Prayer for Relief from Tormentors
To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Silent Dove in Distant Lands.” A Michtam of David when the Philistines captured him in Gath.
“Be merciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up; fighting all day he oppresses me. My enemies would hound me all day, for there are many who fight against me, O Most High.
Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His word), in God I have put my trust; I will not fear. what can flesh do to me?
All day they twist my words; all their thoughts are against me for evil. They gather together, they hide, they mark my steps, when they lie in wait for my life. Shall they escape by iniquity? In anger cast down the peoples, O God! You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book?
When I cry out to You, then my enemies will turn back; this I know, because God is for me. In God (I will praise His word), in the Lord (I will praise His word), in God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God; I will render praises to You, for You have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?”
“A Michtam of David when the Philistines captured him in Gath.” Right after David and his men received the show bread from the priests at Nob, David fled to the Philistine city of Gath. The story is told in 1 Samuel 21:10-15 10 ”Then David arose and fled that day from before Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of him to one another in dances, saying: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?” Now David took these words to heart, and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. So he changed his behavior before them, pretended madness in their hands, scratched on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva fall down on his beard. Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me? Have I need of madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?” Whether or not David should have made such a drastic move, it failed. Before criticizing David, ask yourself what you would have done in a similar life-threatening situation. David had to be desperate to feign madness, so desperate that he forgot that God was still protecting him.
“Be merciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up; fighting all day he oppresses me. My enemies would hound me all day, for there are many who fight against me, O Most High. Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His word), in God I have put my trust; I will not fear. what can flesh do to me?” Why didn’t David trust God rather than running off to Gath? David was probably in panic mode and was too stressed to think clearly.
“All day they twist my words; all their thoughts are against me for evil. They gather together, they hide, they mark my steps, when they lie in wait for my life. Shall they escape by iniquity? In anger cast down the peoples, O God! You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book?” David realizes that he is being stalked by Saul’s spies and that only God can save him. This is not paranoia; this is being realistic.
“When I cry out to You, then my enemies will turn back; this I know, because God is for me. In God (I will praise His word), in the Lord (I will praise His word), in God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” Here David is making a wonderful affirmation of faith. Perhaps David has written this after being kicked out of Gath and is now realizing that God is his only hope.
“Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God; I will render praises to You, for You have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?” Now David realizes that God is the only Source of his help and that God is the One who has preserved him.
APPLICATION: While it’s unlikely that any of us will go to the extreme lengths to hide as David has done during his flight to Gath, many of us may have been tempted to run from our problems. This psalm depicts David’s despair as well as his repentance from trying to take a quick way out.
I love white water canoeing and kayaking, but there’s one lesson I have had to learn repeatedly: Don’t look at the rocks; look at the river. If I focus on the rocks, I will wind up wrecking on the rocks. The only safe way is to focus on the path the water takes around the rocks and to follow that stream. The same thing holds true for mountain biking or for downhill skiing: you must focus on the path you want to take, not on the obstacles on either side. The second you remove your attention from your goal, you are likely to fall and hurt yourself.
We cannot obsess over our problems and praise God at the same time. When we praise God and lift our attention to Him, He can guide us safely through an obstacle-strewn course. We have had years during which our hospital has gone through financial crises, strikes by workers, theft by workers, and shortages of materials. Despite all these obstacles, God has continued to guide and provide. My only means of escape from these problems has been to continue to focus on caring for the patients. Watching children and their families happily leave the hospital for home buoys my spirits.
When we first came to our small town to visit the facility, we had NO intention of working here! At that time, there was only a health center with 11 workers, no electricity, and no running water. I am a fully-trained general and pediatric surgeon. But when we stepped out of the vehicle, the Holy Spirit descended and suddenly we KNEW we must come. Those first years were very difficult as we weathered a small tribal war and other daunting obstacles. But God has been faithful throughout our struggles. Today we have a district hospital with full surgical coverage, a lab, an eye unit, a dental unit, and other services. Truly, we can say along with David, ““Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God; I will render praises to You, for You have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?”
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to focus on You and not on our problems, for when we do that, You can save and deliver us. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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