Answered Prayer Glorifies the LORD

Psalm 138 is about what happens when God answers prayer! And saying that, I want to thank you all for your many prayers these past several weeks as we traveled both to India and Jordan. Truly God answered your prayers keeping us safe, healthy, giving us strength and endurance, and blessing us with very successful and exciting opportunities to minister. I got back to my home in Sneads Ferry NC Saturday afternoon and was able to get some wonderful rest in my own bed. Again, I can’t thank you enough for your prayers and support which made it possible for me to be a part of two great ministry teams that were able to accomplish so much in so little time! Psalm 138 is the first of eight psalms attributed to David. They form a special collection just before the five "Hallelujah Psalms" that climax the book. The psalm probably grew out of the opposition of the neighboring nations when David became king of a united Israel (2 Sam. 5; 8:1-14). It was God's plan that David reign over Israel (v. 8), but the Jebusites, Philistines, and Moabites wanted a divided Israel with a weak leader. David knew God's will, prayed for God's help (v. 3), trusted God for victory (vv. 7-8), and defeated the enemy. The psalm does not mention the Lord until verse 4, but it is obvious that Jehovah is the object of David's prayers and praise. In this psalm we need to notice at least three things that happens when God answers prayer. First in verses 1-3, answered prayer glorifies God's name.  "The gods" in verse 1 are the false gods of the nations that attacked David (Ps. 82:7). His victories over their armies were God's victories, and David wanted Jehovah to have the praise and glory (Jer. 50:1-2). The word translated "temple" means "sanctuary" and was applied to the tabernacle at Shiloh (see 1 Sam. 1:9; 3:3). In verse 2, the phrase, “For You have magnified Your word above all Your name”, seems to mean, "I trusted your promises and prayed, and the Lord answered above and beyond anything that He promised." It is another way of expressing Ephesians 3:20, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us”. God answered David’s prayer and this brought glory to His name. In verses 4-5, we see that answered prayer gives witness to the lost world around us. Jehovah is not only higher than the gods of the enemy, He is also greater than their rulers. David's victories proved that. However, there were Gentile kings who rejoiced that David had won the battles—rulers such as Hiram (2 Sam. 5:11) and Toi (2 Sam. 8:9). David prayed that the day would come when all the kings of the earth would hear God's Word and praise the Lord for His promises to Israel. Beginning with Egypt, every nation that has opposed and persecuted Israel has gone down in defeat, as God promised to Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3). Then in verses 6-8, answered prayer accomplishes God's purposes in our lives. Jehovah is the Highest of the high and the Greatest of the great, but He is also willing to become the Lowest of the low and stoop down to meet our needs. To "look upon the lowly" means to pay attention to them and regard them with favor (11:4; 113:5-9; Isa. 57:15 and 66:2; Luke 1:47-55). David gave thanks that the Lord knew his need and came to his aid. In His covenant with David (2 Sam. 7), God revealed that He had a great purpose to fulfill through David's life, and He would not allow the enemy to thwart that purpose. This is true of believers today (Phil. 1:6 and 2:13; Eph. 2:10 and 3:20; Col. 1:29), and He will not forsake us. It has well been said that the purpose of prayer is not to get man's will done in heaven but to get God's will done on earth, and this was demonstrated in David's life. Praise the LORD as we have experienced God perfecting and accomplishing His purposes in our lives on these two trips and answering your prayers that have brought glory to the Name of our Great God! God bless!