A Prayer for You

Lyn Thompson, Pastoral Care, CTCA/Southwestern Regional Medical Center

In times of trouble, may the Lord respond to your cry. May the God of Israel keep you safe from all harm. May He send you help from His sanctuary and strengthen you from Zion. May He remember all your gifts and look favorably on your burnt offerings. May He grant your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans. May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory, flying banners to honor our God. May the Lord answer all your prayers. Psalm 20:1-5

When you ask people to pray for you, do you ever think about what it is you’d like them to pray? Do you pray those things for yourself as well? What we pray for, what we ask for, really reveals what’s in our hearts. It shows us who’s at the center of our lives – who rules and reigns there – our “self” or God.

In this psalm, or song of prayer, King David, a praying man, a man God described as a man after His own heart, was letting others know how they could join him in prayer. It might be worth examining each petition to discover some things we should be in prayer for as well – not only for our own situations, but the situations of others.

In times of trouble, may the Lord respond to your cry. May the God of Israel keep you safe from all harm.
Working, as I do, at Cancer Treatment Centers of America, this is a petition on my heart for those who come for treatment. Whether they’re newly diagnosed or fighting the advanced stage of this disease, whether they have additional relational, financial, emotional, mental or spiritual struggles, there is only One who has the total picture, only One they can really depend on, only One who has the right answers for them, and that is God.

We all have times of trouble; Jesus told us storms would be a part of our lives. And He told us to build our house – our faith – upon the rock, Himself, so when the storms came, we wouldn’t be blown apart and destroyed. No matter how tough the storm, we’d be able to weather it, because we’d be hidden in Him, our High Tower, our Refuge.

If you’re putting your faith or trust in doctors, treatments or anything or anyone else but God, you’re going to eventually be disappointed or let down. He alone is completely trustworthy and faithful. He created you and knows the exact purpose of your creation as well as the full number of your days. So, in times of trouble, I pray you’re in relationship with God, that you know Him by faith through Christ, and that you’re crying out to Him, our sovereign, almighty God, and that He will respond to your cry and keep you safe.

May He send you help from His sanctuary and strengthen you from Zion.
Help from God’s sanctuary and strength from Zion are the sweetest, strongest, most powerful help and strength you can ask for, because these flow from God’s mercy seat and from the covenants and promises He has made with man. In Lamentations 3:22-23, we’re told that God’s mercies are new every morning, that they fail not, and that His faithfulness is great. Scripture tells us God is never unfaithful to His Name and His Word. So strength from His covenants and promises, which are completely trustworthy, strengthen our inner man, that part of us that is hit with things like fears, doubts, unbelief, bitterness, anger, panic, defeat and despair. May you receive His help and strength, not just for your time of trouble, not so you can live selfishly and expend it all on yourself, but so you can know His greatness and presence in your life and bless others with that truth and with what He provides you.

May He remember all your gifts and look favorably on your burnt offerings.
In King David’s day, before you went into battle or a dangerous time, or when you were seeking God and His will, knowing He was holy and you were not, knowing you deserved death for the sins you committed but you were seeking mercy and grace, you offered gifts or sacrifices that you hoped would please God, so He wouldn’t ignore or destroy you, but, instead, would go before you and give you victory.

When Jesus died on the cross, He became the ultimate sacrifice for sin. He took the sin of mankind upon Himself and satisfied the wrath of God once and for all for sin, so by receiving for yourself that sacrifice in your place, you receive God’s forgiveness for your sins. So, I pray you can remind God that Jesus is the Holy and Perfect sacrifice made for you and that are trusting in Him.

And I pray as well your life will be a love offering to God, that you will seek to delight Him with your words, actions and thoughts and that these will be sweet to Him because you’re walking in His will and desiring to please Him so He will go before you in give you peace, victory and safety in your journey with cancer.

May He grant your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans.
When you’re in love with someone, your greatest joy is being one with that person in the desires of your heart and in your plans. When you’re in love with God, your dearest desires are to see His will fulfilled, His glory revealed, His gifts bestowed to a needy and hurting world. Your desires and His are one, whether for your life or for that of someone else, because you know He is perfect in His love, His plans, His gifts. So, I pray this petition for you in accordance with God’s very best and as you are aligned with Him.

May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory, flying banners to honor our God. May the Lord answer all your prayers.
When God gives the victory, we all rejoice. We all give praise; we all are filled with gratitude and thanksgiving. We love to see your prayers answered and God exalted. We join with you in songs of joy.