"Now I know"
[Psalms 20]
Have you ever had difficult and hard time asking God for help and realizing that God was answering that prayer? If you have experienced, when was the last time you experienced it? How did you feel when you had that experience? These days I feel that God is driving me to the corner and making me to pray to Him. So these days, I am struggling to pray in the midst of lack of this and that. Also, since we make our church realize that we should pray together through the Book of Acts, we are striving to pray together in one mind. But the question is,'Do I know that God is answering my prayer and our prayer?' The reason I asked this question was because of the phrase “Now I know” in Psalms 20:6. So I would like to meditate on the words of Psalms 20 under the title “Now I know”.
What did the psalmist David know? It is the Lord’s answer to him in the day of trouble (v. 1). David knew that God answered his cry our in the day of trouble. He knew that God would fulfill all his petitions (v. 5). Here, “the day of trouble” refers to war. How can we know this? We can know this by the word “We will sing for joy over your victory, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners …” (v. 5). Here, if we look at the words “victory” and “banners” here, we can see that the background of Psalms 20 was war. In addition, in Psalms 20:1, David said, “May the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high!” Here, “the God of Jacob” is like God who hears prayer. Don't you remember when Jacob sent his two wives, two maids, his eleven children and whatever he had across the ford of the Jabbok and and wrestled with the angel, he resolved and prayed, ”I will not let you go unless You bless me”? (Gen. 32:22-26) When God, who heard David’s prayer, said He would set David securely on high (Ps. 20:1), it means He would make David to win all the battles and to exalt the national prestige (Park). What we have to think about here is that for David, war could be a national crisis. Fighting against another country(s) as king of one country is a national crisis that goes beyond one individual's crisis. At this time, King David himself cried out to God first. We can also have individual crises, family crises, work/business crises, church crises, and national crises. What should we do then? We should pray like David. In addition to individual prayers, we must also pray together. For example, in addition to the King David’s prayer in the national crisis, the Israelites must cry out to God together. Likewise, when there is family crisis, the whole family should come together and cry out to God with one heart, not just each person in the family prays to God . So is the church. When there is a crisis in the church, the church must pray together, from a pastor to all the church members. In that way, we can experience God's answer of our prayers in the midst of crisis.
So how did God answer David's prayer? How does God answer our prayers? I thought about it in five ways:
First, God helps us.
Look at Psalms 20:2 – “May He send you help from the sanctuary And support you from Zion!” God is the God who helps us. God's help may seem too late for us, but his help is certain. We must believe this fact. This is what the psalmist confesses in Psalms 121:1-2: “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.”
Second, God supports us.
Look at Psalms 20:2 – “… And support you from Zion!” This means that God will support us and keep us from falling. The psalmist says in Psalms 121:3, “He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber.” Here we can take the example of Asaph, who wrote Psalm 73. His feet came close to stumbling and his steps had almost slipped (73:2), but eventually didn’t. The reason why Asaph’s feet came close to stumbling and his steps had almost slipped was because the righteous were suffering, but the wicked were prosperous.
Third, God accepts our offering (worship).
Look at Psalms 20:3 – “May He remember all your meal offerings And find your burnt offering acceptable! Selah.” Here “meal offerings” refers to ‘offerings.’ The “burnt offering” means ascending, which means burning the sacrifice entirely on the altar (Lev. 1:3-9). If we speak in today’s term, we can say that it refers to worship. The question is how should we understand that God is receiving our worship in answering our prayers. Looking at Hannah in the first chapter of 1 Samuel, she also worshiped God in the midst of her great distress like David (1 Sam. 1:10). It teaches us that we should worship God even in times of trouble. We must worship God beyond the circumstances. This should be the subject of our prayer: 'Please receive our worship!'
Fourth, God grants us our hearts’ desire.
Look at Psalms 20:4 – “May He grant you your heart's desire And fulfill all your counsel!” Here, “your heart’s desire” is the desire that fits the will of God. Then God will fulfill the desire of our hearts.
Fifth and last, God makes us victorious.
Look at Psalms 20:5 – “We will sing for joy over your victory, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners ….” Our God is the God of victory. He is the God who makes us victorious. He is the God who causes us to win the war and to sing a song of victory. Our God makes us to set up the banners of victory.
So how did David pray to God? How should we pray to God?
First, we must pray to God with the assurance of salvation.
Look at Psalms 20:6 – “Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand.” Here, “His anointed” refers to David, but ultimately Christ. Although the people crucified and killed Jesus Christ, God raised Him from the dead and manifested His saving power. Like this, when the church cry out to God in the day of trouble, God saves the church. God shows us the power of His salvation. Therefore, we should ask Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus, with the assurance of salvation. True prayer closes with confidence. And that confidences the prelude to the fulfillment of the prayer since God gives it to us (Park).
Second, we must trust in God.
Look at Psalms 20:7 – “Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God.” I remember the story of David's victory over Goliath. Like David, who went in the name of the Lord Almighty and defeated Goliath, we must fight the spiritual battle as we trust only in God. The Bible tells us, "Stop trusting in man" (Isa. 2:22). We must not trust in people, in force, in what we have and so on. It will all be gone. We should pray to Heavenly Father, trusting only in the eternal God and the God of salvation.
Third, we must pray to God with assurance of victory.
Look at Psalms 20:8 – “They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.” The God who made David victorious in the war is the God who triumphs in the spiritual war as well. So we must pray with the assurance of victory. And we must win by prayer. This is what Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:13 – “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”
Fourth and last, we must pray until we receive an answer.
Look at Psalms 20:9 – “O LORD, save the king! Answer us when we call!” Like David, we cry out to God in the day of trouble, but we must pray until God answers our prayers.
As I meditated on Hannah's prayer in 1 Samuel 1 during the prayer meeting today, I realized that God was answering my prayer. Like Hannah, I prayed to God with my anguish heart, and I realized that God was answering that prayer. As David said, “Now I know,” God the Holy Spirit also made me to understand so I could say “Now I know” so I felt my heavy cross lightly. Since the Holy Spirit made me understand, I was strengthened. When we come to know God who answers our prayers in the day of trouble, we can sing the song of victory and set up the banners of victory. Until the day when we set up the final banner of victory, let us fight the good fight and be victorious. Victory!
With gratitude to God's grace for answering my prayer and knowing that it will be answered,,
James Kim
(After being strengthened in knowledge)