Spend time in prayer and silence with God asking him to meet you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
The earth trembled and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains shook;
they trembled because he was angry.
Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.
He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.
He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—
the dark rain clouds of the sky.
Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,
with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
The Lord thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.
He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,
with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke, Lord,
at the blast of breath from your nostrils.
He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support.
He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
– Psalm 18:7-19
Devotion
My daughter is just under a year old. When she was born, our pediatrician told us that when she cried, it was to tell us that she needed something. Typically her needs revolved around a need for sleep, a need for a changed diaper or a need to eat. Therefore, when she cried, it was my wife and my desire to meet her needs. The same is true of God in our lives today. When we are in need, God desires to meet our needs for His will and purpose.
David describes just how God responds to his cries. God meets David where he is and rescues him! Despite his enemy’s power, strength and presence, God brought rescue to David’s life. Instead of disaster, David experienced God’s support. Instead of distress, God gave David a spacious place. Instead of enmity of his foes, David experienced the redemption of God. God’s acts of deliverance are always evidence of His tender love. When we pray, we invite God to show us His love.
When we pray, we are able to see God comes down and deliver us from our situations. It doesn’t always look the way we want it to, but God is always close to our prayers. If we desire deliverance, we need to stop depending on our own strength and power and begin depending upon God. When we pray, we admit that we can’t handle this on our own and we need the power and presence of God in our lives. When we pray and depend on God, we will experience God the way David did and we will experience victory in the midst of trials.
The Big Question
God responds to our needs in different ways. How have you seen God at work responding to your different needs? What can you do today to depend upon God for the various needs you have?
Conclude in prayer and silence reflecting on what you’ve learned.