the prayer of the innocent

 Psalm 17:1–15 (ESV): 

Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry! 

Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit! 

2  From your presence let my vindication come! 

Let your eyes behold the right! 

3  You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, 

you have tested me, and you will find nothing; 

I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress. 

4  With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips 

I have avoided the ways of the violent. 

5  My steps have held fast to your paths; 

my feet have not slipped. 

6  I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; 

incline your ear to me; hear my words. 

7  Wondrously show your steadfast love, 

O Saviour of those who seek refuge 

from their adversaries at your right hand. 

8  Keep me as the apple of your eye; 

hide me in the shadow of your wings, 

9  from the wicked who do me violence, 

my deadly enemies who surround me. 

10  They close their hearts to pity; 

with their mouths they speak arrogantly. 

11  They have now surrounded our steps; 

they set their eyes to cast us to the ground. 

12  He is like a lion eager to tear, 

as a young lion lurking in ambush. 

13  Arise, O Lord! Confront him, subdue him! 

Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword, 

14  from men by your hand, O Lord, 

from men of the world whose portion is in this life. 

You fill their womb with treasure; 

they are satisfied with children, 

and they leave their abundance to their infants. 

15  As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; 

when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness. 

David proclaims innocence - he does his best to honour God not just in the way he speaks to Him, but through how he lives his life. David considers his words and actions as he goes about his ordinary day, thinking about how he speaks to and treats others, the decisions he makes and how that reflects the faith he has. He considers God as he goes about his ordinary, day-to-day business, do you? David also takes time to evaluate his responses, he is great at self-reflection being honest about his mistakes and his innocence in situations. It is difficult to be so honest even with ourselves at times, yet David seems to have been good at evaluating his actions and motives and considering how they demonstrate his love for God. It is from this position of openness and self-reflection that David has incredible conversations and relationship with God. 

David is conscious of God’s presence always and determines to do his best to keep in line with God’s will. He knows that he can approach God as one who is living in God’s favour. Not because he was perfect, but because he was open and honest with God. He has built a relationship of trust with Him and enjoys the relationship he has with God, so he is mindful of it everyday and everywhere. This has therefore impacted how David lives his life. He is different to those, 'lurking' trying to capture and hurt him, and those who are in live with Earthly treasures. Instead of being bound up with life in this world, David has decided to live his life with God, therefore this life and it's stuff is not as attractive for David, but a relationship with God is to be valued, sought and lived for. Therefore he does his best to live right for God. Not for himself or others, but because he knows being in right relationship with God is the best position to be. No matter what else comes his way; whether riches, poverty, illness, friends or foes, David knows that if he lives following God's path he can seek God for wisdom, guidance and help. Are you living right before God? Can you expect God to assist you because you are doing your best to live the way He wants you to live?

Before you ask God for anything, examine your heart, your motives and your actions. Then, once you have assessed your right to ask God, you will know whether you need to come to him in repentance or in supplication. If you want and expect God to show up, to transform situations in your life, you need to fairly assess yourself. As David did, consider if you are living in innocence before God and man, have you guarded your words and your actions? If there is any wrong in you, ask God to point it out. David was clearly in distress as he wrote this psalm, but he knew he could petition God as he was convinced and assured of his innocence, are you? Will you listen when God visits you in the night, tries your heart and tests you? 

If you want to know God's powerful love and breakthrough in your life, you need to make sure that you are living conscious of His presence in every area of your life. That you are aligning your life with His will, not your own or anyone elses. Determine to live in innocence before God then, when you need His help you can have confidence that God will act as you say along with David, 'My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped. 6  I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God'.

Crown of Life

 *12*Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. *13*Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. *14*But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. *15*Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. 

*16*Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. *17*Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

James 1:12–17.

God promises you the crown of life if you love HIm. Loving God means having a relationship with Him that includes spending time getting to know Him, listening, expressing joy and gratitude, being obedient, and trusting Him when you are tested. These things strengthen the depth of relationship you have with God and therefore lead to growing in the steadfastness that James is keen for us all to know. As you can probably tell, this is not an easy task. In fact it takes extensive training, pain and discomfort to become steadfast in your relationship with God and to gain the crown of life. Like anything worth having it will take time, effort and require sacrifice just like trying to gain any other crown or trophy. People compete, practice and dedicate their time, even their lifestyle to gain trophies and crowns. The highlight of their lives, the momentous achievement of a lifetime, worth the discomfort and sacrifice to get the glory of the competitive crown. Yet how long does an Earthly crown or trophy last? The attainment of the prize requires years of discipline, dedication and self-denial, but the glory lasts only moments in comparison. 

Living to attain the crown of life also requires sacrifice, effort, and discomfort. It takes a lifetime of dedication, discipline and self-denial to truly follow God and to love Him. It takes a lot of practice, mistakes, trials and triumphs to gain steadfastness and the crown of eternal life. This crown is not just a transient trophy or a briefly held prize - It is an eternal reality. A symbol of a faithful life lived, a promotion to authority and a well-earned, everlasting prize, and you can have it! The question is, are you willing to live your life to attain it? 

It takes training to live a steadfast, God-honouring life. That is the only way you will get this crown of life, are you training yourself to get it? 

Everyone has something that they are training for in life, whether you realise it or not. You have something(s) that you plough your time, effort and money into, things that you are dedicated to and upon which you base your lifestyle and decisions on. These things can be healthy goals, or things that aren’t. Either way, you can become fixated and overwhelmed with what living to achieve these things really means. Sometimes these goals can end up becoming pits as the desire or achievement is never satisfied or fulfilled. It can become an endless, tiresome cycle of desiring bigger and better and can lead to anxiety, worry, frustration, feelings of ‘not good enough’. It can seem like an endless tireless treadmill. So, I wonder, today, what would you say you are living for? Are you competing for; a crown? Promotion? More money? Better life? Fitter body? The crown of life?

God has promised that you can have this crown of life. It is available and waiting for you. Are you going to follow Jesus wholeheartedly through thick and thin through times of disappointment and success to get it? If you do, you can be assured that at the end of this earthly existence, you will be crowned with life. Not a temporal crown that will be passed onto the next person when the competition is won by someone else, but this crown, the crown of life, is personally promised by God as part of your eternal inheritance. It has been set aside for you to wear. You have an eternal future waiting for you where you can be crowned a champion by God - Are you willing to live your life in such a way that you can earn that future?

There is valid warning following the promise of this crown in the verses above -  temptation is lurking. In the quest for relationship with God, a good holy, healthy life and the goal of the crown of life, there will plenty to try to take you off track. There will be outside influences, but also the ever-present temptation from within. James wants you to understand that growing in steadfastness, loving God and gaining the crown of life means walking away from sin. So, you need to know where sin comes from. It is not from God, not from the devil, but comes from your own desires. Some of the desires inside of you are not in  line with God, and they can easily lead to temptation and sin, 'and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.' Not a pleasant thought, but a reality. James doesn't want you to think that you can have both; the crown of life and sin. Living an earthly existence to gain eternal life looks like denying your own desires and living for God. It sounds flippant, but it is true. You need to realise and get to grips with the fact that all of your sin is dead. Jesus embodied it all and he was tortured and killed - 100% dead, so that you could know that all of your sin is 100% dead. If you believe in Jesus and live a life honouring God, the reality is you are free from all sin. Yet you are not free from temptation. That still stems from your desires, yet you now have the choice whether you step into sin or not. This is what it means to run the race of life living to attain the crown of life. There are obstacles, things that try to trip you up. They are not from God. If you want to live for God, love Him and get your eternal inheritance, then you need to be aware of yourself, your own desires and temptations so that you learn how to combat the desire to sin. It is true, it is hard work, it requires self-denial, a change in lifestyle perhaps and a life's work of dedication. Are you up for it? 'Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change' God has this perfect gift of the crown of life awaiting you, are you living to attian it?