Many of us get into our cars each day and the first thing we do is put on our seat belt for protection. Granted, it is the law, but we have heard and seen what can happen if we are in an accident without the protection of a seat belt. This understanding of the danger is enough to make most folks reach for the seat belt when they climb in that driver’s seat. If you have a balcony where you live then you most likely have a railing that surrounds it. If you have ever been out on a high balcony then the thought of not having a railing would be terrifying. The railing gives us comfort because it protects us from falling over the edge. No one would want a balcony without the protection that comes from a railing. Many of us have smoke detectors in our home because we know the danger of smoke inhalation while we are asleep. Smoke detectors give us life saving protection.
We do many things day to day to add protection to our lives. We understand we live in a dangerous world where protection is needed. But what do we do when unexpected danger arises and we don’t have a quick means of protection like a seat belt, railing, smoke detector, etc? This is where we need the Shadow of the Almighty. There is protection in God Almighty for ALL people through the Lord Jesus Christ. Psalm 91 gives us a prayer to ask the Lord for this protection, however, there are some important things we need to understand first.
Enter the Covenant
In order to receive the protection of the Lord we must first be in covenant with him. A covenant is an agreement or contract. Another way to say this, we must be in a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. We enter this relationship with Jesus Christ through Faith and Repentance.
Faith means we believe that He is the Son of God who died in our place on a cross two thousand years ago. When he died on that cross he willingly took the punishment for our sin that we all deserve. Three days later he rose from the dead, proving he is the Son of God and that our sins had been taken to the grave and forgiven.
Repentance is a change in our thinking where we realize that Jesus’s way is the only right way and we declare him Lord of our lives. When we repent, we make the decision to turn from our sin and live Jesus’s way instead of our ways.
(Rom 3:23, 6:23, 5:8, 10:9, 10:13)
Abide in the Covenant
Once we enter a relationship (covenant) with Jesus Christ we must then make the decision to abide in Him. Or, to put it another way, we must grow, obey Him, stay repentant and remain active in the relationship. This is a key to having your prayers answered. Jesus says when we abide in Him we will bear spiritual fruit (ie, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control). And then, whatever we ask the Father in the name of Jesus He will do.
Joh 15:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
Joh 15:10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.
Joh 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
To summarize, we are abiding in Jesus when we are spending time with Him in fellowship, prayer, worship, studying his Word, and maintaining a repentant heart. We will not always make the right choices and do the right things, but when we recognize our sin, do we quickly turn to the Lord with a repentant heart and ask for his forgiveness? We cannot willingly remain in sin day to day and expect the Lord to give us favor or answer our prayers.
Repentance is key in abiding. Abide means to “remain in”. We came into our relationship with Christ through Faith and Repentance. If we are abiding, then we are remaining in our Faith and keeping a repentant heart. Then, when we abide, we can ask the Father in the name of Jesus and He will do it. We could sum up ‘abide’ in just 2 words. LOVE JESUS. When we realize what Jesus has done for us and we truly fall in love with Him, then abiding in Him becomes your natural desire.
Ask Without Doubting
When we ask the Father in the name of Jesus we must ask in Faith. We must ask confidently, without doubting. James confirms this for us.
James 1:6-8 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
James tells us if we ask the Lord without Faith then we will not receive. James says we cannot be double-minded. An example of double-minded would be to ask the Lord to save a friend and then shortly after say “There is no hope for that boy, he is never going to be saved”. We sabotage our prayers when we ask for one thing and then speak words of unbelief against what we just prayed. “Lord please give me a new job”. “I have been waiting for 2 years, I will never find a new job”. Double minded.
Now, I will admit, sometimes it’s hard to have complete confidence. In this situation, ask the Lord to give you the Faith you need to NOT doubt. Ask Him to remove your unbelief. It only takes the faith of a mustard seed to move mountains, but with unbelief we will see no mighty miracles. (Matt 17:20, Matt 13:58)
Let’s Summarize
In order to ask the Lord Almighty for his divine protection there are several key requirements:
1) Be in an intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Apart from Jesus, we are enemies of God. (Eph 2:1-3)
2) Abide in Jesus. Be active in prayer, worship, reading the Bible, and keeping a repentant heart
3) Ask the Father in the name of Jesus in FAITH, without wavering or doubting
Psalm 91
Psalm 91 is a prayer of protection. Let’s start by examining this Psalm. First, the writer of this Psalm (believed to be Moses) addresses the Lord with four of his Hebrew names which show us who God is.
“The Most High” (El Elyon) which means, the only God
“The Almighty” (El Shaddai) which means, the provider of all our needs
“The Lord” (YHVH) which means he is a covenant keeping God. (ie, he keeps his relationship promises to us)
“My God” (El) which means the strong one.
Next, the first verse of this Psalm confirms the key points we discussed earlier.
Psalm 91:1 - He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
Dwelling in the shelter of the Most High is a reference to being in God’s presence. In the time of Moses this was the area of the tabernacle known as the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant sat. This is the place where God would dwell in that time. For us today, the Spirit of God dwells in the hearts of all believers when they repent and believe and enter into a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Shadow of the Almighty is a reference to the golden cherubim that sat on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant. These golden cherubim had wings that overshadowed that mercy seat which was positioned on the top of the Ark. (Exod. 25:10-22) In the time of David, he moved the Ark to Jerusalem and the people were allowed to worship near the Ark, or, worship in the presence of God Almighty, near the overshadowing of the Ark’s cherubim. (1Chron 16:4-6) In God’s presence they found their protection and peace. We can relate this physical activity of being near the shadow of the Ark to us today when we spend time worshiping, praying, reading the Word, and being in the presence of the Lord. Or, to say it another way, when we abide.
Ask the Lord for Protection
The Lord will protect his covenant people. When the flood came, Noah and his family were protected. When plagues and judgement fell upon Egypt the Lord protected the Israelites from all those things. When judgement fell on Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot and his daughters were protected. When the 3 boys were tossed in the furnace, God brought them out unharmed. Daniel walked right out of the Lion’s den without a scratch. And we could go on and on. There is protection for those in covenant with the Lord. However, we need to ask Him for that protection in Faith.
An effective way to pray to the Lord is to repeat his scriptures back to Him. Psalm 91 is the perfect prayer of protection. Here is how we can pray Psalm 91 back to the Lord and ask for his divine protection. Keep in mind we must mean this prayer and truly believe it in our hearts. We should remember that we are speaking directly to the Lord Most High when we pray this. This cannot be an empty ritual. Just saying these words alone in an empty manner will not do it.
Pray the Scripture – Psalm 91
Almighty Father I thank you for your love, mercy and grace. Thank you for life and salvation that you have freely given through your Son Jesus Christ. Oh Lord I am in covenant with you and it is my delight to abide in you. Father I ask you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for your supernatural, divine protection in my life.
Lord you are my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust. Please deliver me and my family from the snare of the fowler and from deadly pestilence. Please protect me and my family from all sickness, illness, injury, accidents… [insert other here]. Please cover me and my family with your feathers and under your wings will I find refuge. Let my faithfulness be a shield.
Lord take away all fears of terror, pestilence, sickness, illness and destruction. A thousand may fall at my side and ten thousand at my right hand, but do not allow this pestilence to come near me.
Lord you are my dwelling place, you are my refuge. Let no evil come among me and let no plague come into my house. Father please command your angels to guard me and my family in all your ways. Let them bear me up in their hands.
Lord, I love you, and I hold fast to you in my love. Please deliver me and my family from all these things. Lord you know my name, please protect me. Lord I call on your name, the name of Jesus Christ, and I ask you to please rescue me from any trouble that may try and enter the life of me and my family. Thank you Lord for satisfying me and showing me your salvation.
I love you my Lord. Jesus, you have told me to ask the Father in your name and it will be given to me. Almighty Father, I ask all of these things in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
