Psalm 70
70 Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O Lord.
2 Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul: let them be turned backward, and put to confusion, that desire my hurt.
3 Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha.
4 Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.
5 But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O Lord, make no tarrying.
The Desert Fathers
The Desert Fathers made a short prayer from part of this psalm. “O Lord, make haste to help me.” The much shorter version is “Help!” The Desert Fathers used to repeat these prayers continuously when they had an urgent need for God’s help.
The Evil One
You may be tempted to use these prayers when you are in a trade that is moving rapidly against you. However, you should resist that temptation. The purpose of these prayers was to gain help in resisting The Evil One. In The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6: 9-13, KJV), verse 13 “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil . . . ” speaks to the same issue.
Money Use
Why is resisting evil important to a trader? One reason it’s important as a trader to resist evil is because of the potentially large amounts of money available to the winning trader. If you use this money in any way that deviates from God’s purposes for it, evil wins. This is the case with even small amounts of money.
God’s Money
How do you discern God’s purposes for your money? Very carefully. You need to be cautious because after all “it’s your money” and more importantly God’s expectations may break the traditional mold of money usage. In addition to using money for the necessities of family, housing, food, clothes etc., you may be asked to prioritize money for your spiritual growth or for assisting the spiritual and/or developmental growth of others.
Life’s Purpose
Why is your spiritual growth so important? According to major world religions, including Christianity, spiritual growth is our life’s purpose. Don’t let evil steer you from your spiritual path. Remember, your money is God’s money.