Psalm 71

written by Sister Janet Lovell © 2011

Here is a special psalm that helps me throughout my years of challenges.

¹In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion.

²Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me.

³Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.

⁴Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.

⁵For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth.

⁶By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother's bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee.

⁷I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge.

⁸Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day.

⁹Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.

¹⁰For mine enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together,

¹¹Saying, God hath forsaken him: persecute and take him; for there is none to deliver him.

¹²O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste for my help.

¹³Let them be confounded and consumed that are adversaries to my soul; let them be covered with reproach and dishonour that seek my hurt.

¹⁴But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.

¹⁵My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof.

¹⁶I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.

¹⁷O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.

¹⁸Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.

¹⁹Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee!

²⁰Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth.

²¹Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side.

²²I will also praise thee with the psaltery, even thy truth, O my God: unto thee will I sing with the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel.

²³My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed.

²⁴My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long: for they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt. ~ Psalm 71(KJV)

Psalm71 works perfectly for me.
It brought me closer to God.
It helped me to lean on God as my only source.
When I read the words of Psalm 71, I felt the presence of God as my strong refuge.
I was confident that God heard me when I recited this psalm with my whole heart.
I felt every word as I read Psalm71.
This psalm spoke to my spirit.
This psalm expressed my fears.
This psalm eased my pain.
Psalm 71 was my spiritual vitamin.
If you are feeling depressed right now, heartbroken or shameful, hold on to Psalm 71.
Cry out with Psalm 71!
God will be there to meet you.
Therefore all things must work for good for those who worship the Lord.
Hold on! I did, so can you!
© 2011

PRAYER CANCELS DEATH

Prayer indeed, can cancel death. If you believe in the Bible this is one truth that you can hold on to. I have seen people visit the sick and dying and before they pray for a recovery, they pray for a safe journey home. When I am present at these occasions I usually turn the prayer around and speak life instead of preparation for a funeral. When I was ill I kept my illness away from many people.
Many thought I was being too secretive, but that was not out of malice. I understood fully the power of thoughts and words and pity was not something that I needed. I needed someone to rebuke the spirit of death, by utilizing the power of the blood. But some of my religious friends did not have the faith. My grandmother, my spiritual mentor, could not look at me. She would actually get sick when she looked at me so they had to take her home. Mind you this was in my initial stage. Stress took the best of her. For this reason we must try our best to have strong prayer warriors around, therefore when we are weak they can remain strong.
No matter how strong you are in Christ you can find yourself in a situation that is very challenging. In this case you will need reinforcement. Jesus needed reinforcement when He was faced with the crucifixion. When this happened, He asked the disciples to stay up and pray with Him.
Now let us take a look at one man who used prayer to cancel death. This special man was Hezekiah. When he was told he was going to die God gave him fifteen more years. You will also notice that in his plea to God he mentioned to God his loyal service to Him and God’s heart was touched.

What can you learn from this?
Your sincere zeal for God is really a treasure. Your praise and your worship is special in the sight of God.
Yes, prayer can change your situation. This prayer canceled death according to the word of God; God was touched by Hezekiah’s supplication.

Written by Sister Janet Lovell © 2011

Let us read about Hezekiah and understand why his prayer touched the heart of God.


2 Kings 20:1-10
King James Version (KJV)

¹In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.
²Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD,saying,
³I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
⁴And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
⁵Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.
⁶And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
⁷And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
⁸And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day?
⁹And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees?
¹⁰And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.