A note in my Bible captured my attention. In Psalm 70:5 David wrote, “But I am poor and needy; make haste to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay.”

The Hebrew word for needy is ebyon. Matthew 11:5 says, “…the poor have the gospel preached to them.” Note: One of the earliest groups of Jewish followers of Jesus adopted the name Ebionites that is ‘the poor ones.’

Matthew 5:3 says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” When we acknowledge our spiritual poverty, we are able to cast aside our independence (humility) and receive His grace.

James 4:6 says, “…God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Verse 10 says to humble ourselves. Our fleshly independence separates us from God’s grace. When we cry out to Him, our heart is acknowledging our need for the only One who can help us.

14 bloomed last night to an audience of One. Today they will be spectacular for all who see them. I am reminded of Luke 19:40. It says, “…I tell you that is these would keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” These 14 beauties are worshiping their Creator.

I love David’s heartfelt words in Psalm 18:1-3. It says, “I will love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.”

In Psalm 34:6 David wrote, “This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.”

Our developing relationship with the Lord deepens as we continually lean on Him. Psalm 107:6, 13, 19, and 28 all have one thing in common. In each type of distress, they cried out to the Lord. 

In 2 Chronicles 15:10 Asa was in trouble. He cried out to the Lord ~ marvelously delivered. Yet, in the end of his life he turned to man. 16:12 says “…he did not seek the Lord…”

Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Isaiah 7:6 lets us overhear the adversaries conversation. It says, “Let us go up against Judah and trouble it, and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves, and set a king over them…”

A gap starts out with a little hole in the protective hedge around a vineyard. Song of Solomon 2:15 says, “Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes.”

How did the foxes get in? One critter made the first hole. Another critter a little bigger squeezed through. What is the first ‘critter’ in our heart that makes a gap? Unforgiveness. Then as we secretly dialogue against the one who hurt us, the gap gets bigger.

Yet, God has His way. The moment we are hurt, offended, slighted, or rejected, if we turn to Him the gap will be closed.

Psalm 71:13 is another prayer we need in our arsenal. It says, “Let them be confounded and consumed who are adversaries of my life.” Who is our adversary? 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

How does our adversary devour us? He attacks our faith through accusations. Revelation 12:10. The devil uses people, fiery darts, or he uses the lies he planted ~ the inner strongholds that he seeded through stealth.

2 Corinthians 2:11 says, “Lest satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.” Ephesians 6:11 says, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Wiles are wicked schemes that are formed specifically to defeat. They get into the chinks of our armor when we harbor any resentment, bitterness, offense, or unforgiveness. 

I’m memorizing Psalm 71. Such a delightful psalm. It is full of little prayer vignettes that I can incorporate into my own prayer life. Verse 3 is one of them. It says, “Be my strong refuge to which I may resort  continually…” The literal meaning for ‘strong refuge’ is rock of refuge, or rock of habitation.

Do you shelter in our Rock when you are feeling overwhelmed? Years ago I bought an old mobile in a park with many old mobiles. One night I was woken up with a red strobing light on my ceiling. Instant fear hit me. 

I laid there saying, “Jesus, You are my Rock. I hide in You and I will not be shaken.” When my heart rate went back to normal I got up. I could hear voices, and loud engine noises. When I peered out my front window, the water heater exploded in a huge ball of fire on the side of my neighbor’s mobile kitty corner from me.

Revelation 20:12 says, “And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.”

In Daniel 7:9-10, the Ancient of Days was seated…The court was seated, and the books were opened.”

God recorded the names of those who would believe and be saved. We used to sing the hymn, “Is Your Name Written There?” Revelation 21:27 says that by no means will anyone enter the New Jerusalem, “…but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”

The Lord knows all things. He knows our thoughts before we think them. He knows the words on our tongue before we speak them. He listens to the conversations of those who fear Him. His books are only evidence for man of what He always knew.