From November 6, 2017 – November 19, 2017 we are praying and only eating fruit, vegetables, salad and soup.
Day 12: November 17, 2017
Memory verse: Psalm 35:11 False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not. 12 They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul. 13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.
Pray to do all things in humility before God:
1. So that we do not gloat or look down on others when they are weak, ill or suffering
2. So that we honestly and earnestly pray for others
3. So that we seek to build the kingdom and not fight it with arrogance and isolation
David writes to an audience of one (God) about how he was being mistreated, hated and persecuted by the very people he had been anointed to help. They literally repaid David’s good with evil. Not only had David been a blessing to King Saul when the king was tormented with an evil spirit, he (David) also defeated Israel’s greatest enemy – a giant named Goliath. Despite all of that, Saul was so determined to kill David that he persuaded false witnesses (whether through bribery or royal influence) to say things that were not true about David. David was a prisoner and outcast in his own country. To David’s credit, when the very people who wanted to hurt him became ill, he did not gloat or say “that is what they get”; he instead prayed for them.
Imagine the strength it must have taken for the mighty warrior David to stop and pray for the very individuals who not only did not pray for him, they would have used his illness to their advantage in trying to kill him. It takes more strength, courage and faith in God to pray for others than it does to fight with them. Prayer is spiritual. Fighting is fleshy and emotional. The spirit always trumps our flesh. The spirit always trumps our emotions. As a type of Christ, David was sent to save a nation. He could not allow the attack of the enemy to deter him from his purpose. Saints are saved to help save others. We cannot allow anything to deter us from our purpose.
It is important to humble ourselves before God before He does it for us (Luke 14:11). It is impossible to look down on others when we are humble before God. It is from a position of humility before God that we gain strength. It is from a position of humility that we help give strength to others as we pray for them. That is why we are praying today to do all things in humility before God.