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FEAR GRIPPED MY HEART and beads of perspiration popped out on my forehead as I feverishly ran my fingers over what felt like a lump in my body. How I dreaded that monthly self-examination the doctor had suggested. My fingertips were as cold as ice from the panic I had worked up just thinking about what I might find, and the turn my life would take from there. On that particular day it turned out to be a false alarm, but the dread of what I might find in the coming months was constantly in the back of my mind until this promise came alive in my heart. If you fight fears of fatal diseases, then this is the Scripture for you to take hold of. You will not be afraid of the pestilence that stalks in darkness. –Psalm 91:6 The third category of evil that God names in Psalm 91 is pestilence. This is the only evil He names twice! Since God doesn’t waste words, He must have a specific reason for repeating this promise. Have you noticed when a person says something more than once, it is usually because he wants to emphasize a point? God knew the pestilence and the fear that would be running rampant in these end days. The world is teeming with fatal epidemics that are hitting people by the thousands, so God catches our attention by repeating this promise. It’s as though God is saying, “I said it in verse three, but did you really hear Me? Just to be sure, I am saying it again in verse six--you do not have to be afraid of the deadly pestilence!”This is so contrary to the world in which we live that we have to renew our thinking before we can comprehend the fact we do not have to be afraid of the sicknesses and diseases that are epidemic in the world today. When I first started studying this psalm, I remember thinking, “I don’t know whether I have the faith to believe these promises!” This thought stretched my faith and my mind until I thought it would snap like a rubber band that was being pulled too tightly. God, however, reminded me that faith is not a feeling. Faith is simply choosing to believe what He says in His Word. The more I chose to believe God’s Word, the more I had a knowing I could trust and rely on it completely. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will not pass away. –Mark 13:31 Our inheritance is not limited to what is handed down to us genetically from our ancestors. Our inheritance can be what Jesus provided for us if we believe the Word and put it to work. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law having become a curse for us... –Galatians 3:13 The pestilence mentioned here in Psalm 91 is spelled out in detail in Deuteronomy 28.This scripture in Galatians tells us we are redeemed from every curse (including pestilence), if we will simply believe and appropriate the promise. In Bible days when they mentioned pestilence, they were thinking of diseases like leprosy. Luke 21:11 states that part of the signs of the end times is an outbreak of pestilence. And, today we have many widespread diseases such as AIDS, cancer, heart disease, coronavirus... But, no matter what pestilence we might be facing, His promise never ceases to be true. The enemy may try to cause sudden surprises to catch us unaware and knock us down, but God is faithful. His Word is true no matter what the circumstances look like. I shudder to think what we might open ourselves up to without the promise of Psalm 91 and without the determination to stand firm and refuse to entertain fearful thoughts. I wish I had kept a diary through the years of the healing miracles that I have seen personally. I remember the night our son was born and we were told he had a lung disease and could not be taken out of the incubator, even to be fed. After we got over the initial shock, God seemed to just drop faith in our hearts and there was never another question in our minds whether or not he would be normal. Two perfectly healthy lungs demonstrated God’s healing power. I remember when Mary Ann, a friend of mine with three incurable diseases, was practically carried into one of my Bible study meetings and laid on the couch. Her little eighty-seven pound body looked beyond hope, but the group prayers that morning incited a miracle and thirty years later she still lives. She often shows the picture on her old driver’s license to illustrate the shocking difference in her appearance. I remember the night that a member of the staff at the Texas Youth Commission approached my husband and daughter. He had been listening to their Bible studies each Monday night and wanted prayer. Two tests showed his unborn child to have Down’s syndrome, but he and his wife had chosen against the recommendation to have the baby aborted and just wanted Jack and Angie to pray for them as parents. Instead, they asked if they could pray that God would bring forth a miracle. Several months later his wife gave birth to a completely whole and healthy baby. Time and space prevents my sharing all the wonderful miracles I have witnessed through the years—some instantaneous, some through a miracle process, but all brought about by the hand of God. What we allow our mind to dwell on is our choice. Therefore, if we desire to operate in this protection covenant, taking authority over negative thoughts and emotions is imperative. It is amazing how the simple phrase, “I am just not going there,” will dispel those fears immediately. I’m sure this promise of protection from plagues and pestilence reminds you of Israel’s complete immunity from the Egyptian plagues in the land of Goshen. The destroyer could not come in where the blood was applied. The Bible claims that over one million people in the wilderness did not get sick. Even before the completed work on the cross, the Old Testament covenant declared, “You will not be afraid of the pestilence that stalks in darkness--it will not approach you.” -Peggy Joyce Ruth Start Praying Psalm Today Get the Book!
18 Comments
Connie
3/23/2020 11:06:52 am
I don’t understand psa 91. Who is he protecting? Christians get it the virus. How can u believe he protects. Some die. Some don’t. Feel like I pray it and hope my family are the lucky ones.
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Peggy Joyce Ruth Ministies
3/23/2020 02:26:50 pm
Connie, thank you for your questions. I know the world feels crazy right now but that is exactly why God put Psalm 91 in the Bible, for times like these. The enemy tries to makes death and disease seem random and uncontrollable. His goal is to keep us from believing that God's promise are true and that they work. That is why we believe it is so important to declare Psalm 91 out loud everyday over yourself and family until you feel the fear and shaking of this season leave and you feel God's peace and confidence come over you. We have seen God do so many miracles over the years; from healing people from their death beds to supernaturally protecting people in war zones. After praying Psalm 91, believing God, and seeing Him come through time and time again it becomes easier to trust God and enemies lies shake us less and less. Hope this helps.
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Marilyn
4/7/2020 06:18:34 pm
I’ve read every book and post you’ve written. Could you please continue to collect and post new psalm 91 stories? Thank you so much and God’s blessings on you.
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PJR Ministries
4/30/2020 08:51:30 am
Hi Marilyn,
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Tracey Luna
5/6/2020 10:07:19 pm
Thank you for your Psalm 91 Books...for children and Adults...I am reading it again...I have purchased several off amazon and have given them away...I am a Christian Mental Health Nurse Practitioner...and I use your books to help my patients who struggle with fear... May God continue to bless you, your family and your ministry....
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PJR Ministries
5/7/2020 11:02:59 am
Thrilled to hear from you. Thank you for sharing the Good News of Psalm 91 with others with deep needs.
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6/6/2020 08:58:21 am
I met a lady 4 yrs ago from brownwood tx. She recently posted she wished the churches would get together & pray for her city. They had in the past. I dont know if you're from brownwood. I was looking for a bible bookstore while I was here visiting my mother when I came across this site.
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PJR Ministries
6/8/2020 03:18:03 pm
Hi Kim,
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GraciaWiggins
6/20/2020 06:06:54 am
What scripture verse in Psalm 91,do I need to stand on? A business man owes me and my husband money. Because, of.Covid he said.he cannot make the monthly payments to us. He changed his cell no. And he avoids us. This makes me sooo mad. My husband trusted.him because he was a christian
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PJR Ministries
6/23/2020 01:16:30 pm
Gracia,
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John Paul
3/12/2021 06:14:07 pm
My dad and I both prayed the 91st psalm always every day. When my dad was dying here at home in hospice{where he and I wanted him to be} I know it gave him peace during these hard times. Aside from heart failure,he had severe dementia and fears of dying towards the end. I often showed him his water baptism certificate,and reminded my dad Philip he was a child of God,and satin could not lay his evil hands on my father. I have many unanswered questions of God,but I still make a conscious effort to trust Him through the pain,lonliness,and confusion. I know the Lamb of God Jesus is worthy to be praised.
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PJR Ministries
3/16/2021 09:33:25 am
I'm so thankful you had Psalm 91 to share with your dad during his last days on the earth. I pray that your heart heals, according to Isaiah 53:4-5, Jesus bore your grief. May God become more and more real with a tangible presence when you worship Him. Psalm 34:18. He loves you. I believe He will help you during these days of healing and give you hope and peace that surpasses human understanding. If you would fill out this, I have something I'd like to mail to you. https://www.peggyjoyceruth.org/contact-us.html PJR Ministries Team
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PJ Ruth
3/16/2021 01:32:58 pm
I am assuming your father was elderly. We know in this life everyone has a time to be born and finally a time to die and go home to live eternally with him if we have made Him our Lord. . If your dad was elderly, it appears that he was ready to go home to his eternal reward. I do not see this as a defeat, but a victory.
I have been ill for nearly 9 months and I just seem to get worse every day. I have lost so much weight that I'm all skin and bone. I pray Psalm 91 daily plus other prayers. I ask God to guide me and to tell me if there is something he wants me to do for healing. I just get silence.
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PJR Ministries
3/16/2021 09:46:52 am
Mary,
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PJR Ministries, thank you for your prayers, this gives me hope. I listened to the healing series some time ago and will be listening to it again. I looked at 1 Peter 2:24 and I mistakenly thought this referred to spiritual healing. I am now reading Psalm 103:3.
PJ Ruth
3/16/2021 01:35:26 pm
There can be reasons why a healing is delayed. Do you have a Godly pastor or a ministry leader near by that you trust to hear the Lord? God's Word does not fail. The problem is never on God's end. I would suggest seeking Godly counsel. When I have had a sickness that seemed to hang on, I have gone to God and acknowledged that I knew the problem was not on His end and then sincerely asked Him to show me what I might be doing wrong. His Word says, "Ask and the answer will be given." After you sincerely ask in faith, then believe Him to answer. Begin thanking Him for the answer. Remember the failure is never on His end so get excited about doing whatever has to be done to hear His answer.
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