“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91:1-2
As children of the Living God our creator when we read through the Bible, His love letter to us, we find promises that He has made to us. Psalm 91 is one of those promises, a cherished one, and a very powerful one. This is a Psalm that the Jews often memorize and recite in times of trouble for themselves or loved ones. Right now, with everything that is going on in the world today, Fear is running rampant through the streets. But as true believers of Jesus we can STAND ON THESE PROMISES. When we are already in the arms of the LORD, we find ourselves dwelling in the shelter of the Most High and resting in the shadow of the Almighty. We can say “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” We do not need to be afraid. Period. Did you know that the message “don’t be afraid” or a variation of it is repeated 365 times in the Bible? That’s one for every day of our year! Fear is a powerful weapon in the Enemy’s arsenal, and he loves to wield it against us… because it works. Fear is a tremendous motivator, sometimes for good. But being afraid, is pointless. Fear causes us to make quick decisions and do foolish things. If we are afraid, then we are not trusting God for that thing. Thinking back on this I realize that I did that very thing not even hours ago! I was shopping in a hurry because I had taken my time on my earlier errands. I got to the store and like I usually do, I prayed that God would lead me in my shopping, that I wouldn’t spend more than His will for our family, that I would get all the things that I needed, and most importantly, that He would LEAD ME TO THE DEALS! 🙂 Boy did He ever too! But anyway, I digress. The cart was packed to the gills and I kept looking at it thinking this is going to cost more than what I budgeted, this isn’t good, I am afraid of just HOW MUCH this is going to cost! I was doubting Him and His leading me… JUST like I had asked Him to! I was afraid that it would cost more than we could afford, right after I had asked Him to help me make sure that I wouldn’t do that! Sometimes I really disappoint myself. I wasn’t walking in the faith that God had heard and would answer my prayer for guidance. HELLO! Jeremiah 33:3 TAMAR! “Call to me and I will answer you...” Promise!
God doesn’t want us to be afraid of ANYTHING, because He’s taking care of EVERYTHING for us… when we dwell in the shelter of the Most High and rest in the shadow of the Almighty. When God is our refuge and fortress, when we trust in HIM, He takes care of everything! Now, I’d like to say that I came out of the store under MY budget, but I didn’t. I was however only $15 over AND I walked out of the store saving $30 and had a backseat FULL of groceries! There was barely room for my daughter to sit! Woohoo! Thanks for all the deals Daddy! Yes, I slipped a little in my faith that God would answer my call for help in the store… but HE is faithful, and irregardless of MY lack of faith, HE still held up His end of the deal. So, where did my fear and worry get me? Nowhere other than the foot of the cross asking for forgiveness once again. Little by little I’m getting better at trusting Him.
As for the Prayer for Protection from Psalm 91, I’ve been praying/declaring it over my friends the last couple of days. Praying it for their family by their family name, and praying it for our own family by name. I’m going to type it with specific words underlined, when praying this prayer for someone else, a family or an individual simply exchange their name with the underlined word(s). This particular prayer is interesting because it’s really more of a declaration of faith than it is a request. Which, honestly, I think is what makes it so effective. Because God doesn’t want us to just ask, no, He wants us to BELIEVE in what we are asking. The way that this Psalm is written, when you speak it over someone, it reads filled with belief and turns into a declaration of faith. I love how it works out that way. 🙂 But my favorite part is the end, where God responds immediately to the prayer, make sure to read His answer out loud as well! Actually, make sure to read the whole prayer out loud, the angels surrounding you right now waiting to carry out your prayer can’t read your mind, only God can do that! So make sure to declare this one loud and proud for your loved one! Make sure ALL the heavenlies can hear your declaration of faith!
Prayer for Protection: Psalm 91: “Father God Almighty, I lift up the Knochel family to You right now. Lord, may they dwell in the shelter of the Most High and rest in the shadow of You the Almighty. May they say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom we trust.” Father,I believe that You will save them from the fowler’s (the Enemy) snare and from the deadly pestilence (sickness/ill-health). I believe that You will cover them with Your feathers, and that under Your wings they will find refuge; I believe that Your faithfulness will be their shield and rampart. They will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at their side, ten thousand at their right hand, but I believe that it will not come near them. They will only observe with their eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If they make You the Most High their dwelling – even the LORD, who is my refuge – then I believe that no harm will befall them, no disaster will come near their tent. Lord, I believe that You will command Your angels concerning them to guard them in all their ways; that the angels will lift the Knochel’s up in their hands, so that they will not strike their foot against a stone. Lord, I believe that the Knochel’s will tread upon the lion and the cobra; that they will trample the great lion and the serpent (all symbols of the Enemy). “Because they love Me” says the LORD, “I will rescue them; I will protect them, for they acknowledge My name. They will call upon Me, and I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will deliver them and honor them. With long life will I satisfy them and show them My salvation.”
Cool story I heard a while back, a man (I think an evangelist) was a FIRM believer in the promises of Psalm 91. So much so that he had some scientist test him on it. So armed with a microscope, they placed the BUBONIC PLAGUE on his skin…. and watched it die the instant it touched him. Now THAT’S what I call active faith! My aunt’s husband Tom had cancer, the doctors gave him the option of taking a medicine with a 50% chance of working, he chose not to take the medicine and take his chances believing that God would cure him. Today, Tom is 100% cancer free! Among many many many other people prayers, one of the things that they did was a group of people stood by Tom and spoke Psalm 91 over him every day. The Bible is FILLED with miracles, and those miracles ARE possible for TODAY! God is the same yesterday, today and forever, He doesn’t change. He’s the same miracle-working God today that He was back then. The ONLY difference is whether we’re willing to BELIEVE HIM for those miracles or not. It’s all up to us. For anything is possible for him who believes!!! Speak this prayer out in BELIEF that it is the TRUTH and it is the LIFE and it is the WAY! (I really wish you could hear my fingers pounding on they keys as I’m typing this, I may hurt my computer!) The prayers of a righteous man/woman avails much. You know what makes someone righteous in God’s sight? The fact that they believe that He has forgiven them and that they TRUST HIM to do what He says He will do! Believe that HIS WORD IS TRUE and it will hold more power for you, than you ever thought possible! God is trustworthy, TRUST HIM and He will NOT let you down! Hallelujah!
Tamar Knochel 