Psalms 141

Psalms 141THEME: A prayer to be delivered from evilThis psalm was written by David. It has something to do with his personal history. He sends out an SOS. His prayer arises from some unknown experience but probably comes from the time that he was fleeing from Saul. The application is to the remnant of Israel in the final struggle against evil, but it also has a message for us today.

Psalms 141:1

One commentator has said, “David was in love with prayer.” He was a great man of prayer. He mentions the fact that prayer is like sweet incense. Today, when we pray and praise in the name of Christ, that prayer is like the sweet incense that went up out of the tabernacle when Aaron, the high priest, sprinkled incense on the golden altar. “Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense.” However, to be sweet incense, that prayer would have to be backed up by an obedient life. The Lord Jesus made it abundantly clear that if we expect God to hear and answer our prayers, we must live lives that are obedient to Him. The idea that we can live any way we want to and expect God to answer our prayer is a big mistake. The Lord said, “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” But He did not stop there. He continued, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (Joh_14:14-15). If you expect Him to answer your prayers, you must be obedient. We need to pray in the name of Christ, yes, but also we need a life to back it up.

Psalms 141:3

David says, “Oh, Lord, don’t let my lips and my life contradict each other.” He learned this lesson by bitter experience. And we need to pray, “Don’t let me pray one thing on Sunday and live something else on Monday.”

Psalms 141:4

There are many men who work and make their living in this evil world. There is no question that they rub up against evil every day; and, as the saying goes, the boat should be in the ocean, but it is tragic when the ocean is in the boat. When a man lives in the world, and acts like the world, and lives like the devil’s child all week, he cannot expect the Heavenly Father to answer his prayer on Sunday. Psa_66:18 says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” God has not promised to hear the prayer of the wicked. Instead we are told that “…the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (Jas_5:16). 1Jn_3:22 says, “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.” David wanted the Lord to keep the door of his lips. He did not want to incline his heart toward any evil thing. We must follow his example if we want our prayers to be powerful before Almighty God.

Psalms 141:8

David prays that he will not fall into the trap of the wicked. The devil attempts to trip us up all the time, and he uses all kinds of devices. Unfortunately, we are not aware of many of his traps. We are not even as wise as the carnal Christians in Corinth to whom Paul said, “…we are not ignorant of his devices” (2Co_2:11). Some of us seem to be woefully ignorant of Satan’s devices. Oh, my friend, let us pray to be delivered from evil so that our prayers may be potent prayers.