IBS Application for Psalms 60:11-12

“Oh, grant us help against the foe, for vain is the salvation of man! With God we shall do valiantly; it is He who will tread down our foes.”

I wouldn’t normally pick such a violent verse, but this seemed like a fitting prayer for me to imitate as I strive against enemies in the spiritual realm, as I am currently struggling with something today. The devil has set himself upon me to try to make me despair over something, which I cannot deal with on my own. David’s cry for help against the foe is poignant, for I do realize that “vain is the salvation of man.”

I have been calling out for help all day, but this is the first time that I’ve felt like I’ve prayed anything appropriate. I typically feel pity for the devil, as he is destined to forever fight in vain in a losing battle until finally he sinks into eternal death along with all the children of wrath and disobedience. But this is one day where I desire for him to be crippled in his pursuit of destruction. I am angry at him, honestly. I want God to tread on him so that he might leave me alone.

While I am aware consciously that we fight in a spiritual war everyday and every time we pray, I sometimes forget that in fighting comes combat. The enemy seeks our destruction, and while we are still to pity him, we are to also do battle with him. God equips us to fight him, and I feel like I’ve done well so far since being out in the field to rely on God for equipping and strength. But today, I know that I cannot fight him myself. Not directly. This is why I pray as David did in this verse, when he asks that God would tread down his enemies. It is only by Him that I can have victory over the devil in this attack.


My application for this one will be to spend some time in prayer immediately after I finish writing this, asking that God would devastate the devil’s efforts to mess with me today, and every following day, with this despair that I am feeling.

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