This is the Psalm I meditated and prayed for over a year when I was sick. I prayed it also for my friend Connie who lived with the disease I was struggling with. I prayed for others whom my illness had all the sudden made me aware of. As I look at Psalm 91 today I see symmetry in its structure. There is a declaration of sorts that includes instructions, then a list of promises. I think it was the promises that attracted me to this Psalm when I was laid out on my bed and threatened with the implications of a serious auto immune disease. I wanted God to take me to a place when I could live, where the disease could not touch me. I felt worthless because a huge part of my identity was based on what I could do. I was an active mother of two very active boys. Whatever had overtaken me had devastated my world.
Then things changed. One day as I lay in bed I sensed Jesus sitting next to me on the side of my bed. He leaned over and oh so tenderly touched my forehead and told me I was of great worth to Him. He asked me to pray. I was to pray for other who struggled like I did. So I began to pray for those around me who I knew suffered from chronic debilitating diseases. I prayed for healing. Then I asked for prayer for myself and to be anointed with oil. When I was anointed I gave the disease to Jesus. The moment I did that I was filled with the Holy Spirit and knew God had heard and answered my prayer. My healing was something I would have to walk out. The Lord eventually told me when I finally accepted His healing in fullness that I would live as if I did not have the disease. I think the doctors call it remission. I have been in remission for over 10 years and healthier than I have been most of my life.
I think most believers are driven to the secret place when they are in distress. What I found when I was too weak to walk across the room was the shelter of the Most High God. Since then I know that the depth of my relationship with the Lord is directly proportional with the tests and trials in my life. We have traveled many places together. But I have recently been challenged to dwell in the secret place in a time of healing and restoration. I am in a good place and I want to make the secret place my home.
What do I need to do? Psalm 91 says:
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High (condition)
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. (promise)
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, (action)
my God, in whom I trust.” (declaration)
These first two verses are the solid foundation for the promises of God listed in the center verses of the Psalm. They are what the promises are built on. The idea is repeated in the center of the promises in the center of the Psalm in verse 9:
9 If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling…
Placing the promise in the middle of the Psalm gives the Psalm movement, an impetus to remind us and move us forward. It is like the writer is saying I want you to really see this. Put this in your spirit.
In the Psalm there are four different references to the name of God; Most High, Almighty, Lord and God.
I believe the Psalm is saying that we need to acknowledge God and the implications of His names.
In saying of Him that He is God Most High we acknowledge Him as Sovereign ruler over all the universe. He is the one who delivers us from the hands of our enemies, who rules over the affairs of man, whose dominion is everlasting. He is the ruler of our heart. He is Almighty God; El Shaddai, the most powerful and all sufficient God. He is the “pourer forth”, the God who pours Himself out for you. He is Lord; Jehovah, the self-existing one. He is life in its essence. He has always existed, the eternal God. He is God; ‘elohiym, the Creator. All things were created through Him and for Him. We are His creation, His workmanship.
He is the foundation of the promises He lays before us in His word. If we will acknowledge Him not just in our heart but in our declarations and our actions based on the knowledge of who He is, we will have what He promises. Psalm 91 should change our prayer life. It should change how we speak to others about Him. It should give us a place of security was we go out from our personal and corporate times of worship into the world with its many distractions.
The secret place although a place of refuge in times of distress has in its true purpose a place that elevates us so that we can go out into our daily life with His protection and provision. It is the idea of a dwelling place that shows us His shelter is not just for times of trouble. It is where we can live. If God is Lord, than He is life itself. What better place to dwell than at life’s source, in the presence of the all sufficient God. We were created to live in the secret place. It is where we find the source of life; our God in all His power and glory.
The Lord wants to give us what He promises, daily, in full measure; a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over… poured into our lap. (Luke 6:38) There are twelve promises in Psalm 91. Twelve is a number of completion and perfection. The promises of God to a people who will love Him, acknowledge His name and make His shelter, the secret place their dwelling are almost unbelievable in their breath and measure. God will save us from trouble and sickness. He gives us shelter from life’s storms. He commands His angels to watch over us. They will lift us up in their hands. He rescues us. He protects us. He answers our prayers. He shows up when we are in trouble. He delivers us. He honors us. He gives us a satisfying and long life. He shows us His salvation that leads to eternal life.
Why does He do this? What does it say about the Our God? Psalm 91 closes with His motive. When we fulfill our part; love Him and acknowledging His name He moves on our behalf. We were created to have a relationship with the God of the Universe. When we move towards Him, He moves on our behalf.
When God moves on our behalf things change. We will not live in fear but in faith of a God who fights our battles and protects us and our family. The Most High God will deal of our enemies. We only have to watch. He will help us defeat the great enemy of our soul.
