Invocation for a project—even a life

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TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Timothy 3-4; Psalm 20

TO CHEW ON: "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." Psalm 20:4,5

This psalm of David's has three margin notes in my Bible:
- Book project Bezalel - 2009
- Entered Word Alive Contest - 2011
- Finishing edit - March 2012

It was obviously a significant passage for me as I worked on, completed and published my novel Destiny's Hands. I can see why. It touches on four elements that make it a sustaining prayer passage for any project, season, or even a life:

• Desire: "May He grant you according to your heart's desire…"

What a wonderful thought—that God might give us our desires!  While this could easily degenerate into something selfish, other passages help us sort out what worthy desires look like. Passages like: "Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desire of your heart" - Psalm 37:4 (see also Psalm 27:4; Isaiah 26:9; Luke 6:21).

• Purpose: "…And fulfill all your purpose…"

Is this saying our lives have a point—there is a reason we're here? Yes—a purpose that may be way older and more established than we have ever imagined, according to Paul: "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" - Ephesians 2:10.

• Battle: "We will rejoice in your salvation / And in the name of our God we will set up our banners!" - Psalm 20:5

[Banner: "Generally a standard raised in battle as a rallying point for armies. God is described as Israel's banner in recognition of his powerful defence of his people" - The Dictionary of Bible Themes.]

Here is the celebration of victories in the skirmishes where we've been successful and the invocation of God's presence and help through the battles yet to come, as we rally under His banner: "The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace" - Exodus 14:14.

• Prayer: "May the Lord fulfill all your petitions"

Don't we all want to claim this promise. it's a promise reiterated in many places in the Bible, often with the condition we find in 1 John 5:14,15:"… if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him" (emphasis added).

May these words be the prayer of our hearts today over our still incomplete projects, seasons, and lives

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for promises of Your presence through our projects to cover everything including our very lives. Help me to continue to claim this victory passage for my works in progress. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 20

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.