Prayer and the Sovereignty of God


" Confidence to pray stems out of the realization that God is in control of our situations. He can control and conquer the situations that we go through."
Why do we pray to God? As all our actions must have some explanations, we must be able to explain why we pray to God. The prayer of the Psalmist is "Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless" (Psalm 108:12).
One of the reasons for this prayer is the confidence in God, which is reflected in verse 13: "With God we will gain victory, and he will trample down our enemies." The second reason is the realization that the human power is worthless. The psalmist cannot trust in human power in order to win the battle that he is engaged in.
However, the most important reason is a realization of the sovereignty of God over the nations. The divine oracle cited in verses 7-9 is the basis of the prayer in verse 10. In this verse God's authority over the nations around Israel is spelt out. Israel's enemies, and particularly the country of Edom with which they are engaged in the battle now are at God's disposal. He can parcel it out as He likes, he can treat some as his washbasin, and some are like the place where he will throw his sandals. In other words, it is God who decides the destiny of the nations and thus God is able to protect each nation.
Confidence to pray stems out of the realization that God is in control of our situations. He can control and conquer the situations that we go through.