Over the course of my life, I have met thousands of people who claimed to be Christians. Since 1984, I have attended countless conferences, retreats and seminars about how to dear near to the Lord. What I have learned from these experiences is that you can tell a lot about someone’s relationship with God by their prayer life. Every once in a while, I will hear someone pray out loud who astounds me by their passion, biblical knowledge and connection with God.
As I read Psalm 18 this morning, it is clear that David truly was a man after God’s own heart, 1 Samuel 16:7. From my count, there are at least 6 famous worship songs today inspired by David’s prayer. David didn’t take the credit for his victory over his enemies, rather the Lord received all the glory. During this battle, based upon the context, the Lord was David’s rock, fortress, shield and deliverer.
The greatest aspect of Psalm 18 is the amount of details from every day life given to the Lord. Most people either trust their own ability or gifts for simple things, yet David trusted God for every little aspect in his life, including each step. As a shepherd, David had to travel from valleys to mountains to find green pasture, often encountering uneven ground, filled with holes, rocks and slippery terrain. The depth of David’s relationship with God is found in Psalm 18:36, “You broaden my path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn.”
When I was 16 years old, I was about to have reconstructive surgery on my ankle. Before the surgery during my junior year of high school, my doctor was trying to be honest, “you’ll never run again and you will probably walk with a slight limp the rest of your life.” Despite this reality, I had several people praying for me during this operation. After a long procedure, the steel pin wasn’t necessary and by the grace of God I was able to run cross country my senior year of high school. Since this day, I have claimed Psalm 18:36 every time I go running. The Lord is good and worthy to be praised!
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 