452_Whose battles are we fighting?
Psalm 20 May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and give you support from Zion!
3 May he remember all your offerings
and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah
4 May he grant you your heart’s desire
and fulfill all your plans!
5 May we shout for joy over your salvation,
and in the name of our God set up our banners!
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!
6 Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed;
he will answer him from his holy heaven
with the saving might of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
8 They collapse and fall,
but we rise and stand upright.
9 O Lord, save the king!
May he answer us when we call.
A young soldier was deployed in a war zone. On the eve of a major battle, he sought a quiet corner to read his Bible and pray, while others around him were joking in an effort to keep up their courage, or looking over their gear. When asked why he wasn’t anxious like the others, he replied, “My battle was fought last night. I settled with God that I’m not fighting for myself—I’m fighting where He leads.” He survived the battle. Later, he spoke of the peace he experienced during that battle. It came from his trust in the Lord whom he served.
Psalm 20 reflects this calm assurance. This prayerful song may have been sung by the people of Israel before they set out for war. The focus is not on fighting harder, or training better. Rather, it opens with a cry for divine intervention: “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!” (v.1). Rather than being about the strategies and weapons of successful battles, the psalm reveals the unseen wars of the heart, where priorities are set and where trust is exercised. The writer knows what are the battles that we really fight.
The people’s voice makes it clear: “We will shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners!” They are united in fighting behind the banner of the king whom God has appointed over them. Yet their hope is not in his strategies or military strength. Rather, they rally in the name of God, who will answer, help, and uphold the king. They recognize that unless the Lord fights for them, no victory is certain.
The psalm speaks of burnt offerings to God, a sacrifice completely consumed on the altar. This symbolizes total devotion, a heart dear to God. Not ritual without relationship, not religious activity without heart. True worship isn’t about merely words of worship, but aligning our actions, desires, and plans with God’s will.
And thus verse 4 is a prayer: “May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans.” It’s tempting to take this as a blank check. But this prayer is spoken of David, a man after God’s own heart. When our delight is in the Lord—as Psalm 37:4 says—then His desires become ours, and our plans reflect His will. Then we may pray for our heart’s desires to be fulfilled. But we cannot make our own plans, seek our own goals, and then come to God expecting Him to rubber-stamp them.
Throughout his life, David was marked by this deep dependence on the Lord. He enquired of God before he set out on battles. He didn’t assume he knew God’s will. He didn’t rush or act on impulse. And when God directed, he moved forward boldly. A gifted leader, a mighty warrior, he still put his reliance entirely on the help of God.
In verse 6, David declares: “Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed.” His ringing tone speaks of his confidence in the “saving might of his right hand.” That statement—“some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God”—is more than poetic language. It was a radical declaration in a time when nations measured their strength by the number of chariots they possessed.
In fact, Israel’s kings were explicitly warned not to amass horses or chariots, lest they begin to rely on human power rather than divine help. David obeyed this command, refusing to place his trust where it didn’t belong. Even when he captured hundreds of fine war horses in battle, he hamstrung almost all of them—rendering them useless. In contrast, his son Solomon, living in a time of peace just as God had promised, still built up huge numbers of both chariots and horses. In doing so, he lost sight of the source of true security.
David understood well that real victory is spiritual. Verse 8 says, “They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.” Those who rely on their own strength, wealth, influence, or intellect collapse in time of trouble. Only trust in the living God can uphold us in the conflict with the powers of evil, and lead us to victory.
When an enemy army surrounded the city where Elisha and his servant were staying, the servant panicked. But Elisha reassured him, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And in answer to his prayer, God opened the servant’s eyes to see the hills around the city full of horses and chariots of fire—God’s heavenly army. His prayer was not for more strength, for God’s limitless strength surrounded them, but to see reality.
That is why we need to live by faith. It lifts our eyes beyond the visible to the invisible. As Romans 8:31 says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” And thus Psalm 20 ends as it began—with prayer: “O Lord, save the king! May he answer us when we call.” For trust always takes refuge in prayer, not as a last resort, but as a first response. And the people of God are not spectators but intercessors, lifting their king and their cause to the throne of God, that God’s purposes might be fulfilled.
Whose battles are we fighting? Are we pursuing personal agendas and asking God to bless them, or are we fighting the battles He calls us to? David fought Goliath or the Philistines to make a name for himself, but because he mocked the name of the God of Israel. He didn’t compare his strength with the giant’s; he simply said, “The Lord will give you into my hands.”
David refused to fight back against Saul’s unjust pursuit. He waited for God’s time. He fought God’s battles. Abigail, wife of Nabal who insulted David in his adversity recognized this and told him, “The Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord.”
So often, our struggles come from trying to fight wars God never asked us to fight. We defend our pride, protect our comfort, chase our dreams, and then wonder why we’re defeated, exhausted and anxious. Let us surrender our ambitions, our reputations, and our security to God. Let us seek His kingdom and His glory. Then we will fight his battles, for his glory, and in his peace and his strength we shall always overcome.