Now this I know:
The Lord gives victory to his anointed.
He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary
with the victorious power of his right hand.
Lord, give victory to the king!
Answer us when we call!
- Psalm 20:6, 9

David mentions "victory" four times in this psalm. In his context, the victories he had in mind were literal military victories. Armies marched to destroy God's fledgling community and battles were pitched on mountainsides and in rocky valleys. David knew that for his people to experience victory, they would need help from a mighty and powerful God.

Have we kept that conviction?

Few of us will ever be asked to fight literal violent battles. We ski on our mountainsides and build homes in our rocky valleys. Our conflicts rarely rise to the life-and-death level. And yet we pray this psalm. Why?

We find ourselves in situations that require a power that is beyond us. We stare down dragons of addiction. We wade in against the forces of greed and lethargy and apathy that would enslave us. We sprint down the mountain and throw ourselves into the fray for those who need to be rescued from sins' dark grasp. And in all this, we find ourselves overmatched.

If you live the adventurous life God calls you to, you will find yourself at times in desperate need for what David called "victorious power of the Lord's right hand." The plan isn't for you to play it safe, staying always within your limits. God invites us and expects us to put ourselves out there ... and then to pray this prayer: "Lord, give victory! Answer us when we call!"

Look around your life. Are you living the kind of life that gives you opportunities for you to call out for God's victorious power? Where do you need to step out and take a risk, trusting that the Lord gives victory and answers?