Most of us would not see the evil world as our enemy but this photo reminded me that they are our worst enemy. So when I read the Psalms this morning I tried to keep this in mind.

David prayed for God’s protection in Psalm 64 and I loved his opening sentence.

I am in trouble, God—listen to my prayer!
    I am afraid of my enemies—save my life! – Psalm 64:1 GNT

David finds himself in prayer when he is in trouble.

“He can but pray, but he can pray; and no man is helpless who can look up. However high and closely engirdling may be the walls that men or sorrows build around us, there is always an opening in the dungeon roof, through which heaven is visible and prayers can mount.” – Maclaren

The next Psalm (65) reveals just how abundantly God provides for those who call on Him in prayer and trust in Him. The response is praise from those He blesses.

O God, it is right for us to praise you in Zion
    and keep our promises to you,
    because you answer prayers. – Psalm 65:1-2 GNT

“Theology, which is the proper study of God, should always lead to doxology, the proper worship of God. Learning the truth about God, that He is the giver of all good things, should produce praise for God in the life of the believer.” – Steven Lawson

God answers prayer.

Because God’s image makes man to be man, prayer involves a response that has no parallel in human experience. Personal relations on the human level are necessarily partial. A man relates to his wife in a way that differs from his relating to a business partner or to a chance acquaintance. We sustain roles that can express only partially our own personhood. In relation to God, however, we are ‘naked and pinned down’ (Heb. 4:13). Our masks are gone, pretence is useless: the relationship is not partial, but total. All that we are stands related to our Maker and Redeemer. – Edmund Clowney