II Samuel 16-18

II Samuel 16:10 And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the Lord hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so?

God, more than I would ever like to admit, I know you are in control in of my life and affairs. I thank you for that and ask you to forgive me for all I do. That makes little sense. God, I thank you for all that you have done in my life, and I even thank you for the hard times and the criticism, and everything because I know you were doing what is best for me. I want to ask you to remember all the bad things, and maybe it would please you to bless me. God, regardless, I want to trust you and look to you.

II Samuel 16:12 It may be that the Lord will look on mine affliction, and that the Lord will requite me good for his cursing this day. 

David is being mistreated by one of his subjects. He usually may defend himself, but he doesn’t. He realizes God is in charge of what happens in his life. 

He is unsure if the affliction is coming from the Lord or himself, but he wants to respond correctly. He believes that if he responds correctly, God might reward him.

I deserve much worse in every way for what happens in my life. I have failed in every way I can imagine. I have not been the pastor, friend, Christian, dad, or husband I should have been. I often see my failures and am embarrassed.

So I should trust God with things that happen in my life. I hope to respond correctly, so He will reward me too!

God, you allowed Absalom to take David’s position and publicly humiliate him. You have done the same thing in my life. I will trust that you only do right. I believe in you. 

II Samuel 17:10 And he also that is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt: for all Israel knoweth that thy father is a mighty man, and they which be with him are valiant men. 

A fantastic commentary is given here about David and his men. They know David is a mighty man and that those with him are also mighty men. Everyone should question what is known about us. What reputation or testimony do you have? Are you a mighty man? Do you surround yourself with mighty men? A leadership principle says, “If he is not strong enough to hurt you if he would, neither is he strong to help you if he will.” Too often, we surround ourselves with weak “yes men” who cannot help us. Let everyone know God is doing work in your life and ministry and that many mighty men are with you. 

God, I do not want a victory in my life over anyone. I know David had been thrown out, and that you restored him. The cost was very high. I do not want to lose a son in the mix. I know that my friends are being attacked, and some seek their destruction simply because they are my friends. I pray that you will stop the attacks. I pray that you will wake up to God’s people. I pray that you will cause or allow us to live our days in peace, seeking to serve you. I love you, and I thank you so very much.

Joab had ten young men as armor bearers. Joab was a great man of war and general. Imagine the training that these young men received. Imagine the men they could see and hear close to Joab. They start as young armor-bearers that will later be valiant men. Discipleship is throughout the Bible. As they carried the armor and prepared things, they would see how Joab fought from dressing himself, the preparations he made for the battle, how he ordered his men, how he set the battle, how he cared for his weapons, and many other things that would prepare them for leadership. 

Psalm 26

God, judge me. I know you have already considered my life and come to a conclusion. I have walked with integrity. I have trusted in you. You will hold me in my place. Examine me. Prove me. Try me. I know you love me. I know that kindness is your character. God, I do not walk with people that do not love you. I do not sit with those that do wrong. I worship you. I live and talk about ministry. I beg you to work in my life., you know that wicked me seek my destruction. I will do right. I will keep serving and worshiping you. I will praise you. 

One of my biggest mistakes is not focusing on what a wonderfully kind God is, my God and my Savior. He is great. His truth is evident in the Scriptures, but I rarely focus on it.

He is loving and kind. His lovingkindness governs the way He treats me. 

How often have I allowed Satan and this world to make me think He doesn’t love me and isn’t concerned for me? That is simply not true. 

He loved me enough to save me. He kindly loved me and made me acceptable to Him. He is good. He is kind. He is love. 

So today, as I face all that comes before me, I want to focus on Him. I want to focus on how He loves me. I want to trust Him because I know how He is.

Psalm 40 

You have done wonderful things for me over the years. I thank you for being so super kind to me, and I thank you for your blessings on our ministry. I pray you will always give me the strength to praise and thank you for all you do.

I am still waiting for you to move in my life. Please put me out of this miry pit. Set my feet back on solid ground. God, give me a new song. You have always been super kind to me. You have always blessed me. Please continue to do so. I have tried to serve you and honor you. I have asked you to be blessed and magnified in my life. God, you are my helper and the one that rescues me. 

Psalm 58

Do the people of God speak the truth right now? No, they are lying in their hearts. They are working wickedness. They plot, plan, and weigh out the wickedness. From the moment they were born, they started lying. The poison is like a snake. They do not listen. They can not be spoken to.

God, break their teeth in their mouth, please. Let them melt and run. When they prepare for the next round of attacks, cut them down. As the sun comes up, let them melt like a snail. God let it be like when a woman gives birth at the wrong time and may not live till morning. 

Before they can clean up to the battle, God takes them out in a whirlwind. God, let your people rejoice when they see your vengeance on them. Wash your feet in their blood. Let people know that there is judgment, and you judge. Please, God, act now. You know it is only getting worse. How long before you stop them.

God will bless us. We can say that God works in our lives. Our service to God is not without its rewards and blessings. He is good. You can never out-give God. You can never outlive Him. You can never outlove God.

God is good. We are excited that we know Him and are His sons.

So I say, here publicly, that God is good. That He blesses me and always has. God, I love you.

Psalm 61

God, hear my cry for help. Please answer my prayer. I will continue to cry out to you from all over this earth. My heart is overwhelmed. It affects my sleep, my rest, and my peace. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Give me some firm foundations. You have always been my shelter, my protection. I could always run to you. You have always been my defense against the enemy.

I will stay here in your presence and trust in your protection. You have heard my prayers and my promises. You know I fear your name and come from a family and friends who fear you. God, I believe you will give me more life and ministry. I know that I have eternity with you.

God, send mercy and truth to rescue me and save me from my enemies. I will praise your name forever. I will continue to do right and work to please you, trusting that you will come and help me.

God, thank you I have where to run when I am overwhelmed and that you have always been there for me and met my needs. You will show your power in my life and bring great blessings.

Troubles come, and sometimes, there will be no end. I know what it is like to be under the load and see no light at the end of the tunnel. We are not the first to feel that. The psalmist’s heart was overwhelmed. He didn’t have the answers. He couldn’t win over his troubles and problems.

But he knew whom to cry out to. He cried out to the Lord. No matter where you are, you can call on the Lord God of Heaven. When you do not know what to do, then call on the Lord. When you are sinking, call out to the rock higher than you. 

Trust in the Lord Jesus. Run to Him in your troubles. Do not be easily defeated by things God would give you victory over. It is time to trust God and run to Him.

Psalm 62

Honestly, I am waiting on you, Lord. You are the God of my salvation. I know my deliverance is in your hands. You are my support, my rock, where I stand. I need you to be my salvation. You are my defense, and I can stand because of that.

You, enemies, how long will you imagine mischief do you not know you are all in for it? You like your lies, plotting, and planning, but they will be cast down. You bless and say nice things with your mouth, but you are cursing and lying inside. 

Oh, I will wait on the Lord and only on Him. I am expecting what He is going to do. He is all that I have to support me and rescue me. He is my defense; that is the only reason I can stand.

Everything for me is in God, who saved and saves me. My glory is him. He is my strength. He is my refuse. God, you are all there is. I will always trust you and even now, in these troublesome times. I will continue to beg you in prayer. I will continue to ask you because I trust you, I believe you, and I expect to see your salvation.

Men of all levels are nothing. They are empty. I must trust in and look to God. I will not look for money or fame. I want to not be worried about my name, but yours. God, you have said it repeatedly. Power is yours. Mercy is yours. You bless according to the work we have done. I ask you to move in my life. You should show your power. I need a miracle today. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer

God, you are my only resource and my only hope. I thank you for all you are doing and ask you to bless me greatly. I need you, and thank you that you are the only one that I have that I can turn to.

God has blessed many Americans with much more money than most. There is an inherent danger in having things. If we are not careful, our possessions will possess us. 

We get comfortable, and that is good. God gives us richly all things to enjoy. 1Timothy 6:17 

But we are never to forget that all we have comes from Him. He wants us to enjoy Him, not the toys and gifts that He gives us to the exclusion of Him. 

Men try to get lots of money and things, but it is a waste of time because they do not know who will get them after they are gone. Psalm 39:6 

The danger of God is so good to us is that we forget it was God that blessed us. We will get our things and enjoy them. We will forget Him. Deuteronomy 6:10-12 

Things are never as important as our soul and our walk with God. Mark 8:36-37 

Life is not about how much you have. Having things doesn’t guarantee life. Our trust must be in the Lord God of Heaven. Luke 12:15-21 

I challenge you today to realize that all that we are and have as children of God comes from His goodness. All of it should honor and glorify God. 

Be sure that your heart is set on Jesus and not on things.

We should know that money is not to be trusted. Most of us can keep our hearts under control if we have little money, but what happens if our riches increase? Increasing money will probably cause us to fall more in love with money. The more money we have, the more money we want. 

Money and possessions have a way of giving us security. It makes us feel like we can deal with whatever comes our way. You warned us not to look to money, trust money, or fall in love with money.

God, as you meet our needs and provide us with more and more, I ask you to help me keep my heart focused on you and not on things. I fully expect to have problems with this and need you to help me keep myself in check.

Psalm 64

God, please hear my prayer. I have been praying all day and night and for days. Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Help me walk in boldness. God, hide me please from the secret counsel of the wicked and from the horrible trying to destroy all the work. Their tongues are sharper than swords. They have prepared their weapons, bitter words. They shoot them at me in secret and now even in open.

They are encouraging themselves in this evil matter. As they lay traps, they fellowship. They question if anyone will notice. They search out all sins in a diligent search. They are super adept at finding fault in others. 

But God, you will eventually shoot them with your arrow, and they will suddenly be wounded. Make their own tongue fall upon them. Cause others to see what is happening and fear and run.

God, I ask you to work in such a way that all will have to notice how you have worked. All will declare how you fixed things. They will consider that you are worthy to be worshipped and feared. Your people will be glad, and their trust in you will be confirmed. They will glory in what you are doing. Please, God, work. I know I am being judged worldwide, and though I am not all I should be, I am not what they say. Please help me.

What would happen if the righteous were to have a secret counsel?

1. We prepare our tongues and minds in the meeting to shoot out blessing words. 3

2. In the meeting, we pray so that we can preach and go without fear 4

3. In the meeting, we encourage each other in the right matters. 5

4. We discuss preparing ways to reach the world and even go into countries where we must work without being seen. 5

5. What if, in our meeting, we were to search out good works using a diligent search of every one of us? 6

6. What if we worked at becoming deep thinkers to see what we can do for God? 6 

I am glad for you and want to always be always in you. I thank you and love you.