Praying the Psalms~ Psalm 18 Train My Hands for Battle!

2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
    my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
    my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

3 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
    and I have been saved from my enemies.

Thank you, Lord, for delivering me from so much evil and giving me a heart to trust you. I will praise you for all the good you have done in my life! Right now I thank you for helping me to overcome these enemies in my life.

(List sins God has delivered you from and list struggles that he has given you freedom in. If you can’t think of any, ask God to show you and start keeping a praise journal.)

These are the things you have brought me out of in my life, I am not the same person that I was. These are also areas of deliverance and times where I have seen the movement of God’s hand in my life.

Lord, it says in Revelation that I overcome by the WORD OF MY TESTIMONY and the BLOOD of the LAMB! In Jesus name I exalt you for these victories you have given me in my life. I know this means you will continue to give me victories. I am excited and look forward to all that you are going to do in my heart and life in the coming days and months. I plead the Blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, over my life and the life of my family. Thank you that Jesus appropriated the victory for me when he died and rose again on the third day. I thank you that I am full of the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. 

4 The cords of death entangled me;
    the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
5 The cords of the grave coiled around me;
    the snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called to the Lord;
    I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
    my cry came before him, into his ears.

Thank you for hearing my cries for help, Lord. Thank you for coming to my aid. Thank you for parting heaven and earth and leaving all your glory to rescue me! 

Father, I am struggling in some areas of my life. I know you are with me, but teach me how to pray and battle in faith and prayer. I put (——-) in your hands. I bring (name sin, sickness, situation or relationship) to you in the name of Jesus. I remember you are powerful. I know you are able to deliver me from and in this situation. I know I can overcome sin and emotional distress in Jesus name. Use your mighty power to deliver me (or relationship or person) in Jesus name. 

7 The earth trembled and quaked,
    and the foundations of the mountains shook;
    they trembled because he was angry.
8 Smoke rose from his nostrils;
    consuming fire came from his mouth,
    burning coals blazed out of it.
9 He parted the heavens and came down;
    dark clouds were under his feet.
10 He mounted the cherubim and flew;
    he soared on the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—
    the dark rain clouds of the sky.
12 Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,
    with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
13 The Lord thundered from heaven;
    the voice of the Most High resounded.
14 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,
    with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
15 The valleys of the sea were exposed
    and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke, Lord,
    at the blast of breath from your nostrils.

Right now, Lord, I thank you for the times you have parted the heavens and come down spiritually. I thank you for all that I cannot see. You are warring for me without my eyes seeing it. I only see the effects of your protection and your vigilance over me. I thank you for the unseen angels and the presence of the Holy Spirit that gives me unseen power. 

Father, there are terrible times going on around the earth. There are fires and floods in different parts of the country and many people are losing their homes. 

May your power protect and preserve your people, your remnant. May this time of difficulty be a time where many see and know your power to deliver them. Be with those suffering right now in the chaos of the destruction that is happening all around them.

16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
    he drew me out of deep waters.

Lord, there are places that I cannot walk by myself. I can never walk alone, but some places are just overwhelming. I pray that you will continue to take hold of my life when I find myself in deep waters. I pray for those who are in flooding and literal deep waters. Rescue them. Draw them out, in Jesus name.

17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
    from my foes, who were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
    but the Lord was my support.

Father, I acknowledge that even the righteous face days of disaster. I know that there are enemies too powerful for me. There are situations that are overwhelming. I cannot face these foes, unless I face them in the name of the Lord. I come against the giants in my life in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel! I come not against them with my own strength, but in the name of the Lord.

19 He brought me out into a spacious place;
    he rescued me because he delighted in me.

Thank you, Lord, for giving me freedom in you. Thank you for the physical blessings. Thank you for all that you have given me in you that I did not have apart from you. 

20 The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
    according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord;
    I am not guilty of turning from my God.
22 All his laws are before me;
    I have not turned away from his decrees.
23 I have been blameless before him
    and have kept myself from sin.
24 The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
    according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
    to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
26 to the pure you show yourself pure,
    but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.
27 You save the humble
    but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.

God, please give me a humble heart. Do not allow me to think more highly of myself than I ought to. I know that I have many failings, but in Christ, I am blameless and I am okay and on my way. I thank you that you have rescued me from my sins. Make them utterly distasteful to me, Lord. 

28 You, Lord, keep my lamp burning;
    my God turns my darkness into light.

Lord, let me found with the virgins in the parable that were faithfully keeping their lamps full of oil. I need the oil of your Holy Spirit in my life during these dark times. Keep your power and your provision in my life, Lord. I am counting on you to keep me. 

29 With your help I can advance against a troop;
    with my God I can scale a wall.

God, right now I pray and give you the walls in my life that seem insurmountable. I give you my fears. I pray right now for you to fill me with confidence. The enemy has stolen much from me, Lord, and I need to scale this wall with you to get back what he stole from me! In Jesus name, fill me with your power and strength to overcome the very difficult obstacles in my life. God, there are many things in my life that I use to deal with emotions and intense situations that are not healthy. I give those idols to you. (food, alcohol, drugs, smoking, video games, work, cleaning, porn, exercising or anything in excessiveness) Forgive me, Lord. Please strengthen my spiritual arms to fight this battle and to overcome the walls of unforgiveness and anger and bitterness in my life. 

30 As for you God, your way is perfect:
    Your Word, Lord, is flawless;
    you shield all who take refuge in You.
31 For who is God besides You, Oh Lord?
    And who is the Rock except You, our God?
32 It is you, Oh God, who arms me with strength
    and keeps my way secure.
33 You makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
    you causes me to stand on the heights.

34 You train my hands for battle;
    my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

God, teach me to fight the right way. Teach me not to fight with people who are just weak, but to fight spiritually and in prayer. Teach me to pray. Teach me to give my feelings and work to you. Teach me, Oh Lord! 

35 You make your saving help my shield,
    and your right hand sustains me;
    your help has made me great.
36 You provide a broad path for my feet,
    so that my ankles do not give way.

37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
    I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
38 I crushed them so that they could not rise;
    they fell beneath my feet.

Right now, Lord, I bring you my every care. I bring you the enemies that come against me. 

I pray that the sins that chase me and that I wrestle with will not overtake me. 

I repent of them. I ask for you to cleanse me of my sins and take their power away. Help me to hate my sin, Lord.
39 You armed me with strength for battle;
    you humbled my adversaries before me.
40 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
    and I destroyed my foes.
41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—
    to the Lord, but he did not answer.
42 I beat them as fine as windblown dust;
    I trampled them like mud in the streets.
43 You have delivered me from the attacks of the people;
    you have made me the head of nations.
People I did not know now serve me,
44     foreigners cower before me;
    as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.
45 They all lose heart;
    they come trembling from their strongholds.

46 The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!
    Exalted be God my Savior!
47 He is the God who avenges me,
    who subdues nations under me,
48     who saves me from my enemies.
You exalted me above my foes;
    from a violent man you rescued me.
49 Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
    I will sing the praises of your name.

50 He gives his king great victories;
    he shows unfailing love to his anointed,
    to David and to his descendants forever.

Thank you, Lord for who you are! Thank you for your deliverance.