Psalm 20: Deliverance in Battle

Trust in the Name of the Lord

Psalm 20:1-9

1 May God answer you in a day of trouble; may the name of Jacob’s God protect you.

2 May He send you help from the sanctuary and strengthen you from Zion.

3 May He remember all your offerings and accept your burnt offering. Selah.

4 May He give you what your heart desires and fulfill your whole purpose.

5 Let us shout for joy at your victory and lift the banner in the name of our God. May Yahweh fulfill all your requests.

6 Now I know that the Lord gives victory to His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with mighty victories from the strength of His right hand.

7 Some take pride in chariots, and others in horses, but we will boast in the name of the Lord our God.

8 They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand firm.

9 Lord, give victory to the king! May He answer us on the day that we call.

David offered this Psalm as a prayer to the King when he was being readied to engage with an enemy of Israel on the physical battlefield. But this prayer can be offered for any type of battle we are facing. Even the strongest and most powerful need God’s help. We, the smallest and most humble of His servants, need this prayer even more.

Let’s go through Psalm 20, verse by verse:

Vs 1- May God answer you in a day of trouble; may the name of Jacob’s God protect you.

Ask to be heard and to be protected

In general, when we pray, we want answers. God’s Word promises that He will answer when we call on Him. In this first verse, we’re calling on God for His protection to get us through any trouble we are facing – mental, emotional, physical and/or spiritual. We can count on Him to be with us, no matter what we are facing.

Vs 2- May He send you help from the sanctuary and strengthen you from Zion.

Ask for help and strength

God’s sanctuary is the sacred and holy place where He abides. The word ‘Zion’ occurs more than 150 times in the Bible. It essentially means “fortification” – so in vs2, we are petitioning God to help us and give us strength from His strongest and holiest place, a power that cannot be defeated. In another Psalm (46:1), we are similarly reminded that “God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble.”  This is a reminder...and a confirmation.

Vs 3- May He remember all your offerings and accept your burnt offering. Selah

Ask for our faithfulness be remembered

We need to commune with God every day, especially in times of peace and prosperity, when we praise Him and show gratitude for His many blessings. It’s like saving money or storing food for times of need. If we only call on God when we’re in trouble, He still hears us – He promises He will never abandon His people. But when we have been faithful during the good times, we can approach difficult times with deep assurance and calm confidence that He will remember our faithfulness in our dependence upon Him.

Vs 4-  May He give you what your heart desires and fulfill your whole purpose.

Ask God for what we want; ask God to fulfill our purpose

When we pray and ask God for something we want, remember God is not our personal ATM machine. He doesn’t just give us things to make us happy. He gives us what we need to fulfill our purpose. We need to continually ask the God to make our purpose clear and to find the best ways to use our talents to further His kingdom. We need to make service to God our most important “heart’s desires.” That’s why we pray “thy will be done” … and I frequently add to my petitions, “Lord grant me these desires – this or something better.”

Vs 5 - Let us shout for joy at your victory and lift the banner in the name of our God. May Yahweh fulfill all your requests.

When we taste the victory, give God the glory

The King was blessing David, knowing that victory would be assured in the name of the Lord. He was acknowledging and trusting God to grant David all the requests from his heart because he is going forth into the conquest in the name of Yahweh. When we fulfill the ‘marching orders’ God has given us, we can march confidently into battle knowing that God has our back and there is nothing to fear.

Vs 6- Now I know that the Lord gives victory to His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with mighty victories from the strength of His right hand.

Celebrate – Victory is Certain with God on Our Side

After we asked God for help, give Him praise and celebrate – shout for joy! - knowing the victory has already happened, and we have already won! Raise the banner in His name – give God the glory for all He has done to help us win, to help us overcome the challenges we face every day, now and in the future.

Vs 7/8- Some take pride in chariots, and others in horses, but we will boast in the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand firm.

God is more powerful than any weapons on earth

Powerful armies fell when they came against God’s people – the Egyptians and the Red Sea immediately come to mind. Recall the miraculous victory of Gideon’s 300 soldiers who prevailed against the massive army of 135,000 Midianite soldiers. Today, our own government is coming against us with a weapon of mass destruction: the bioweapons we mistakenly call “vaccines.”

But when we call out to our Lord, when we rise up, stand firm and put God on the playing field, He will prove how miraculous His deliverance can be. We ask GOD to win back our Republic; ask God to restore our God-given personal rights; ask God to shine light on EVERY evil these tyrants can throw at us. We need to BOAST in the name of the Lord, not depend on guns, bullets or even courts of law. If we lean in, all glory will be given God in the victory.

Vs 9-     Lord, give victory to the King! May He answer us on the day that we call.

Pray our leaders will turn to God

We must restore GODLY leaders for our Constitutional Republic to be saved. The enemies of this world will be defeated and humiliated by His might, not ours. God’s people will be triumphant IF our country repents and returns to Him.

We can’t fight the globalists – they have all the power, the position, the money. They control the media and the message. But remember what the Lord said to Zerub-babel before he began to rebuild the Temple:

       ‘Not by strength or by might, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of Hosts. (Zech 4:6)

Today’s Prayer:

Dear Lord, we turn to Your word for direction, for comfort, and for empowerment. This small portion of Your Word – Psalm 20 – in its entirety is what we need to stand on every day. For every battle in our lives, large and small, we call on You to prevail.

Lord, we don’t ask for a life without difficulty, but we ask that You will always make Your presence known while You carry us through. Lord, as Your sons and daughters, we inherit every promise in Your Word.  Lord, use the challenges in our lives to make us better able to fulfill the purpose you have planned for our lives.

You say in Isaiah 54:17 – No weapon formed against us will succeed; And every tongue that rises against us in judgment, we will condemn, and the vindication comes from You.

Dear Lord, we thank You for hearing and answering our prayers. All You ask of us is to TRUST YOU in all things. And as we practice, we get better. We thank You for who You are in our lives and in our circumstances. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.