I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.
– Psalm 121:1–2
Oh, this is such a great picture, in God’s word. I would encourage you to memorize these verses, especially for days when you are walking through trouble or trial, but really in every day. Hey, this is a good way to wake up, to lift up your eyes, look to the hills. Where does my help come from today? Yes, in trial or times of trouble, or just every day, where does your help come from?
Psalm 121:1–2 Teaches We Are Helped by the Creator of All
You have help coming from the Lord every single day. All who trust in God, your help will come from God, the one who made heaven and earth. Because I pray this, I’m looking out over creation. I see the sky. I see trees. The one who made the earth and the heavens, who made it all, He is your helper. He’s your help today. And really the Christian life is a life of daily saying, “God, I need your help.” There’s nothing I can do today that God has called me to do without his help. I can’t be the man. I can’t be the husband. I can’t be the dad that God called me to be. I need his help in my marriage. I need his help in parenting.
I can’t be the pastor, the person God has called me to be. I can’t do anything today, apart from God’s help. I can’t breathe apart from his help. I don’t have food or water apart from his help. I don’t have peace or strength or joy or hope apart from his help. Everything good comes from God. We need his help daily. And the beauty of Psalm 121 is that the Psalmist declares, “I have help every day from the Lord, the one who made heaven and earth.”
Psalm 121:1–2 Reminds Us We Are Dependent Creatures
And I just want to remind you today, you are not on your own. You have help. And not just help from anybody, you have help from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He stands ready. God stands ready today to help you in every way you need it. So God, we pray for this posture of humility to mark our lives, this posture of looking for help. We are dependent creatures. You are our creator. We are sinners. You are our savior. We need your help in every way today. So we pray for your help. God, I pray for your help over my life, over every single person who’s listening to this right now.
God, that they would see in a fresh way, you as their helper, as the Lord who made the heavens and the earth that you would provide. Oh God, all the help they need. We pray for your provision of wisdom in our lives today, for your strength and our weakness, for your peace. And help us when we are anxious to have peace. We pray that you would help us with joy. I pray that you would help us by your comfort. God, we pray that you would help us by providing according to all of our needs, according to the glorious riches that are available to us in Christ Jesus.
Praying for the Kurdish People
Oh God, we praise you as our helper. Jesus, we praise you for the gospel, for making help from the Lord possible for us all day long, every day. And God, we pray for the spread of your help, your gospel to all the peoples of the world. God, we pray for the Kurdish people of Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and spread out around the world in places like Canada, United States. Lord, we pray for your help for 16 million Kurds, for the spread of the gospel among them, for your help in saving them from their sins. God help the Kurdish people to know you and enjoy you.
God, we pray for disciples to be made and churches to be multiplied among Kurdish people. Show yourself strong, we pray, as their helper, that they might look to the hills and know their help comes from the Lord, from Jesus, from the Author of Creation, the maker of heaven and earth. All glory be to your name, oh God, for Psalm 121, especially verses one and two, and for the reality of how your help transforms our lives today, all day long.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that makes Jesus known among the nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Don’t Hold Back, and How to Read the Bible.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
