Surviving the Hard Times

In Psalm 143, David helps us understand how to pray and survive the rough seasons of life. Life can be hard, but prayer still reaches every single situation.

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Transcript

Press means to apply force. When God said press, prayer reaches every single situation. He gave us permission to apply force to every situation that we will go through.

And in this podcast, we are going to learn to apply force to what's applying pressure to us. Greetings, everybody. Welcome to the Press Podcast.

I'm grateful you're joining me today. We're going to the book of Psalms, chapter 143. We're going to end our journey through Psalms for now through here.

I am grateful to God for this journey so far. If you haven't been listening to the Press Podcast, make sure you go back and check out the other prayers that the Bible has taken us through so far. And if you've never been on this journey, this is a great place to join.

So, Psalms 143. The Bible says, Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me. My heart within me is desolate.

I remember the days of old. I meditate on all thy works. I muse on the work of thy hands.

A stretch forth mine hands into thee. My soul thirsteth after thee as a thirsty land, Selah. Hear me speedily, O Lord.

My spirit faileth. Hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit. Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning, for in thee do I trust.

Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk, for I lift up my soul unto thee. Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies. I flee unto thee to hide me.

Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God. Thy spirit is good. Lead me into the land of uprightness.

Quicken me, O Lord, for thy name's sake. For thy righteousness' sake, bring my soul out of trouble. And of thy mercy, cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul, for I am thy servant.

The Bible doesn't tell us when this prayer was written. It does say that it was a Psalm of David. David is masterful concerning how to talk to God when you're in a fight.

You see it so many times in the book of Psalms. You even see it throughout the Old Testament in other writings concerning David. He knew what to do when he was being opposed.

He knew what to say. He knew the posture God wanted him to take on in a fight. When I consider that, I think about how today it is a constant fight for the saints of God.

There is always something it feels like opposing us. And as the day of the Lord is approaching, as the time of his coming is approaching, we find that the battle in our lives gets more intense. There is a wearing out of the saints that the enemy wants to try to do.

And so it's important that we take from those that have gone before us how we talk to God in our fights. David shows us here. He starts off, hear me, O Lord, hear my prayer.

Give ear to my begging. And he makes it always, always, always about God. There's a worship in thy faithfulness, answer me, in thy righteousness.

This is not a scenario where he comes to God accusing him or fighting God. No, he comes rather humbly, recognizing you've been faithful, you've been righteous. And that's the place I'm asking you to hear me from, because you could judge me.

That's what he recognizes in the scripture. You could judge me. You have the right to judge me and you would be justified.

But I'm asking you not to do that, because God, if that's the place you answer us from, who can stand? Who's going to make it? I need you to stay merciful. I need you to let your mercy talk. Let your righteousness talk.

From there, God, meet me. Why? Because the enemy is fighting for my soul. My soul is in trouble.

I'm on the verge of being taken out. God is trying to kill me. And it makes me feel like I'm so empty inside.

I'm so desolate. My spirit is overwhelmed within me. When I'm sitting here overwhelmed, I'm thinking about the good old times.

I meditate on all thy works. In this alone, there is a key to surviving the down times. And the major key that the New Testament gives us to surviving the down times is something that we see David acting out, even in the old.

He begins to tell us what to think about. The Bible says, Be careful for nothing, in Philippians 4 and 6. But in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good reports, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things which ye have both learned and received and heard and seen in me do, and the God of peace shall be with you. Paul tells the Philippian church how to keep your peace.

How do you keep your mind at one? The word peace often means at one. How do I keep it together? In a day where our minds are falling apart, and yes, there are fights on every side, the key to keeping it together is deciding that you have a decision to make concerning what you think about. You do not have to think about everything that comes to your mind.

You can say, no, I am going to pray. I'm going to make my supplications to God, but I'm going to do it with thanksgiving. And when you do that, it triggers your mind to remember.

You can't give thanks properly without a memory. Not to God you can't, because you have to remember, even if you start mumbling, well, thank you for waking me up this morning. If your memory will attach to the fact he didn't have to do it, you'll figure out he's been a good guy.

The Bible tells you what to think about. I challenge you today, as you're going through the day, no matter what is fighting your heart or mind, no matter what your struggle is, think about these things. If it doesn't come on the list that Philippians 4 just gave us, then you need to say, I don't have to think about this.

I can give God thanks in spite of this. And watch God keep his promises of keeping your mind in perfect peace. As I said, this is an Old Testament principle with a New Testament explanation that Paul gives us and strategy of how to keep your mind together.

So back to Psalms, David said, I muse on the work of thy hands. I sit here and I just think and ponder on, and I'm amazed at the work of your hands. I stretch forth my hands to thee, my soul thirsteth after thee as a thirsty land.

It is important that we know what we're chasing when we're in trouble, meaning what do you really want? Is it really God you want on the other side of this trouble? Because sometimes we just want to get out of trouble. Or sometimes if there was another way, we could have our trouble resolved, but not have to go the God route, we'd take that too. But when God is what you want, the scriptures prove to us God is what you will get.

When you're thirsty for him, he comes for you. The Psalmist goes on, hear me speedily, O Lord, my spirit faileth. Hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go into the pit.

I love that David is so transparent in sharing the way he truly feels. God, I'm falling apart here. I feel like I'm going down into a pit.

But you, I'm looking for your love and kindness in the morning. I may toil all night, but God, just in the morning, let me hear you. Let me hear your love.

Let me hear your mercy, for I trust in you. Show me the way I should go, because I'm giving my all. I'm giving who I am.

I'm giving what I am. I'm giving the very depths of my being, my soul, to you. And deliver me, O God, because you've become my hiding place.

Where you run in trouble is key. Some people run to Google. Some people run to family members.

Some people run to past errors or past coping mechanisms. But the psalmist here wrote, I hide myself in you. I'm coming to you to hide me.

And I want you to teach me. Teach me how to follow you, because you're God. You're good.

Lead me in the way I should go. David teaches us throughout the Psalms that it's not just about the moment. It's about the walk.

He doesn't just want out of trouble. He wants to know how to walk right from here. And that is his prayer.

God, show me how to walk. Show me the path I should go. I want to go where you want me to go.

And do it for your namesake and for your righteousness, because I already know I don't deserve it. I need to mercy God. But I'm asking you, you fight for me.

You destroy all my enemies for your namesake. At the end of the day, it's not even about me. It's about you.

It's your righteousness. It's your justness. It's your faithfulness.

It's your mercy. It's because of who you are. Your servant is asking you to do this.

He doesn't take the posture of a king or a warrior or a prophet. But at the end of the day, I am nothing without you. Today, take these lessons and these principles from David.

If you're in a fight, get your mind ready for this fight by giving God thanks, by remembering who he is, by focusing on the things that are lovely, that are pure, that he's already done. Don't let anything make you forget who's been there before. Because if you can just remember who's been there before, you know who will be there today.

And you can be confident he'll be there tomorrow. I pray that you remember God today, that you understand he wants to fight for you, and that he'll do it because that's who he is when we humble ourselves before him. Be blessed and remember to pray today because prayer reaches every single situation.

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Visit us at PressToPray.com or find us on Instagram or Facebook. Did you know that when you are quiet, your voice is missing to God's ears? I know some of us have prayed and were wondering, how long should I pray about this? Why should I pray if God already knows? How will I know God is answering? And what do I do when I feel like God's not listening? But God is listening for your voice. It's too quiet in this world for the troubles we have.

You have to raise your voice and God wants to hear from you. It's Too Quiet, a book about prayer, is designed to answer your prayer questions and build your faith. Visit PressToPray.com

Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.