May the Lord Answer - Psalm 20:1-5

May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion! May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans! May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions! Psalm 20:1‭-‬5 ESV

Blessings start with the words, "May the Lord..."

The bible is full of them (there are seven of them right here). 

Blessings aren't commonly spoken among believers today in my experience. The closest we get is to say, "I hope..." Though not always the case, "I hope," for us is more like saying, "Good luck." And we say that too. 

Is good luck a Christian thing to say? I'm not saying that you're not a Christian if you say it, but I'm just suggesting that it needs some rethinking.

Our modern/post-modern life seems to have little room for blessings. 

Our eyes buried in our phones. Our ears filled with self-selected playlists. Our hurry and our scurry.

Hey, it's me too. 

Are we asleep? Dazed in a endless stream of media, media that delegates our Lord and savior to something quaint at best. 

How can we wake ourselves up? Wake each other up? To remind ourselves of the presence of the Lord over and over again?

Here's a thought: we can read blessings in the bible, learn a few. Memorize some. Write some. And begin requesting that the glory of the Lord surround His people. 

Let's look at these blessings from Psalm 20. 

"May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble."

I'm going to make an assumption here: to answer implies a request. This blessing is for one who asks the Lord for help. I'm saying, "Lord I know this brother or sister is requesting this of you." Answer. 

What if I bless someone who is not asking for help? Well, maybe the blessing will be a pathway, a prodding that they should be asking. 

"May the name of the God of Jacob protect you."

Demons shudder at the name of Jesus. I need that kind of power working in my life! Today. Right?

Also, when we pray or bless someone in the name of Jesus or any member of the trinity, we remind them of His presence and work. We remind them that their troubles matter to God. That they matter to God. 

His very name is so powerful that it provides real protection. 

His name--I think it is so easy for us to create a fantasy god in our minds. We must persistently ground our minds, our thoughts, our prayers in the real God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Jesus who died for us on the cross and rose in glory and power on the third day. 

"May He send you help... and give you support..."

What kind of help? Angels. Friends. Bible verses. Sermons. They all minister. They bolster our hope. They battle the darkness. Darkness within our own minds and the realms of darkness beyond our physical comprehension. He handles it all with so much ease. 

"May He remember your offerings and regard with favor your sacrifices."

Listen up. He does remember. 

See, the offering is Jesus. The sacrifice is His own son. He always remembers the offering!

"May He grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans."

So, if you're like me, when you read this one, you really think it's a nice thing to say, but God doesn't really do this; He doesn't really respond to this kind of blessing. 

So wait. God wrote this in the Psalms and told His people to sing it over and over, but He didn't really mean it?  

Of course He means it. 

We can talk about what it means exactly, and we might not quite get it, but no matter how you slice it, this is a fabulous blessing! 

Even if it means, Lord, change my heart (or change their heart) to desire what you want and fulfill it, that is awesome. 

I'm sure that this is talking about granting holy desires. And isn't that what I want my heart filled with? Holy desires, godly desires, loving desires?

Yes!

"May we shout for joy over your salvation."

Do I get so bogged down that I forget that I'm saved and how special that is? Do you? I forget that I am this imperfect person, chosen by the Lord God almighty to work, to speak, to live faithfully.

I do forget. Today is a day to shout for joy over my salvation. I am saved, you are saved (if you are), and He is the king.

"In the name of the Lord, set up our banners." 

So banners suggest that there is some sort of a battle going on. These are battle flags. 

We are public. We aren't mean and horrible. But we are here. We proclaim the Lord publicly. We don't hide. We proclaim the righteousness of the Lord. He is worthy. He is our leader. He makes us glad. 

"May the Lord fulfill all your petitions." 

What righteous petitions have you been holding back? Not asking Him? What have you not brought before the Lord? Today is the day to trust the Lord. Today is the day to walk faithfully before Him. Today is the day to approach His throne with your petitions. With your requests. He is telling you right here in this Psalm to come to Him. And to ask other people to come to Him!

Will He say yes? I don't know. I do know that the more I walk with Him, the more, I will hear the answer. I will read His word and understand, I will fellowship with believers and know that He is with us, and I will know that I matter to Him. 

How about this: today, write down the names of some of the people God has put on your heart and say these blessings, both privately before the Lord, and even say them directly to them. Teach yourself to bless people. To bless His children. 

Lord, this is Psalm of blessings. Teach your church which seems so dry of speaking these blessings to do it. Teach us to know, because we walk with you that you answer more than we can even think up. Lord teach us to look to you. May we trust you today. Deeply. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.