Today, Wednesday November 23
“We Will Set Up Our Banners”
Psalm 20:1-5
“May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; May the name of the God of Jacob defend you; May He send you help from the sanctuary, And strengthen you out of Zion; May He remember all your offerings, And accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah
May He grant you according to your heart's desire, And fulfill all your purpose. We will rejoice in your salvation, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.”
A praying king will have a praying people and a praying people will have a praying king! If we want better leaders in our families, in our communities, and in our nation, we need more praying people. If we want better pastors in our churches, we need to have a praying congregation. And a praying pastor will produce a praying people! Dr. Falwell would often say, “That nothing of eternal value ever happens apart from prayer!”
The first five verses of this chapter is the prayer of the people for their king as he leads them into battle against the enemies of their nation. Prayer is not only preparation for the battle, it is the real battle where we fight against the invisible forces of evil! Jesus would often wake up early in the mornings and go to a quiet place and pray before He faced the challenges of the day! My friend, if Jesus, the Son of God, thought it important and necessary to pray, how much more should we!
Twice in these verses we read “the name of the God of Jacob…” and “the name of our God…”. Solomon would later write: “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.” (Proverbs 18:10). Here the people prayed that “in the name of our God we will set up our banners”. Over the centuries as armies would go into battle, they would have someone in front carrying their flag, their banner. This banner was a symbol of who and what they were fighting under, and who and what they were fighting for.
This brings to mind the story of Moses and Joshua fighting with the Amalekites in Exodus 17. Joshua led the army of Israel into the battle. Moses went up on a hill overlooking the battlefield. He was praying and interceding on behalf of his army. When he held his hands up with the Rod of God, Joshua and his army prevailed. But when Moses’ arms got tired and his hands came down, the Amalekites would start winning. Remember Moses sat on a rock and Aaron got on one side of Moses, and Hur got on the other side, and they held up his hands and Joshua won the battle.
It was there that “Moses built an altar and called its name, The-LORD-Is-My-Banner” (Exodus 17:15). In the Hebrew, the name is “Jehovah Nissi”. Our Jehovah Nissi is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ as He died on the cross for our sins and the sin of the world! We set up our banner when we declare to the world Whose side we are on! We are on the Lord’s side! We also declare that Jehovah is on our side!
My friend, when we declare our allegiance and submission to the Lord Jesus Christ and the message of His cross and resurrection, the power of the enemy is defeated! We have confidence that the Lord will fulfill all our petitions for His aid and help in our time of trouble or need! Like Moses we hold up the “Rod of God”, which represents the authority and power of God that is in blood of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ!
That is why we make our petitions and end our prayers with, “In Jesus name I pray”!
God bless!
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