The Overcoming Grace of God — Timothy Williams

The Overcoming Grace of God in Paul’s Life

The overcoming grace of God, the overcoming grace of God, go with me. The first Corinthians chapter 15, we're going to look at one verse this morning. That's verse 10, Paul writing to the church of Corinth.

Paul writes, but by the grace of God, I am what I am and his grace, which was bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God, which was with me.

When we walk through the apostle Paul's life in the scriptures, we see that there was an incredible grace upon the life of Paul, that Paul had the inner strength of God in his heart and in his life, that when you see the horrendous hardships and difficulties that Paul endeavored through, you have to know the strength upon his life was a supernatural strength, that the resources that was in Paul didn't come from the natural man, the natural man couldn't walk through the hardships and difficulties that Paul had to walk through and come out with the testimony that Paul had.

And you see right from the very beginning, the Lord told Paul that his life and his calling, his ministry was going to be plagued with many hardships, many difficulties. If you remember going back to Paul's conversion, when he wasn't called Paul, he was called Saul, he was on the road to Damascus to persecute the church of the Lord Jesus at Damascus.

And the Lord met him on the road to Damascus and he was blind. The Bible says that he was blind and he had to be led by the hand. He had an encounter with Christ. And in this encounter, he was blinded and he had to be led by the hand to Damascus where he was shut up in the house for three days of a man by the name of Judah.

And he was shut up in this house for three days and the Lord began to talk to a precious saint by the name of Ananias. And he told Ananias to go see Paul and to speak a word into Paul's heart. And Ananias is fearful because he's heard about the great persecution that this man Saul has reaped upon the church.

And the Lord speaks to Ananias and said, go thy way for he is a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name before the Gentiles and before kings and the children of Israel, for I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.

So right from the very beginning, Jesus told Paul that his life and his calling, his ministry was going to be plagued with great difficulty and hardships and much suffering and that Paul would have to learn to walk in the grace of the Lord.

And brothers and sisters, in every servant of the Lord, grace is needed. We will all find ourselves facing things from time to time in our walk that is going to require a strength and a power that's greater than ourselves.

Others will suffer more than others in the calling of God, but in the life of every servant of God, there will be a time where we will need a strength that is far beyond herself and greater than ourselves.

You see, in the call of God, there's much opposition. There's much persecution. There's much sacrifice. There will be persecution by the enemy, by the devil, by the powers of darkness. The enemy will always find envious, jealous, wrathful people to use to persecute the saints of God.

And there's going to be false accusation and malice and spite and slander. And then there's great obstacles. The enemy will use great obstacles, horrendous obstacles. He'll send horrendous obstacles against the people of God to try to discourage the saints and to try to wear out the saints of the Lord.

And brothers and sisters, if we're going to persevere through it all, we need a strength. There will be times that we need a strength, that we need a grace, that we need a power that's greater than ourselves.

The grace of the Lord. And Paul walked in this grace. He walked in this strength. Paul faced horrendous opposition and obstacles that required a strength beyond themselves. It required a grace to press through the obstacles and it required a grace that would strengthen his heart and that he wouldn't get discouraged going through the horrendous things that he went through.

He wouldn't get discouraged. He wouldn't quit. He wouldn't give up, but he would maintain his confidence in the Lord. That too required a great grace upon his life. Now, what I want to do here is I just want to go to the book of Acts and I want to look at some accounts in Paul's life.

And I really want to see this, this incredible grace and strength that was revealed in his life. Go with me first to Acts chapter 14. We're going to look at two verses, verse 19 and verse 20. Verse 19 says,.

And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium who persuaded the people and having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing that he had been dead. How be it as the stifle stood around about him, he arose up and came into the city.

And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derby. And when they had preached the gospel to that city and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra. So looking at this scripture, brothers and sisters, the Bible says that Paul was in this city and Jews came and they began to accuse Paul and persecute Paul and they persuaded the people to come against Paul.

And the Bible says that Paul was stoned, that they stoned Paul. Now, you have to understand this. Paul was literally stoned here. He was stoned. So he's laying under a rock pile. And you want to talk about great physical suffering.

You want to talk about great physical affliction. This was a time in Paul's life where he suffered in his physical man very greatly. But the Bible tells us that he was laying under that rock pile. The disciples were around him, and I'm sure that they were praying for him.

And as they were praying for him, the Holy Spirit came upon him. The Holy Spirit came upon his being. And the Holy Ghost began to quicken this man. He began to breathe life into this man, that an incredible grace came upon Paul's life.

And Paul got up from this rock pile and it says he went back into the city. And then the next day, this man, Paul, walked 50 miles. That was that's the equation here. You walked 50 miles to a place called Derby and he preaches the gospel.

So we see an incredible grace upon his life. And brothers and sisters, the Lord never told us when he called us that we wouldn't suffer physically. He never told us that there wouldn't be times where this physical man wouldn't suffer.

It's going to experience great suffering for some more than others. But there will be time of great suffering. There will be time of great affliction. But brothers and sisters, there will be times even in this great affliction of this this physical man, that the power of the Holy Ghost is going to come upon our hearts and our beings.

And he's going to breathe a life into us. He's going to breathe the strength into us, that the incredible grace of God will rise up in our life. And the Lord will say, I know you're in this time of physical affliction, but don't sit here.

Let's move on in the call of God. Let's move on in the ministry upon your life, because my grace is sufficient for you. Even when your physical man suffers. You know, I have to say this, I always think about this story when I get a little headache and I'm so tempted to say, I can't go on ministry today.

I got a headache. And I think about Paul under this rock pile. And I know there are times that the Holy Spirit can just quicken you, move upon your life in spite of how we're feeling physically. He is able.

I'm not saying there's not times to rest and get rest. There is time, but there's also times just to lay a hold of the grace of the Lord and say, God, your grace is sufficient for my life. Credible grace we see upon Paul's life in this story.

Paul and Silas: Praise in Prison

I want you to go with me to Acts chapter 16. Another story that plainly reveals the grace that is in this man's life. Look at Acts chapter 16. Let's start with verse 22. It says in the multitude rose up together against Paul and Silas and the magistrates went off their clothes and commanded to beat them.

And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them in the present, charging the jailer to keep them safely, who having received such a charge, thrust him into the inner present and made their feet fast in the stocks.

And at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God. What another incredible story about the grace that is in this man's life. Again, we find him in Acts 16 and another tremendous time of suffering.

They've been whipped. They've been beaten. They've been thrown in the present. But again, we see this incredible grace in the lives of the Lord's servants. Verse 25 says and at midnight, Paul and Silas praise and sing praises unto God.

And midnight represents the darkest hour of your life. Midnight represents when times in your life cannot get any darker than this. That's what midnight represents. And here we see that even in the darkest times of Paul's life, there was a grace.

There was a life in him that that gave him strength to rise up and bless the Lord in this. There was an incredible grace. There was an overcoming life in Paul that gave him the strength to rise up and declare the Lord to be faithful in everything, even the hard times that he was going through.

You find an incredible grace in this man's life that even in the darkest hour of his life, he could still give God praise and honor and glory because of a grace and a life that was in him. It was the life of the Lord Jesus Christ.

He had a life in him that had already conquered and he had learned how to walk in that life. He had he had a life in him, the life of Jesus Christ that had already triumphed and everything he was going through.

And he learned how to walk in that life and that grace. This man, Paul, and I really like verse twenty five, I like the last part of it. Look at verse twenty five again. Act 16, verse twenty five, and it says,.

And at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God and the prisoners heard them. Beloved, this is an incredible truth. What an incredible testimony of the hope and the life that Paul had in him in this situation.

See, in his songs of praise, Paul is telling the prisoners, Yes, I am in the same dilemma you are in. I'm going through the same crises and difficulties that you're going through, but I'm not like you.

There is a life in me that is greater and stronger than the hopelessness and the despair of this world. There is a hope in my heart that won't let me sink when everyone else is drowning around me in their misery.

And it's not me, but it's the grace and the life of God in me. This is the power of the gospel I preach lived out in my life. That's the testimony he's bringing to these prisoners. See, brothers and sisters, Paul said he said himself, he says, I'm not a great orator.

I'm not a great speaker. That's what Paul said in one of these letters. But Paul had something greater than a gift. He had the testimony of an overcoming life that was in Jesus Christ. Paul's very life was a sermon of the overcoming life of God that he preached.

His life was the sermon. Look with me in verse 26 again, says,. And suddenly there was a great earthquake. So that the foundation of the prison were shaken and immediately all the doors were open and everyone's bands were loose.

So the Bible says suddenly, as Paul and Silas are singing and praising the Lord in this, that there's an earthquake and all the prison doors open. And I want to ask you a question. What is God doing here?

Well, yes, we read it. He brought a shaking, a Holy Ghost shaking and the prison doors open. That's something that God was doing. He opened the prison door. But really, what was he doing here? The Lord was simply manifesting on the outside what had already taken place on the inside of Paul's heart.

Paul was a free man in his heart. Even in this, he was a free man in his heart. That yes, his hands were bound and his feet were bound, but his heart was free in the Lord. Brothers and sisters, let me ask you a question.

Why could Paul and Silas sing in such dark times? Because their hearts were free in this. And this story teaches me something. It teaches me what true freedom is in the Lord. True freedom isn't everything in your life is going well.

True freedom isn't that I can praise the Lord because I don't have no problems in my life. No, no. True freedom is no matter what I'm going through, there is a life in me that has already overcome. There's a life in me that has already triumphed.

And my confidence is in the faithfulness of my God. That is true freedom. See, if all your problems have to go away for you to feel peace and joy and rest, and I have my confidence in the Lord, then we don't really have the true freedom.

I'm just preaching my heart here. But when we can go through dark times and yet lift our hands and say, my God is faithful and I rest in the faithfulness of my God, then your heart is free. See, people ask me, Tim, what is true freedom?

And there's one word I give for true freedom. Rest when your heart is rested in the Lord, then you're free. And that's what Paul had here. God, when God opened up those present doors, he was simply manifesting on the outside what had already taken place in Paul's heart.

Paul was free. There's a lot of times Paul was in chain shackles. He was chained in shackles. We'll read it in a minute on a ship going to Rome. He was in in Rome, chained and shackled in his house. But you know what?

He was free. His heart was at rest in the faithfulness and the sovereignty of God. And I really like this verse 26. Again, the very last part says everyone's bands were loosed. Everyone's bad, just not Paul and Silas's bands were loose.

Everyone's bands were loosed. And this is this is what the Lord is saying, because Paul had a gospel and a grace that had the power to set his heart free in spite of the difficulties in his life. He had a gospel that had the power to set others free.

And I believe that this is what the Lord is telling his church, that when you truly possess a gospel that has the power to set your heart free, then you have a gospel that has the power to set other people free.

And in setting everyone loose, the Lord was making a very strong statement to the prisoners. The Lord wasn't just making a very strong statement to the church. He was making a very strong statement to the prisoners, those that were in prison.

And this is what God was speaking. This is what God was bearing witness in their hearts. This gospel, this life, this grace that my servant Paul possesses just isn't for Paul, but it's for all those who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This same life that you see in my servant, Paul, the same hope that you see in my servant, Paul, this same grace and strength that you see in my servant, Paul, it's just not for Paul, but it's for all those who call upon the name of my son and put their trust and confidence in the Lord.

This is what the Lord is saying to the prisoners. So we see again in Acts chapter 16, we see an incredible grace in Paul's life. We see a strength in him, an inner strength of God that didn't come from the natural resources in Paul's life.

Paul’s Faith During the Storm

I want to look at another scripture. Look with me. Acts chapter 27. Paul is on his way to Rome to be tried before Caesar. He's a prisoner. And as a prisoner, he's in the ship on his way to Rome. And verse 20 says, and when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.

But after long abstinence, Paul stood forth in the midst of them and said, sirs, you should have hearkened unto me and not have loose from Crete and to have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer, for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship.

For there stood by me this night the angel of the Lord, whom I am and whom I serve, saying, fear not, Paul, thou must be brought before Caesar. And though God has given thee them that sell with thee, wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer, for I believe God that shall be even as it was told me.

So here we see again an incredible picture of the grace that was in this man's life. He's on his way to Rome to be tried. And the Bible tells us that they fall into a storm. And when you really look at it, this storm is a horrendous storm.

It's of a hurricane proportion. And the Bible says that they were in this storm for many days. And they came to a point where all hope was lost. There was absolutely nothing but despair and misery and hopelessness and darkness and depression that was in the hearts of these men as they were fighting for their life.

And what I want us to understand is in this, Paul was in an incredible time of suffering, a horrendous time of suffering. See, Paul was with the prisoners. He was a prisoner. So we know that he was down in the prisoner's hold at the bottom of the ship.

And brothers and sisters, I know there was water flowing. And I know there were dead corpses floating around. And I know there were people dying. And I know there were people very sick and all kinds of stench and things floating on top of the water.

And Paul is at the bottom of the ship. But yet there was an incredible grace of God upon this man's life that wouldn't allow him to throw and cast away his confidence in the Lord. It was the grace of God in his life.

And in the midst of this horrendous suffering, there wasn't bitterness and there wasn't an accusation against God in Paul's heart. But there was just a strength in his heart, a faith in his heart to maintain his confidence in the Lord.

And the Lord puts a word in Paul's heart. And the Lord creates an opportunity for Paul to go and speak this word to these fearful men that are in their despair. And Paul comes and he speaks. He stands.

Paul stands on that boat in the incredible grace of God. And he begins to speak the word of God with authority. And there was so much authority in Paul's heart that the people knew this could only come from God.

This could only be the divine speaking through this man, Paul's life. And the people begin to incline their ear and they inclined their ear to the word of the Lord. And they find life. They find their salvation through the word, through Paul's life.

Again, we see Paul standing in an incredible grace. Brothers and sisters, what am I saying in all this? Paul walked in an incredible grace. When you go through the book of Acts, you see that the inner strength of God is in this man's life.

No man could have went through what Paul went through and came out with the same testimony that Paul had. It was because Paul, as Paul said, I am what I am by the grace of God and incredible grace upon this man's life.

Learning to Walk in God’s Grace

So let's ask a question. Let's ask a question. Looking at this grace, looking at this incredible strength of heart that Paul had. Let's ask the question, how do we learn to walk in this incredible grace?

How do we learn to walk in this incredible strength? Brothers and sisters, I've learned something in my own life. This is something that you learn. You learn to walk in this kind of grace. You learn to walk in this kind of strength.

You don't just have it. Yes, the power and the grace and the strength of the Lord is in here. But the Lord has to teach us how to walk in that power. He has to teach us how to be more than overcomers.

He has to teach us how to stand in our position. It's something that the Lord teaches us. See, we could look at Paul in these stories and we could say, I could never be like that. I could never. I could never be a Paul.

I could never go through the things that he did and come out with the same testimony he had. But Paul would be the first one to tell you that he wasn't great. God's grace was great. Paul would be the first one to tell you that I'm not anything extraordinary.

The grace of God is extraordinary. And I am what I am by the grace of God. So we have to ask a question again. OK, so how do we learn to walk in this incredible grace? How do we learn to walk in this incredible life and this overcoming life?

How do we learn to walk in the strength that we see that is in Paul's life? Well, there's a scripture that is really on my heart. The Lord put it upon my heart this week. And I just want you to go with me to Psalm chapter 144, Psalm 144.

Brothers and sisters, this is something I'm very passionate about because I've learned this in my life about learning to walk in the grace of God. And if I preach this morning, please just let me preach this morning because I'm very passionate about this.

This is something I have walked through with the Lord. So, again, how do we learn to walk in this incredible grace? How do we learn to walk in this overcoming life? I want you to look with me. Psalm 144, verse one.

Says, Blessed be the Lord, my strength, which teaches my hands to war and my fingers to fight. Notice in this verse, the Bible says the Lord teaches our hands to war and our fingers to fight. In other words, the Lord teaches his people how to stand in their position and not be moved by the accusations of the enemy.

The Lord teaches his people how to lay a hold of the grace of God and to press through the obstacles and the opposition. He teaches his people. The Lord teaches his people how to rest in their times of storm, great storm.

This is something that the Lord teaches his people. He teaches his people how to war and their fingers to fight. So we have to ask a question. Well, how does the Lord teaches these things? Well, I want you to look at Psalm 144 again and look at the very first thing that David says.

He says, Blessed be the Lord, my strength. Blessed be the Lord, my strength. Brothers and sisters, the lesson begins when we start understanding that God is my strength. The lesson begins when the Lord begins to teach us that, you know what, that your strength is not in yourself, but your strength is in the Lord.

Brothers and sisters, this is another reason, another powerful, vital reason for trials. This is another vital reason why the Lord has to allow difficulties and hardships and trials in our life, because as we walk through the trials with the Lord, we begin to understand, you know what, my strength is not in myself.

My strength is in the Lord. And it's as we begin to realize, as this humility comes into our heart, that I am not strong in myself, that I cannot walk through these things in my own strength, that I truly need the Lord.

The Bible says is this humility and this dependence comes into our heart. The Bible says God gives grace to the humble. And I've learned something in my own life, that the more humility the Lord works in my heart, the more that he truly causes my heart to understand my need for the Lord and my dependencies upon the Lord.

The more I understand that, the more his incredible grace begins to pick me up and lift me up and carry me in places that in my own strength I could never go. Brothers and sisters, this is the purpose of trials.

The purpose of trials is to show us that, you know what, you can't do it in your own strength and you need a strength that's greater than your strength. And as we go through these trials in the eyes of our hearts, start looking away from ourself and we begin to look more and more to God.

That's when the grace of God starts really being exalted in our life. How does the Lord teach our hands to warn our fingers to fight? How does he teach us to stand in his grace against whatever opposition comes?

How does he teach us to rest in our storms? He begins teaching us by showing us that my strength is not in myself, but my strength is in the Lord. Well, how does he do that? I don't know. It's different for each one of us.

I can't give you a formula how God does it. I just know he does it. He has his ways of showing you, you know what, you can't walk with me in your own strength. You can't be a man of God in your own strength.

You can't pray in your own strength. Now, turn your eyes upon me. And as we begin to look to the Lord, the grace of God becomes exalted and glorified in our life. First Corinthians, chapter 12, Paul, don't turn there.

Let me just speak. It talks about a thorn in the flesh. He talks about a messenger of Satan sent to buffet him, that the Lord allowed this messenger to keep Paul in a place of dependency. Paul said, unless I should be exalted because of the revelation, unless I should be proud because of the revelation that I'm getting from the Lord.

The Lord has given me a messenger of Satan to to buffet me in my flesh, to keep me always understanding my place of need in the Lord. And Paul writes, he says, for this thing, I besought the Lord three times that it might depart from me.

And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Then when Paul gets that revelation, Paul goes on to say, most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities and reproaches and necessities and persecutions and distresses for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. In other words, what Paul is saying, I've learned that whatever I'm going through, to find God's grace in it, to find God's strength in it, to find God's victory in it.

I'm no longer asking the Lord to take away my problems. Whenever great difficulties and hardships come into my life, I'm no longer asking the Lord, Lord, take my problems away, take my difficulties away.

But he's saying my prayer has now changed. My prayer is simply, Lord, show me your life in this. Lord, show me your grace in this. Lord, show me your strength in this. Lord, you said in your word that you provide a table for me in my wilderness, that you provide a table in the wilderness.

Lord, don't take my wilderness away. Show me the table. Show me your provision. Show me how to walk in the grace of God in the wilderness times of my life. Lord, I'm no longer asking you to take these away.

God, your grace is sufficient. Lord, I'm asking you to teach me to walk you through these things as an overcomer. Lord, I'm asking you to show me how to walk in victory. Lord, I'm asking you to let the realization in my own heart that you have triumphed over all things.

Be real in my own life in this. Brothers and sisters, I truly believe that if we are in a trial, I truly believe our prayer should be, Lord, teach me to find your grace in this. It's not always, Lord, take me out of this.

Lord, deliver me out of this. Lord, make a way out of this. But our prayer should be, Lord, there's a table in this wilderness. Teach me to be more than a conqueror. I know I'm not tired of saying it, tired of quoting it.

I wanted to be real in my life. Teach me to walk in your stream. Teach me to walk in your grace. And you know what? The Lord will do it. How will he do it? I don't know how he would do it. I know how he's done it in my life, but he deals with each of us differently.

But I know he has his ways of doing it. Amen. Amen. Amen. After looking at Paul's hardships, I feel like we have to end this way. When we look at Paul's life and ministry, it can cause us to shrink back.

If you've ever had a chance to hear Pastor Carter's message on the Corinthian problems, if you hadn't heard it, it's incredible and you need to hear it. It's an incredible sermon series. And he talks about how the Corinthians were offended at Paul.

They saw this hardship and the suffering and the difficulty of his ministry. And they did not want to follow this kind of example in Christ. And they were offended at it. And we can sometimes look at the hardships of these saints and sometimes we can want to shrink back from it.

Great Grace Produces Great Joy

But Brother Scissors, as I was looking at the life of Paul, there was something I saw. I saw a wonderful truth. And that is simply this. Where there is great grace, there is great joy. That in those times that we are having to walk in a great grace, what accompanies that great grace is a great joy.

Paul's life wasn't morbid. Paul's life was filled with joy and the joy of the Lord was his strength. Paul writing from a Roman prison, he writes to the Philippians, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. He says, rejoice in the Lord always.

And again, I say, rejoice. That again, there was a great grace and a great joy in Paul's life. Brothers and sisters, Paul was a man whose life abounded with joy because there was an overcoming life in him.

There was an all triumphant life in him. There was already a life in him that had already conquered all things. And that was the life of Christ. And Paul learned to let Christ live in him. He said, it's no longer me, but it's Christ who lives in me.

A lot of people say that, but very few people walk in that. Paul learned to let Christ live through him. And I believe it came from trials. I believe Paul learned that in trials. Paul says we were perplexed without measure.

We were distressed that the sentence of death was upon us. That the life that I live is now the life of Christ. It was through Paul's trials that he learned that Christ was his strength and allow that overcoming life to live through him.

Brothers and sisters, Paul was a man of great joy. And I'm telling you that in those times where we have to walk in a great grace, it's not a time to be fearful. We don't have to be fearful in those times because the presence of the Lord and the power of the gospel.

See, Paul saw something in his life, through his life, that very few people ever see. And that is the grace of God glorified in and through his life. Paul saw that. He saw the power of God glorified in his life.

And there was such a joy in Paul's life. So what am I saying this morning? Brothers and sisters, I'm saying that there is a great grace that for God's people to walk in. That we can be more than overcomers.

We can be all triumphant no matter what the enemy sends our way. Yes, I do believe we're human. There will be times of great discouragement. I believe there were times of great discouragement in Paul's life.

But ultimately, Paul triumphed in all things because there was an incredible inner strength, the grace of God in his life. And that grace of God just isn't for Paul. It's for the Lord's people too. And it's through our trials.

It's through our hardships that the Lord is teaching you, I have provided you a table in your wilderness. Don't always try to get out of your wilderness. Pray and ask me to show you that table. And I'll show you that table.

I'll show you my strength. I'll show you my joy. I'll show you my peace. I'll show you my victory. If you will just pray and ask. I'll teach you. I'll teach your hands to war and your fingers to fight.

I'll teach you to stand in your position and not be moved by these things. I'll teach you how to lay a hold of grace and press through and touch heaven with your purse. I'll teach you these things. So I want to set up for my altar call this morning.

David’s Strength Learned Through Trials

Brothers and sisters, do you understand the heart of the message this morning? The Lord wants to teach us like he taught Paul. Paul had to learn this. When David said, my strength is in the Lord, that revelation just didn't come to him.

He had to learn it through his trials. And if you go to Psalm 116, we won't go there. You find an incredible passage of scripture. Psalm 116, you find three things. David says, the sorrows of death has overcome me and over flooded me.

And he's in a place where he knows if my strength cannot keep me floating upon this river of adversity, I am going to sink. But then it says, and I called out unto the Lord and the Lord came down and shook heaven and earth.

In other words, the Lord will always answer the prayers of his saints, those kind of desperate prayers by moving heaven and earth. But if you look at the last part of chapter 116, he says, the Lord has put my enemies under my feet.

The Lord has made me like hinds feet to go through a truth. The Lord has put a sword in my hand to cut down my enemies. In other words, what you see is David moving into a new realm of strength now. He was at a place down here saying, oh God, this is too much for me.