Daily Bread:  Thoughts and Prayers from Psalm 4

Answer me when I call!
If you’ve ever wondered whether God hears you when you pray,
Psalm 4 will encourage your heart to keep sitting at His feet and
talking with Your Father.  He hears YOU!

I’ve been thinking how important our testimonies are.
Not just the stories of how we met Jesus, but the EVERYDAY kind of testimonies of His goodness, His kindness toward us, His unfailing love and faithfulness, the beauty of His creation, and on and on.

The book of Psalms is just that!  
A book full of David’s (mostly) every day testimonies…
I learned just recently that the word meaning “to witness” in Hebrew is in English letters- ed (eye ehd).
And the word eduth, “to testify”, comes from the same root.
The 2 Hebrew letters that make this word full of meaning are:
Ayin– to see, to know, to experience
Dalet– pathway, door, place of decision
And so to TESTIFY literally means to declare what you have seen, known, or experienced, in this case the things of God, opening a door to a place of decision.

As we read these Psalms, know that they are a TESTIMONY of our God!
They opened a door to a place of decision to TRUST God with all moments of life for David…for those who sang these songs upon ascent… and for all of us reading them TODAY!

If you are feeling utterly alone in your heartbreak and circumstance,
you might be comforted to know that David writes this Psalm as he is fleeing for his life…. from the pursuit by his very own son who is intent on killing him.  It was a pretty awful situation, and his pain must have flooded the deepest parts of his being.

David didn’t ignore his grief… his fear…
Or the goodness of God!
He takes all of the emotion and BOLDLY goes to his God.
He knows His Lord, and he knows his identity in Him.

He first asks for RELIEF, for MERCY, and to be HEARD.
Isn’t that what we all long for in times of suffering?
He cautions his enemies of the lies they believe.

AND…he testifies of God’s power and his own RIGHT relationship with Him.
He reminds himself, and all those with him, to keep a pure heart in the midst of this trial,
and exhorts everyone to TRUST God!

And just wait till you read the last words he pens in this song…

Pray Psalm 4 with me~

LORD
We remember the way You have delivered
Your people in the past,
and the way You have shown them great mercy.
Our only righteousness rests in you.
Find us as sons and daughters after Your own heart,
be  MERCIFUL  to us,
just as You were to David,
and  HEAR our prayers…
Distress is rising and we’re calling out to You!

We KNOW
Though the world rebels against You,
You have set apart the godly for Yourself
You hear when we call to You
You fill our heart with greater joy
You make us dwell in safety

I WILL
Search my own heart and be silent
when chaos prevails
Offer You sacrifices that are right
Tame my anger and not sin against You
Trust in You
and gladness will fill my heart
I will lie down and sleep in peace

LORD
You are good
Let the light of Your face shine upon us !
Let the JOY of Your unfailing love fill us
until Truth pushes out the distress we are in.

We thank you for Your loving kindness…
That we may be called Your beloved.
That you do indeed hear our cries, and hold us close to your heart.
Though the world may be pressing us from every side, we can always rest in you and be glad!

You can read (or listen) to Psalm 4  HERE  .

Praying Psalm 5  is next !

~Praying the Psalms Table of Contents~

–Psalm 1
–Psalm 2 & 3
–Psalm 4
–Psalm 5
–Psalm 6 & 7
–Psalm 8
–Psalm 9
–Psalm 10
–Psalm 11
–Psalm 12
–Psalm 13
–Psalm 14
–Psalm 15
–Psalm 16
–Psalm 17
–Psalm 18
–Psalm 19
–Psalm 20
–Psalm 21
–Psalm 22
–Psalm 23
–Psalm 24
–Psalm 25
–Psalm 26
–Psalm 27
–Psalm 28
–Psalm 29
–Psalm 30
–Psalm 31
–Psalm 32
–Psalm 33
–Psalm 34
–Psalm 35
–Psalm 36

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