January 6
“Make me walk in the path of Thy commandments, for I delight in it.” Psalm 119:35
One time, when I was really struggling with uncertainties and fears that I would never overcome a particular sin, I asked the Lord to ORDAIN the victory for me, to declare that I would overcome, to make it part of His divine plan so to speak that He does for His glory. I asked Him to make it His will, that is, to make it something that must take place because He is determined to bring it about, and then do whatever was necessary to make it happen. That would ensure that thing came about and make it clear that the victory is not at all dependent on me, which was the source of my fears and uncertainty, but rather dependent on Him.
I don’t want to be another Christian wash out, a weak two-faced hypocrite, unable to truly help others because I am stuck in sin myself. What a pathetic existence for a Christian. The thought of that sickened me. I HAD to have the victory, and it was obviously not to be found in my own strength and willpower.
After earnestly praying that God would ordain and decree my victorious Christian life, that glorious life to which He has called and equipped me, as He has every Christian on the planet, I felt His peace and noticeably more confidence. I believe God gave me renewed determination to overcome. The desire for sin diminished significantly, and I wanted to be His man and do His will. And I wanted to help others do the same. And my prayer wasn’t intended to be a request just for that particular minute or day, I meant that I wanted God to declare and bring about long term victory for me, including changing my desired and intentions of the heart-to set me on a course for long term victory without regression. This is the intended goal of this prayer.
This idea, of praying that God would decree that we would walk victoriously, is hinted at in the Psalm quoted above, which at least in the English suggests that the Psalmist prayed that the Lord would make him obey, even if in the weakness of his flesh he didn’t want to at that particular time.