me in Psalm 16:1. It’s truly an audacious word. Robert Roy Britt, senior science writer at space.com in 2004 suggests that the universe is 156 billion light-years wide. A light-year is how far light travels in a year. The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second. So the width of the universe in miles is 156,000,000,000 x 186,000 x 60 x 60 x 24 x 365. If you want the number in feet, you must multiply again by 5,280. The number is incomprehensible.

David has the audacity to ask and expect God to care about him, a 6 foot speck of dust in the countless immensity of the universe. Where does such audacity come from? It comes from his knowledge of God. David knows that God loves to shepherd people in the same way that a good shepherd, like David, shepherds sheep (Psalm 23). His audacious request for God’s care comes not from arrogance, but from an understanding of God. When you know God as David did, you will make the same audacious request.

Jesus called such audacity great faith in Matthew 15:21-28. There the woman’s great need prompted her great faith. David’s faith was prompted by the greatness of his need AND his God. Both should give you the audacity to “cast all your cares upon Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).