Psalm 91-God’s Protective Prayer-Part 3

March 14, 2024

Psalm 91-God’s Protective Prayer-Part 3

There is absolutely no doubt about it that Psalm 91 is one of the most powerful chapters in the entire Word of God. It is the Lord’s protective prayer that He gives His children. It protects us from any storm, trial, tribulation, or demonic attack that you will ever face. It is up to us to grab ahold of these promises and make them our own.

Psalm 91:1-2 gives us the Lord’s stipulations for receiving this protective covering as well as your declaration of Who the Lord is to you. God is very clear that He wants us to dwell in the secret place with Him getting to know Him on an intimate level. That is how we are able to abide in His shadow because the ability to be so close to someone that you are standing in their shadow denotes familiarity.

It is very important that we gain a clear understanding of what Psalm 91 is telling us so that we can apply it to our lives appropriately. The Lord had been highlighting this particular Psalm to me pointing out the significance of these passages of Scripture. It is one thing to glance over the Word of God while reading but it is an entirely different thing to allow the Lord’s Word to get saturated in your heart and mind.

Make it a point to pray Psalm 91 over your entire family the moment that you wake up in the morning. It covers all tactics and snares that the devil would try to entangle you in. We are living in a very dark period in time where we have to remain vigilant and sober minded because we are up against a powerful adversary that is roaming like a lion seeking whom he can devour, 1 Peter 5:8.

If you are in a situation that is threatening to take you out, you won’t have time to get your Bible out to search for Scriptures. You have to have them already embedded in your Scriptural memory bank. The more of God’s Word that you have deep down in your spirit, the more arsenals that you have at your disposal!

In order for you to have a full understanding of the Lord’s amazing promises found in Psalm 91 you have to comprehend the stipulations that God is giving us in order for His promises to work in our lives. I have gone in depth on the Lord’s requirements in my article: Psalm 91-God’s Protective Prayer-Part 1.

Now let’s take a closer look at Psalm 91:5

Psalm 91:5

“You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day.”

Psalm 91:1-2 gave us the description of what the Lord requires from us in order to receive His amazing promises found in this powerful Psalm. It also depicts our personal acknowledgment that we will follow through with the specifications that He has given us. Then we shift again in Psalm 91:3-4 where the Lord begins to highlight some of the guarantees that He is providing for His children.

Psalm 91:5 discloses another change in the description that the Psalmist is narrating to us. He is letting us know that if we can grab a hold of God’s promises and make them our own, we will not be afraid of the adversities that we will face in life. Then he begins to define what it is that we “shall” not be fearful of. We have to remember that the Lord never gave us a spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7) but He wants our mind to be sound filled with power and love.

God wants us to live a life of fearless faith believing with absolute confidence that if He said it in His Word then we can apply it to our lives. This Old Testament passage of Scripture highlights our Heavenly Father’s faithfulness when we are in the midst of danger. The Lord is providing us with very powerful defensive passages of Scripture that we can utilize at any time. It is to our benefit to get them deep down in our spirit so that they become a part of our frame of mind.

Let’s break down the important phrases found in Psalm 91:5 so that we can have a clearer understanding. The words “of the terror” being used is the Hebrew word “paḥaḏ” which means: terror, dread, and object of dread. The words “of the arrow” being used is the Hebrew word “ḥēṣ” which means: arrow, archers, dart, shaft, wound, and variant. The word “flies” being used is the Hebrew word “ʿûp̄” which means: cover, be dark, gloom, and indication of dimness.

What we can determine by dissecting these key words found in this powerful verse of Scripture is that our Heavenly Father’s will for us is that we do not fear. Then the descriptions of the things that we are not to fear are revealed and that is the terror of the night. Think of the things that are the object of your fear that can happen at nighttime. This can range from night terrors that prevent you from sleeping to your house being broken into.

In this spiritual life the unfortunate thing is that you can experience a night attack by things that you cannot see with the naked eye. That includes demonic attacks by evil spirits trying to instill fear into your life. God’s promise is that He is your faithful refuge and will protect you from these particular attacks that wreak havoc in our lives.

Then the writer of the Psalm begins to describe the shelter that the Lord provides us during the day. After taking a closer look at the words being used we can see that God is letting us know that the arrows that come our way that are attempting to wound us causing gloom and despair can be prevented. An example of this kind of darkness can be depression.

The enemy can throw arrows at your mind so severely and consistently that if they are not extinguished they can begin to develop strongholds that can be hard to break. We can never underestimate the snares of the fowler as he never quits and will keep trying to make you question God’s faithfulness.

That is why it is so crucial that you dwell in the secret place of the most high (Psalm 91:1) that is how we can ensure that we are provided with the Lord’s protection against these attacks.

Let’s take a look at some other things that the Lord does not want us to remain fearful of.

Psalm 9:6

“Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.”

Here we see the continuation of the Lord telling us that we should not fear these things because He will protect us from them. It is then up to us to abide in the dwelling place being so close and intimate with the Lord Jesus Christ that we literally become a part of His shadow. This is how we can guarantee that we are provided with His protective covering from all hindrances and afflictions that we encounter.

How is that a possibility? When you lodge (dwell) in the secret place with God you find yourself wanting to live your life completely submitted to Him. You want to abide by His Biblical law found in the Holy Bible which is our guideline on how to live our life as believers of Jesus Christ. As your mind is renewed by God’s Word (Romans 12:2) you begin to naturally turn away from your old ways with a repentant heart.

What this does is eliminate the open doors that the devil can come into your life through. The enemy has to follow God’s Biblical law and cannot invade our space illegally so with you dwelling in your secret place it is placing a hedge of protection around you preventing the devil from breaking your protective hedge so that he can strike, Ecclesiastes 10:8.

Now let’s take a closer look at the passage of Scripture that I am highlighting Psalm 91:6. The words “of the pestilence” being used here is the Hebrew word “deḇer” which means: plague and pestilence in general. The word “walk” being used is the Hebrew word “hālaḵ” which means: to walk about, prowl. The words “in darkness” being used is the Hebrew word “‘ōp̄el” which means: darkness of night, gloom.

The Psalmist is letting it be known to us that we are not to be fearful of any plague or pestilence in general. One main thing to take note of is that the Lord is mentioning pestilence twice in this psalm but why? When we think of fear some of the primary causes of fear is sickness and disease. The Lord is making it clear that we are not to be afraid of any pestilence because He promises protection from them.

Then the writer goes even deeper by telling us that we are not to be afraid of the pestilence that walks about and prowls in the darkness of the night. When we think of those words “walks about” we can see the parallel found in 1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

Make no mistake about it that the enemy roams around seeing how he can completely devour you and he does not play fair. God’s Truth has the ability to literally build a wall of protection around you AND your family so that all of you can remain in His shelter. It is really up to us to take His Word at face value knowing that He says what He means and He truly means what He says.

Now let’s break down the last part of Psalm 91:6 that states, “…Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.” We can see a continuation of the message that the writer of this psalm is conveying and that is to place our entire trust in the Lord. What that does is prevents the adversities that we face to consume us. All throughout the Word of God we can see a theme where the Lord commands us to “fear not,” this passage is no exception.

The words “of the destruction” being used here is the Hebrew word “qeṭeḇ” which means: destroying, destruction, and of pestilence. The words “lays waste” being used is the Hebrew word “šûḏ” which means: to ruin, destroy, spoil, devastate. The words “at noonday” being used is the Hebrew word “ṣōhar” which means: noon as a specific time of day.

So what we can determine from these key words being used is that the Lord will protect us from all destruction. This particular category is pertaining to natural disasters or other destruction that are attempting to cause us harm. There are instances in the Word of God that disclose that we can take authority over the elements: 1 Kings 17:1, Exodus 9:33, in the New Testament James reiterates the fact that Elijah stopped the rain found in James 5:17. When faced with calamities trying to destroy speak God’s Word over your situation boldly.

So far we can see the specifications that God has given us as far as the time of day that He promises His protection and that includes: day, noon, and night. There is absolutely no limit to what the Lord can do should we choose to put our faith and trust in Him. We have to get to a place where we Have God’s Word already embedded in our heart so that we can have them ready to use when we need them.

Remember, the enemy does not sleep and is relentless but the Lord guarantees that He will provide shelter to those that dwell in the secret place abiding in His shadow, Psalm 91:1. These stipulations are crucial for us to understand because it is what is going to ensure that we can successfully apply the promises found in Psalm 91 to our circumstances.

Conclusion

There is absolutely no doubt that Psalm 91 is one of the most powerful chapters out of the entire Bible. God promises to place His protective covering over us from the storms, trials, and tribulations that we will have to endure. It is really up to us to use the tools and warfare strategies that He has given us in His Word.

Psalm 91:5-6 covers any circumstance that can cause you harm including: terror by night (physical attacks from others or spiritual attacks), arrows by day (the enemy shooting arrows from afar that wound us where it hurts the most), pestilence (sickness and disease), and destruction (calamities from natural disasters).

Make it a point to get this powerful Psalm deep down in your spirit so much so that it becomes a part of your thought process. That way when the storms of life hit (because they will) you will be fully protected under the covering of the Lord. Pray these amazing Scriptures over yourself, your family, and your friends every chance that you get. Remember, the more of God’s Word that you have in your heart and mind the more arsenals you will have when faced with adversity!

Also, don’t forget to check out my other blogs:

Psalm 91-God’s Protective Prayer-Part 2

Psalm 91-God’s Protective Prayer-Part 1

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Fight Back

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Feed Your Spirit

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Renouncing

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Confess and Repent

Recognizing Spiritual Strongholds

What are Spiritual Strongholds?

The Spiritual Laws of God-Poverty Part 1

The Spiritual Laws of God-Poverty Part 2

The Spiritual Laws of God-Restoration