God’s protection was one of the many benefits the people of Israel gained through their relationship with the LORD. Numerous times, when they faced threats from their enemies the Israelites cried out to God for help, but as the nation matured, there was less and less dependence on God and increasing reliance on the surrounding nations to intervene on Israel’s behalf (Ezekiel 29:6; Jeremiah 2:4-6; 11:12-13). One of the things that kept the Israelites from praying for deliverance was pride. It says in Psalm 10:4, “The wicked are too proud to seek God. They seem to think that God is dead” (NLT).
King David prayed for deliverance on multiple occasions, one of which was when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him (Psalm 59). David prayed:
Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
protect me from those who rise up against me; deliver me from those who work evil,
and save me from bloodthirsty men…Each evening they come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
There they are, bellowing with their mouths
with swords in their lips—
for “Who,” they think, “will hear us?” (Psalm 59:1-2, 6-7)
David used the words deliver and save interchangeably to refer to the help that he was seeking from God. “Deliverance often indicated the power of one entity overcoming the power of another” (H5337). Paul said in his first letter to the Corinthians that Jesus overcame sin and death and told believers that God gives us the victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:56-57).
David said of the LORD, “My God in his steadfast love will meet me; God will let me look in triumph on my enemies” (Psalm 59:10). God delivered David from Saul’s attempted murder (2 Samuel 1) and from other enemies who tried to kill him, including his own son Absalom (2 Samuel 18). In the conclusion of his prayer, David told God in advance, “But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress” (Psalm 59:16).
Talking to God is not always an easy thing to do. The Psalms encourage us to bring “to God all of our feelings—even the worst ones. He is big enough to cope” (Psalms: Talking to God, The Spiritual Growth Bible, p. 525-526). God wants us to cry out to him for deliverance, passionately expressing to him what is troubling our hearts (Psalm 77:1-2). When we pray to God, we need to be honest. “Jeremiah accused God of misleading and overpowering him, blaming God for the unpleasant circumstances he faced (Jeremiah 20:7-9). Yet God did not rebuke Jeremiah for his honesty. Instead, God preserved this prayer in the Bible, giving us permission to be honest with him” (Being Honest with God, The Spiritual Growth Bible, p. 848).
