Does God hear my prayers? How can I trust in God when I am surrounded by trouble?
Beloved, it seems like with each passing day, life gets harder, and the world gets darker. So how are we to pray?
In this blog post we will explore how Psalm 4 gives us a blueprint on how to pray for God’s help, and encouragement that He hears and answers prayers. We will also get some clues on how we can pray for our enemies, and for the world during these difficult times.
We look to the Psalms for encouragement because the writers of the Book of Psalms also walked through great trials, and yet had faith to turn to God for strength and protection.
Often times they experienced great miracles of deliverance and the intimacy found in a close relationship with their Lord and Maker.
However we also learn that sometimes the Lord doesn’t deliver us out of the trial. It’s in these times especially, that we need to strengthen our hearts with the truth of His word:
“I will lie down and sleep in peace for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”
Psalm 4:8 NIV
In this Psalm David recounts the great faithfulness of God towards him in the past, even though David at times lived a very troubled and turbulent life.
David trusted in God. And we would be wise to do the same. His wisdom is way beyond what we can comprehend, and in His mercy, His love can be felt even in the most challenging of times.
When we reflect on how the Lord has delivered us in the past, we can be encouraged He will do it again.
Here are some of the prayer and meditation points that inspired me during this video.
I hope they are helpful to you as you anchor your heart in the truth that your Lord hears you and is able to give you peace in the midst of your trials.
- God helps us in our time of need
- Only God is able to give us peace when we lie down and rest
- We can ask Him to reveal His glory and beauty to others
- We should pray for our enemies, that they would see God and be changed, for the better ;).
- It?s powerful to remind ourselves of how God has delivered us in the past.
If you don’t have a bible with you, you’ll find Psalm 4 right below this video. Please take a moment to read over the Psalm and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal God’s heart for you as you watch the video.
Psalm 4 An evening prayer of trust in God.
For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have relieved me in my distress;
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.
O sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach?
How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception? Selah.
But know that the Lord has set apart the godly man for Himself;
The Lord hears when I call to Him.
Tremble, and do not sin;
Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,
And trust in the Lord.
Many are saying, ?Who will show us any good??
Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O Lord!
You have put gladness in my heart,
More than when their grain and new wine abound.
In peace I will both lie down and sleep,
For You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
In this practice of reading and praying through the Psalms we are growing in our knowledge of the Holy one, who loves you dearly, and gave His life for us, that we would be able to draw near to Him in this life and into eternity.
Even though King David was mainly referring to the Lord, when we see the Father, we see the Son, and when we see the Son, we get glimpses of the Holy Spirit. This is why we can have confidence that as we feast on the scriptures, and what they teach us about the character of God, it?s all valuable to us.
Free Resource: Psalms 4 Commentary from Wesley
Today’s free resource, a line by line commentary on Psalm 4 on Studylight.org, is from the 1700’s Poet Charles Wesley. You’ll find it’s a simple resource that takes a few key words from each verse and illuminates them so we see their meaning more clearly, and can apply them better to our lives.
In Psalm 4 we’ve learned that God hears our prayers and…
- God makes room for us when we are in trouble
- Even if everyone is against us, God is still with us
- Even when everyone is wondering who will do us any good, you know that God works on your behalf
- You see Him because of His mercy towards you, and you can ask the Lord to reveal Himself to others with confidence, because He does hear your prayers
- Many others ?aim at deceit?, you can pray for the Lord to open their eyes to the truth
- God ?puts? joy into your heart. How magnificent is that ?
- Even in the hardest times, God is able to give you peace when you lie down and sleep.
Beloved, aren?t you glad that you have faith in Jesus Christ. And if you haven’t accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, let me encourage you to read this post to learn more about what it means to “be saved“.
What part of Psalm 4 spoke to you? I?d love to hear what you thought and how the Holy Spirit is revealing the character of God to you. Please share your comments below.
p.s. If you’ve been following along this video series, you’ll find that this video is a bit more “creative”! Let me know what you think in the comments below :).
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