Self-Deliverance and Personal Prayer

⁴I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. ⁵Those who look to Him are radiant with joy; their faces shall never be ashamed. ⁶This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him; He saved him from all his troubles. ⁷The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and he delivers them.

¹⁰Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and chains, ¹¹because they rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High. ¹²He humbled their hearts with hard labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help. ¹³Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress. ¹⁴He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke away their chains. ¹⁵Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion and His wonders to the sons of men. ¹⁶For He has broken down the gates of bronze and cut through the bars of iron.

⁹So then, this is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. ¹⁰Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. ¹¹Give us this day our daily bread. ¹²And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ¹³And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

³¹So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples. ³²Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ³³“We are Abraham’s descendants,” they answered. “We have never been slaves to anyone. How can You say we will be set free?” ³⁴Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ³⁵A slave does not remain in the house forever, but a son remains forever. ³⁶So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

⁷Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.

⁵And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. ⁶If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. ⁸If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

¹For the choirmaster. Of David the servant of the LORD, who sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said: I love You, O LORD, my strength. ²The 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. ³I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies. ⁴The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me. ⁵The cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. ⁶In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for His help reached His ears. ⁷Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger. ⁸Smoke rose from His nostrils, and consuming fire came from His mouth; glowing coals blazed forth. ⁹He parted the heavens and came down with dark clouds beneath His feet. ¹⁰He mounted a cherub and flew; He soared on the wings of the wind. ¹¹He made darkness His hiding place, and storm clouds a canopy around Him. ¹²From the brightness of His presence His clouds advanced—hailstones and coals of fire. ¹³The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded—hailstones and coals of fire. ¹⁴He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them. ¹⁵The channels of the sea appeared, and the foundations of the world were exposed, at Your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils. ¹⁶He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters. ¹⁷He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from foes too mighty for me. ¹⁸They confronted me in my day of calamity, but the LORD was my support. ¹⁹He brought me out into the open; He rescued me because He delighted in me.

¹For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry. ²He lifted me up from the pit of despair, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm. ³He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.

¹I love the LORD, for He has heard my voice—my appeal for mercy. ²Because He has inclined His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live. ³The ropes of death entangled me; the anguish of Sheol overcame me; I was confronted by trouble and sorrow. ⁴Then I called on the name of the LORD: “O LORD, deliver my soul!” ⁵The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. ⁶The LORD preserves the simplehearted; I was helpless, and He saved me. ⁷Return to your rest, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you. ⁸For You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.

¹A Psalm of David. O LORD, hear my prayer. In Your faithfulness, give ear to my plea; in Your righteousness, answer me. ²Do not bring Your servant into judgment, for no one alive is righteous before You. ³For the enemy has pursued my soul, crushing my life to the ground, making me dwell in darkness like those long since dead. ⁴My spirit grows faint within me; my heart is dismayed inside me. ⁵I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I consider the work of Your hands. ⁶I stretch out my hands to You; my soul thirsts for You like a parched land. Selah ⁷Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide Your face from me, or I will be like those who descend to the Pit. ⁸Let me hear Your loving devotion in the morning, for I have put my trust in You. Teach me the way I should walk, for to You I lift up my soul. ⁹Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD; I flee to You for refuge. ¹⁰Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God. May Your good Spirit lead me on level ground. ¹¹For the sake of Your name, O LORD, revive me. In Your righteousness, bring my soul out of trouble. ¹²And in Your loving devotion, cut off my enemies. Destroy all who afflict me, for I am Your servant.

⁵⁵I called on Your name, O LORD, out of the depths of the Pit. ⁵⁶You heard my plea: “Do not ignore my cry for relief.” ⁵⁷You drew near when I called on You; You said, “Do not be afraid.” ⁵⁸You defend my cause, O Lord; You redeem my life.

¹One day in a place where Jesus had just finished praying, one of His disciples requested, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” ²So Jesus told them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. ³Give us each day our daily bread. ⁴And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’” ⁵Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose one of you goes to his friend at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, ⁶because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.’ ⁷And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Do not bother me. My door is already shut, and my children and I are in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’ ⁸I tell you, even though he will not get up to provide for him because of his friendship, yet because of the man’s persistence, he will get up and give him as much as he needs. ⁹So I tell you: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. ¹¹What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? ¹²Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

²¹And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

⁹that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved. ¹¹It is just as the Scripture says: “Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.” ¹²For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all, and gives richly to all who call on Him, ¹³for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

¹Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. ²Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

³For though we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh. ⁴The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the flesh. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵We demolish arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. ¹¹Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand. ¹⁴Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, ¹⁵and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace. ¹⁶In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.

¹²Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. ¹³For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.

¹³Is any one of you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises. ¹⁴Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. ¹⁶Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.

⁴You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.