1 Corinthians 2:9 ‘But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.’

DAILY READING –• Mark 8:22-9:1; 2 Samuel 20-21; Hosea 1:1-2:1

At the 2016 National Day of Prayer for Defence event in Canberra, Australia, Psalm 91 was read and referred to as the soldier’s psalm. Indeed Psalm 91 has often been celebrated by soldiers all over the world as their favorite prayer of divine protection. Especially during World War I, many soldiers recited this psalm daily. Perhaps one of the incidents that took place during this war was what helped strengthen the belief in Psalm 91.

During World War I, the 91st Infantry Brigade of the U.S. Expeditionary Army was preparing to enter combat in Europe. Most of the men were “green’’ soldiers who had never seen combat. It was obvious that faced with real battle many of these soldiers would most likely not survive. Their commander, a devout Christian who believed in the power of prayer then called an assembly of his men. He gave each a little card on which was printed the 91st Psalm. He commanded each of the soldiers to recite the psalm daily and many of these soldiers voluntarily agreed to do so.

As a result of the soldiers’ daily recitation of this psalm, the 91st Brigade experienced amazing divine protection. They were engaged in three of the bloodiest battles of World War I, which took place at Chateau Thierry, Belle Wood, and the Argonne. However, while other American units similarly engaged had up to 90% casualties, amazingly the 91st brigade did not suffer a single combat related casualty! These soldiers believed they had been divinely protected because of their daily recitation of Psalm 91.

Apart from this, during the war, other similar stories of soldiers experiencing divine protection through reciting Psalm 91 also emerged. These stories made the Psalm to become a real fascination in military circles. Today, Christian soldiers going into operations are often given bandanas to wear on which is printed Psalm 91. The Psalm has also often been put onto military dog tags.

However, while the praying of Psalm 91 has indeed kept many people safe during all kinds of dangers and wars, it is not a lucky charm that automatically guarantees protection.

Psalm 91 is God’s covenant for divine protection and like every other covenant, it has conditions attached to it.

Psalm 91:14-15 says ‘Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.’

From the above verse, we discover that setting our love upon God is what qualifies us for His divine deliverance. When we truly love God sincerely from our heart, He commits Himself to divinely protecting us. When we set our love upon Him, then we enjoy the wonder of His divine protection. And we do not just love God by words alone, we express our love to Him through our obedience to His commands.

John 14;21 says ‘He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.’

Through obedience we prove our love for God. God does not validate a man’s love until he validates his action. Let us therefore not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

We are living in a time in the world when we truly need divine help. With the spread of danger and diseases we certainly need the promises of Psalm 91 at work in our lives. Psalm 91 covers every danger—sickness, disease, assault, crime and any other threat to our safety and well-being. Indeed when we dwell in the secret place of the most high and abide under the shadow of the Almighty, God becomes our refuge, and our fortress. He becomes our deliverance from plagues of diseases, the terrors of the night and the arrows that fly by day. But these benefits of divine protection are rewards that emanate from our love relationship with our Heavenly father. Indeed God’s benefits are reserved for those who truly love Him.

1 Corinthians 2:9 says ‘But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.’

Let us therefore commit ourselves to loving God like never before. However, the depth of our love for Him is fueled by the depth of our insight into His Word. You cannot love someone you do not know. The more we know God through His Word the more we will love Him. And the more we love Him the more His divine benefits are released to us.

PRAYER: Father please grant me renewed appetite for Your Word, so that through study of Your Word I can know You more and love You more. Thank You Lord for the grace to always be obedient to Your every command in Jesus Name.

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Faith is more than just believing, it is acting upon The Word that you believe. WORDBITE 222