May my prayer by counted as incense before Thee;
The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering.
Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice deeds of wickedness
With men who do iniquity;
And do not let me eat of their delicacies.
Psalm 141:2-4
Observation:
This psalm was an evening prayer for sanctification and protection. David found an important relationship between consecration and protection. The more sanctified, the more protected by God. He knew that the Angel of the Lord camps around those who fear Him. Therefore he was very intentional in praying for his consecration. David consecrated his words, the desires of his heart (thoughts), and his actions. He asked with sincerity in his heart that God would take his prayer as a pleasing request. He knew that a simple prayer of consecration was the beginning. He needed God’s intervention in his life in order to keep his words wholesome, his thoughts pure, and his actions righteous. He even prays that God will stop him from eating the delicacies of iniquity. Some evil things taste good, like delicacies. But they have an ingredient of death and separation from God hidden in its recipe. They are sweet to the mouth but deadly to the entire body.
The result of consecration in David’s life was protection. The Lord guarded him from himself (his own sinful nature), from powerful enemies, and from the normal tear and wear of life. David knew that a sanctified person is a protected person. And that process starts with diligent and consistent prayers of consecration in our daily regimen.
Application:
The prayer of our consecration is an important discipline in our daily lives. It’s true that we must pray for other people’s needs but if there is a request for ourselves, that should be our sanctification. Every day we must dedicate our words, our thoughts, and our actions to the glory of God. We need to consecrate those who we love and serve. Many times we pray for their protection instead of their sanctification, but in order to be truly protected by the Angel of the Lord, we must pray that we will be people that fear Him and that walk consecrated to Him.
Lately the Lord has been reminding me about some of the disciplines I must return to. This is a very important one. I need to go back to the practice of going to my knees as soon as I get up and to consecrate my life, my family and my church in prayer. If I want to be protected from my own sin, and from the work of the enemy in my own life, then I need to consecrate myself in prayer and to walk consecrated the rest of the day. It makes a difference in our daily routine when we have prayed over our words, thoughts, and deeds. God truly hears this kind of prayer and helps us through the Holy Spirit to say the right things, to have pure thoughts, and to do the wisest things. This is the best way to live under the shadow of His wings and secure in His protection. He is our refuge when we dedicate our entire life to Him.
Prayer:
Dear Jesus, please forgive me for neglecting my daily prayers of consecration for my family, my church, and me. Help me to go back to the godly regimen in order to seek your protection. Please grant me a desire to consecrate everything around me and to dedicate it to your service. My words are for you to speak to others, my thoughts are for you to advance your kingdom, and my actions are for you to show your love to others. I dedicate every single endeavor of our church to your purpose in our community. Please help us to be the church you want us to be and that will effectively bring people closer to God. Remind me every morning as soon as I get up to go on me knees immediately, first thing in the day, to consecrate everything to you. Please protect me from my sinful nature, from the work of the enemy, and from those who seek my destruction. You are my refuge. I love you Lord more than life. AMEN!
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