You have laid hold of a most needful petition, and one that runs close to the heart of all spiritual wisdom. The desire that a meeting should go well according to God’s plans, and not be marred by wicked schemes, is nothing less than a plea to be guided by that unerring counsel which brings angelic protection. He who travels on the King’s Highway is under the King’s protection; but he who leans to his own understanding may well stumble into the byroads where robbers lie in wait. You do well, then, to commit the whole matter to Him who frustrates the devices of the crafty.
Let this mind be in you, that the old way which wicked men have trod is marked by unbelief and self-trust. They think themselves secure in their own stratagems, but sudden destruction overtakes them, sweeping away their very foundations. Their schemes, though they seem to prosper for a season, are built upon nothing solid. When you cry for protection from such plots, you are asking to be kept in the way of childlike trust in providential guidance. This is the path where safety is guaranteed, for the Lord gives His angels charge over you. How much safer it is to bow in submission to the will of God, for by that very act we are furnished with unerring guidance.
Remember the pattern of the early church, where many were gathered together praying. That meeting at the house of Mary was not a lecture, not a debate, but a season wholly devoted to prayer. There is mighty power when the saints unite with one accord to seek the Lord’s will and to bind the enemy’s hands. Your present concern for today’s meeting echoes that spirit. Do not go forth in haste, which authors much mischief, but wait upon the Lord until you know what He would have you do. Ask Him to guide every word, every silence, every decision, and then trust Him to expose or forestall any wicked design. Your very prayer is an arrow shot into the dark counsel of the ungodly.
Rest in this: the God who has taught you the great principles of His Word, to avoid all evil, to do justly, and to love mercy, will not leave you unaided. The Lord never charged His angels to keep His people in all their ways if they did not need protection in all their ways. This protection is as perpetual as it is personal. Therefore, enter that meeting with a quiet heart. The old way of the wicked cannot stand against the prayers of the righteous and the sovereign purpose of the Most High. Let your expectation be from Him alone, and your end shall be according to His plans, sealed with His peace.