Daily Devotions
Psalms
Psalm 83:3a "They have taken crafty counsel against Your people..."
Day 225 – Psalm 83
“They have taken crafty counsel against Your people…” Psalm 83:3a
PRAYER IS NOT STATIC
Prayer was never meant to be a static thing. God delights in seeing the efforts made by His servants to engage Him in prayer. Asaph made another significant effort to reach out to God in the following text:-
“They have taken crafty counsel against Your people,
And consulted together against Your sheltered ones.”
Psalm 83:3
1. “Crafty counsel”
a) Asaph was aware of the wicked plans of Israel’s enemies.
b) These enemies plotted against Israel constantly.
c) Israel’s history was full of crafty plans made against the nation.
2. “Consulted together”
a) Sometimes it was a single nation that went against Israel.
b) Sometimes it was a plurality of nations that banded themselves against Israel.
3. Wherein would God be moved to respond to the prayers of Asaph?
a) “Your people”
i) Asaph employed this phrase in the hope that God would respond.
ii) Israel was indeed “God’s people”.
iii) If His people were plotted against, would God not respond?
b) “Your sheltered ones”
i) This was a new phrase to describe God’s people.
ii) Israel was tenderly described as God’s “sheltered ones”.
iii) Had not God always protected and kept Israel within special shelter?
iv) Israel was in need of special shelter from powerful and wicked enemies.
v) Would not God now arise and come to the rescue of His people?
Asaph’s prayer efforts speak of a tremendous amount of thought, energy and desperation.