Steadfast Prayer – Psalm 57 – Maranatha Vision Project
- Joel Widman
- Apr 5, 2020
- 6 min read
Psalm 57 Steadfast
[David hides in a cave and writes this song while Saul hunts him down to kill him.]
Steadfast > resolute and unwavering in dedication to a person or mission.Firmly fixed heart and soul upon someone or something cherished beyond description or measure. Willing and prepared to die to protect whatever is treasured and worthy of laying down one’s life to save; loyal, faithful, dedicated, unyielding.
Psalm 57:1-11 (NIV)
Three Keys
Wartime Mercy
Real Danger
Steadfast Worship
Wartime Mercy (v.1-3)
“Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. I cry out to God Most High, to God, who vindicates me. He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me— God sends forth his love and his faithfulness.
Real Danger (v.4-6)
I am in the midst of lions; I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts— men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth. They spread a net for my feet— I was bowed down in distress. They dug a pit in my path— but they have fallen into it themselves.
Steadfast Worship (v.7-11)
My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music. Awake, my soul! Awake, [all who worship Yahweh]! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.”
Steadfast Prayer Verses
Abraham’s Devotion > When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” (Genesis 22:9-12 NIV)
Fearless Courage > Nebuchadnezzar responded to them saying, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you don’t serve my gods or worship the golden image that I set up? Now if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of music you must fall down and worship the image that I have made. But if you do not worship, you will immediately be thrown into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire! Then what god will be able to deliver you out of my hands?” The men replied to the king saying, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to answer you concerning this matter.If it is so, our God whom we serve is able to save us from the furnace of blazing fire and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. Yet even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image that you set up.” (Daniel 3:14-18 TLV)
Greater Authority >Then the religious leaders called them in and told them they must not speak or teach anymore in the name of Jesus. Peter and John said, “If it is right to listen to you more than to God, you decide about that. For we must tell what we have seen and heard.” After they had spoken more sharp words to them, they let them go. They could not beat them because the people were giving thanks to God for what had happened. The man on whom this powerful work of healing had been done was more than forty years old. (Acts 4:18-22 NLV)
Martyr’s Compassion > But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw God’s glory and Jesus standing at the right side of God. “Look!” he said. “I see heaven opened and the Son of Man standing at the right side of God!” With a loud cry the Council members covered their ears with their hands. Then they all rushed at him at once, threw him out of the city, and stoned him. The witnesses left their cloaks in the care of a young man named Saul. They kept on stoning Stephen as he called out to the Lord, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” He knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord! Do not remember this sin against them!” He said this and died. (Acts 7:55-60 GNT)
More Like Jesus > I’ve worked much harder, been jailed more often, beaten up more times than I can count, and at death’s door time after time. I’ve been flogged five times with the Jews’ thirty-nine lashes, beaten by Roman rods three times, pummeled with rocks once. I’ve been shipwrecked three times, and immersed in the open sea for a night and a day. In hard traveling year in and year out, I’ve had to ford rivers, fend off robbers, struggle with friends, struggle with foes. I’ve been at risk in the city, at risk in the country, endangered by desert sun and sea storm, and betrayed by those I thought were my brothers. I’ve known drudgery and hard labor, many a long and lonely night without sleep, many a missed meal, blasted by the cold, naked to the weather. And that’s not the half of it, when you throw in the daily pressures and anxieties of all the churches. When someone gets to the end of his rope, I feel the desperation in my bones. When someone is duped into sin, an angry fire burns in my gut. If I have to “brag” about myself, I’ll brag about the humiliations that make me like Jesus. (2 Corinthians 11:23-30 MSG)
Steadfast Prayer >
Heavenly Father, I love you, and I praise your holy name. You are faithful, and your love endures forever. Your glory shines like the noonday sun and your grace encourages us through every trial in this brief life.
Father, help us to be steadfast, we want to be faithful like Jesus who boldly clothed himself with the Calvary’s cross, scorning the audacious shame of his bloodthirsty accusers, because he knew suffering is the pathway to greater glory. Father, we need you, every hour we need you, and in these troubled times we are indeed desperate for you, Wonderful Counselor.
We know trials will come, you have said that suffering is inevitable, and we know pain will come, even though we work really hard to establish our comforts and secure storehouses filled to overflowing with provision. Dark times like these remind us we never really were in control, we were deceived if we thought we had it all figured out.
We rest in you today, Father. We give you this week as a worship offering, trusting you all the way home. While our enemies are powerful, they are not divine. While our life challenges are significant, you are the Overcomer. You hold our lives in your hands, you have designed us to depend completely upon you, and so we will. Please Holy Spirit, transform us evermore to be one with you; make us more like Jesus we pray.
Father, thank you for this Interlude season where so many across the world have been forced to pause and re-evaluate their foundation, the ground upon which we stand. Help us to move from sand to rock, from crashing waves to solid stone. We rest in you, we worship you, and we surrender to your will. Thank you for speaking clearly, help us to listen intently with hearts full of love and a future wide open to your leadership and intervention in Jesus’ name we pray, trust, and believe, Amen. So be it.
Glory, glory, hallelujah! Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is Jesus who comes in the name of Yahweh. With all angels and archangels and all the company of heaven, we praise the Lamb of God, we praise the Lion of Judah who was slain for the sins of the world. And we sing together, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD God Almighty who was, and who is, and who is to come, world and age without end.” And we say, “Maranatha!” Jesus has come, Christ will return, come quickly, Shalom Messiah!
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Purpose > We are all about freedom in the Holy Spirit.
Motto > Freedom is never free, freedom is always fragile, and freedom is worth the fight. So, handle freedom with care.
Vision > Fixing our eyes on Jesus Christ, overflowing with his kingdom life.
Maranatha Vision Project > teaching disciples how to journey in Jesus’ freedom.
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