THE PERFECT PRAYER FOR 2010

By Rev. Carlo A. Serrano

December 17, 2009
Text: Ps 20:1-9 1 May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the
God of Jacob protect you. 2 May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you
support from Zion. 3 May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings.
4 May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. 5 We will shout
for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May
the LORD grant all your requests. 6 Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he
answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand. 7 Some trust in
chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. 8 They are
brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm. 9 O LORD, save the king!
Answer [a] us when we call!
About 8,765 hours or 525,600 minutes have passed since December 17th 2008. What a difference
a year makes. Some of us spent that time wisely: Serving God, Being fruitful…Making a
difference. Others may have a twinge of regret for things left undone, unsaid, or unachieved.
Maybe the last 8,755 hours of your life have been filled with financial blessing and health in
your home and body. Or, like many,the last 525,600 minutes may have been the most painful,
devastating, and trial filled minutes of your life. Like any year there were ups and downs, joy and
pain, triumphs and tragedies. And yet through it all…by the grace of God…here we are. I
wonder, what did we resolve to do last year? What commitment did we make to the Lord? What
promise did we make to our families or ourselves? In the next few days everyone will reach that
valley of decision where we can settle for the status quo of 2009 or we can evaluate our lives and
move into another great year focused and determined to move forward in Him. I don’t know
about you, but I want God’s absolute best in 2010. Now I am not the brightest bulb in the box…
but I do know one sure fire way to Get God’s best is prayer. So I want to talk to you about The
Perfect Prayer for 2010!
There is no better way to start a New Year then with prayer. And I think Psalm 20 is the
perfect prayer for us as a family.What makes it the perfect prayer is that there are several great
principles we can take and apply to our lives that come straight from these 9 verses.
For background sake understand that this Psalm is one of many royalty or kingly songs. Psalms
like Psalm 20, 18, 2 and about 11 others fall into this category. Basically they can be interpreted
2 ways. First, they can be viewed through the lens of King David, his subjects, and his
successors which answers the first principle of Bible study: what did it mean then? And secondly
these royal psalms can be viewed through the lens of the King of Kings and His subjects (you
and me), which answers the 2nd principle of Bible study: how does it apply to me now?
Now unlike Psalm 18, which is an “after-the-fact” Psalm, Psalm 20 happens in the context of
uncertainty. Some scholars believe that this was a traditional Psalm that was sung before every
major battle. It is believed that it was used in a liturgical call and response format with the high
priest praying the first 5 verses over the king and the warriors, the people responding with verse
6-8, and the people closing with verse 9.
So picture David and his fighting men facing a furious Army. Maybe it’s before dawn? His
generals are gathered around. The head Chaplin is there. The band is tuning up. The warriors are
stretching and cleaning their weapons. And the people of Judah anxiously await what will
happen next. Talk about a watch night service! Anything can happen in battle. Will the king
survive? Will they win? You can feel the tension building. And then a hush comes over the
crowd. The priest stands up on a high place and says:
1 May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob
protect you. 2 May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion.
3 May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings. 4 May he give you
the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.
1.The first principle we can take away from our new year prayer is that we need to Pray for
Protection.
This prayer is opened with a realistic view of the situation. Israel is heading into a day of
trouble. It does not say, “May the Lord answer you if you are in distress.” But he says when you
are in distress. Indicating the times of distress are a certainty. 2010 will bring times of distress.
Someone once said, “You are going to have a major crisis in your life sometime in the next 5
years, you might as well be prepared”. Some of us know our crisis may come quicker than that.
I’m not trying to speak doom…but most of us will face something hard within the next 525,600
minutes. We might as well be prayed up! Might as well be prepared! We serve the God who
promises protection and shelter. When the clouds darken we reach for an umbrella. When the
temperature drops we throw on our coat. You and I know that the weather for our nation is
uncertain at best (Literally and figuratively). Let’s be prepared by praying for protection. 2009
brought some horrible weather to our nation. People died in tornados, froze in ice storms, and
lost power in winds storms, and drowned in floods. And yet here we are. God saved us. I have no
idea what tomorrow will bring and neither do you. Pray for protection in 2010.
2. The second principle we that we see in this perfect prayer is our need to Pray for peace of
mind (may the God of Jacob protect you)
The phrase “God of Jacob” is used 14 times in the Old Testament and it is probably used here to
remind the one who is praying in the time of adversity who Jacob was and who God made him to
be. Jacob was a manipulator, which is exactly what we try to do when we in a jam. Jacob was a
schemer almost his whole life. He grabbed his brother’s heel at birth, maybe trying to come out
first. He stole his brother’s birthright. He out schemed his father-in-law out of the best of the
flock. He even tried to buy his brother’s forgiveness with a caravan of gifts. Of course he
changed when he finally wrestled with God instead of his problems. Imagine the plotting and
mental effort that went into Jacob trying to get his way. Sadly, some of us spent too much time
wrestling with situations and trying to work our way out of jams. But God promises us perfect
peace if we stay focused on Him. Jacob the schemer was renamed Israel: he who struggles with
God. It’s like the psalmist is saying: May this God, the God of Jacob, the God who makes
Himself real even to the person who tries to manipulate his way, may you recognize that it’s
God’s hand upon you that makes you survive. When your mind is at peace, you won’t try to
manipulate your way out of difficulty. The God of Jacob will protect you – literally set you up on
high where nothing can get you – in 2010
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion.
3. The 3rd principle from our New Year prayer is that we need to Practice His presence.
In the Old Testament of course Zion represented the holy hill, the temple mount. The temple had
not yet been built on that mountain in David’s lifetime. But David anticipated the temple would
be built here since he had gathered all the materials for it. He prays that the Lord would meet
him in that place. God loves to help His people. For us the sanctuary of the Lord in Zion is
located in the eternal temple in heaven. We know that Jesus is there interceding for us at the
right hand of the father. But He also tells us that we are the temple and God’s spirit dwells in us.
His presence is where His people are. When we get into the word and call to Him in prayer, he
promises to send us help from the sanctuary and grant us support from Zion. I’ve never faced a
problem that didn’t have an answer in the word and in His presence.
Millions of Americans will spend millions of dollars in the next month to improve their fitness,
lose weight, and get out of debt. Yes, I said Americans will SPEND money to get out of debt.
Everyone wants a quick fix and a fast solution to very deep and complex problems. Blame it on
culture; blame it on fast food and microwaves. Wherever you pass the blame understand that the
buck stops with your spiritual life. I would dare to say that most of our problems have a spiritual
solution. I believe practicing the presence of God is the solution. In the presence of the Lord
there is fullness of joy. Where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. Do you want a great
year? Get into his presence daily.
4. The 4th principle we see in this perfect New Year prayer is to Place your plans in his hands
3 May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings. 4 May he give you
the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.
If we have lived in verses 2 and 3, sought help from the sanctuary and kept our hearts pure and
have them cleansed by the sacrifice of Christ, if we’ve done that then our desires will be the right
ones. We don’t have a selfish desire. The king is not going out to fight to puff himself up or
gain any glory. The Lord is concerned that we have right desires. But the desires must also have
plans.
A boy told his father, "Dad, if three frogs were sitting on a limb that hung over a pool, and one
frog decided to jump off into the pool, how many frogs would be left on the limb?" The dad
replied, "Two." "No," the son replied. "There are three frogs and one decides to jump, how many
are left?" The dad said, "Oh, I get it, if one decides to jump, the others would too. So there are
none left." The boy said, "No dad, the answer is three. The frog only DECIDED to jump, that
didn’t mean he actually did it” How many of us decided last year that we were going to give
more? How many decided they were going to spend more time in prayer? How many of us
decided to get in shape? There is one bridge between head, heart, and feet and that is a PLAN.
How are you going to do it? The Bible says “commit your PLANS to the Lord” So David says
“May He give you the desires of your heart and make all your plans succeed.” Dr. George O.
Wood said “plans are the day by day choices that determine the extent to which our desires are
being fulfilled”. It is not unspiritual to plan. As long as your motive is right and you place
them in the Lord’s care. Write it down. Make yourself accountable. You will be better off for it in
the end.
I’ll wrap it all up with one final principle that we can get from our New Year prayer:
5. Praise Him like it’s already done
5 We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of
our God. May the LORD grant all your requests. 6 Now I know that the LORD saves his
anointed; he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand. 7
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
8 They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm. 9 O LORD, save
the king! Answer [a] us when we call!
Attitude is everything. I agree with the attitude that says no matter what the battle…I WILL
WIN. WE HAVE THE VICTORY IN JESUS. I like that. I didn’t say God would give me my
way…I said God will be victorious through and in me…there is a difference.
You see, some people put all of their hope in the stock market some 8,755 hours ago. Someone
put all of their trust in a political party some 525, 600 minutes ago. What a difference a year
makes. Some trust in horses and some trust in chariots. There were folks who said that our
family would go under a year ago. How could we survive losing our Patriarch’s? Yet, I see
cousins closer today then a year ago. I see aunts and uncles standing on the promises of God and
living bold lives for Christ. Some trust in horses and some trust in chariots, but we trusted in the
Name of the Lord. See, the people of Israel along with the King declare in these final verses that
they will praise the Lord because they trust Him. He has saved them before; surely He can do it
again. They remember bigger giants, wider valleys, and higher mountains. And they remember
the Name of the Lord who saved them. And so they shout like it’s done. They lift their voices
and remember the stories of Joshua and the walls of Jericho falling. They praise God for the
victory because they remember that Pharaoh and his riders were thrown into the sea! Look what
the Lord has done! We are here. By the grace of God we made it another year. When everything
was against us. When hell tried to beat down our front door. The Lord showed up and we made
it! Attitude is everything. Do you want an awesome year? Start with praise. Praise in the middle.
And praise at the end. No matter what you face, know that there is a God who deserves honor for
what He is about to do! Don’t wait till the smoke clears. Don’t wait until December of 2010 to
think about the Lord and how he saved you, raised, you, picked, you up and turned you around.
We will shout for joy when you are victorious and lift our banners in the name of the Lord!
Psalm 20:1 May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God
of Jacob protect you. 2 May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support
from Zion. 3 May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings. 4 May
he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. 5 We will shout for
joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the
LORD grant all your requests. 6 Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he
answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand. 7 Some trust in
chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. 8 They are
brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm. 9 O LORD, save the king!
Answer [a] us when we call!
© Rev. Carlo A. Serrano 2009