envelop spinner search close plus arrow-right arrow-left facebook twitter

Pray Without Ceasing, Week 1, Day 5

by David Joynt on June 06, 2019


PSALM 3:3-4 | But you, O Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts up my head. I cry aloud to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy hill.

The psalm pivots in these two verses. Prayer expresses raw reality. Prayer also changes raw reality. David names his God in these verses, recalling that he is a shield, a glory, and a lifter of his head. He is the one who answers prayers. Now the emotions shift, for David has faced long odds before, in battle and in life. Running from Saul, facing Israel’s enemies—he has seen Yahweh overcome opposition. He’s been depressed before and then had his head and spirit lifted up and renewed. David faces the facts of his trouble and the truth about his Lord—then he cries out to God.

Use these two verses for meditation today.

Remember a time when God answered your prayers.

About the Author
David Joynt

Dave Joynt began his service as a pastor at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona in September 2014. This meant a move away from the Northeast, where he has a long history, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then serving congregations in Delaware and New Jersey for a total of 23 years.

Dave was nurtured in a great church in Bethlehem where his parents, Anne and Carey, served as elders. He graduated in classics from Lehigh University where his Father taught, and then from Oxford, where he met his wife Julia. Ordained in 1988, he completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993.

He and Julia have a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Madeleine.

More from Pastor Joynts Devotionals

return to Pastor Joynts Devotionals