Psalm 121:5-8 (NIV)
“The Lord watches over you – the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm – he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”
The word “protect” has to do with defending, shielding, guarding or even covering one’s life, property and belongings. We live in a fallen world, therefore, evil, calamity, suffering and even death are all factors of this life. We constantly hear about earthquakes, landslides, floods, fires and other natural disasters. We see accidents, robberies etc around us. As humans, we have come up with measures to protect ourselves. Some have money and investments stored up for financial protection; some of them have built high walls with sophisticated alarms and security systems for our physical protection from burglars and robbers; others have medical insurance, body guards, food tasters among others to guarantee their safety. These are all not bad but we need to remember that ultimately, it is the Lord who protects us (Psalm 121).
He watches over us and defends us and promises that no natural disasters shall harm us – the Lord keeps us safe from ALL harm.
God watches over our souls, lives, property, our travels and everything in between. From our first cry to our final breath, God watches over us. He neither sleeps nor slumbers – What an awesome God He is!
In the Bible, we see God protecting His people. He protected Noah in the ark and everything with him from the floods. When Pharaoh made a decree to kill all the Hebrew young boys, God watched over Moses when he was placed on the River Nile. In the wilderness, God protected the Israelites with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. When Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den, God protected him. On several occasions, Jesus protected His disciples from storms in the sea, from hunger and from being charged as tax defaulters. Our Awesome God who did it then is more than able to do it now, tomorrow, again and again.
Other scriptures: Psalm 46:1-2, Ephesians 6:10-18, Proverbs 18:10.
Prayer: Lord, we acknowledge You as our sovereign protector. You watch over us, keeping us safe from all harm. You guard us when we rise and when we rest. We pray that You watch over us and protect us from all harm. Do the same for our families and everything that You have given us to steward for your glory. In Jesus name we pray, amen.
Prayer Direction
Personal
- Thank God for His protection over your life. Thank Him for always shielding you from all danger, seen and unseen, and from the schemes of the enemy (Isaiah 54:17).
- Ask God to continue protecting you from all danger, now and always.
Family
- Thank God for the way that He has protected and preserved your family from pandemics, accidents, from robbers, death etc.
- Pray for God’s protection over your family. Ask Him to protect you from all danger, evil people, bad influence over our children, witchcraft, deadly diseases, curses etc (Romans 8:31).
Church
- Thank God for His protection over Watoto Church Ministries. For 40 years and counting, He has watched over us, our families, ministries and property. Thank Him for protecting Watoto Church Juba during civil war in South Sudan; our children’s choir on road, our children and mums in the Watoto homes, Neighbourhood mothers and their families, and our leaders as they travel.
- Pray for God’s protection over Watoto Church ministries (our founders, Team Leaders, pastors, elders, deacons and their families; church property and other resources, children and youth in schools, Cell Families etc).
- Ask God to protect the church all over the world. Pray that believers will withstand opposition and boldly preach the true Gospel. Let Jesus continue to build His Church.
Nation
- Thank God for protecting and watching over our nation (Covid-19 pandemic, landslides, floods, accidents, fires in schools, civil unrest etc).
- Ask God to protect our economy, the people and families in this nation. Pray that God will guard our leaders from evil schemes and may He give us peace with all our neighbours.
