Insightful Musings on the Scripturesby
Ray Sparre, NU class of '67
Ray has a wealth of experience as a Husband, Father, Pastor, Missionary, and student of the Word. He believes and practices his faith where the rubber meets the road. You'll find his writings to be practical, insightful, and grounded in a truly Christ-centered world view.
Below are links to a printable daily Bible reading guide which Ray has followed, and an archive of all his daily devotional writings for 2010 and 2011.
| Sparre Home Page | Daily Reading Guide | 2011 Devotion Archives | 2010 Devotion Archives |
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22 May 11
Good morning, dear ones.
It seems I’m almost always fighting with time pressure. I need to rush here to get off to church.
Blessings on your day. Keep looking up. Redemption is closer than ever!
Love, Dad/Ray
22 May 2011
Psalm 20
Focus: “May the LORD grant all your requests.” Psalm 20:5b.
Based on the last verse of this Psalm, I presume that David composed this song somewhere during the high point of his reign as King of Israel—when he was “on a roll.” He is singing to his friends and supporters—certainly not to everyone. He did have some enemies, you know—to whom he would prefer to sing something like, “May your guts be ripped out by your tongue, and may your soul be burned in hell!” Sections of the Psalms that contain those pronouncements of condemnation and destruction on the wicked (his enemies), if I remember right, are called “Imprecatory Psalms.” The 9-verse Psalm before us is more like a “Blessing Psalm”—or a “Prayer for Prosperity Psalm.”
I believe that proper Bible interpretation calls for a reasonable separation between PRAYERS (wishes, requests) and PROMISES. For example, I have felt uncomfortable over the years with the spin that some preachers give to the second verse of 3 John: “Dear friends, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” Wouldn’t it be nice if that were an unconditional promise for all believers everywhere in all time?! That’s exactly how some preachers spin it. But I simply cannot compute that approach as being compatible with sound Biblical interpretation or real life.
Six times within the first five verses of this Psalm, statements begin with “may.” I won’t take time to cite them all, but verse 4 is representative: “May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.” Praying that prayer certainly does not guarantee its fulfillment according to our own ideas and application. And God forbid that we reduce the sovereign God to something akin to a magical genie who comes out to grant all our wishes when we rub the prayer lamp the right way and say those special “abra-cadabras” that end with “Amen.”
Please don’t take me wrong—I’m happy to pray a prayer like this for you. But what I know and believe about the priorities of life, eternity, and God’s Word, make me more inclined to pray along this line: “Lord, may You be free to bless my fellow disciples with anything it takes to achieve their seeking and loving You above all else. Amen.” (See also Paul’s prayer contained in Ephesians 1:15-23.)
And I pray that we all can “amen” David’s expression in verse 7: “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” In other words, true believers find their temporal and eternal security in right relationship with their Manufacturer.
“It requires a strong constitution to withstand repeated attacks of prosperity.” - J. L. Basford