Pastor Fredo Ramos: For whatever reason, I have always struggled to pray. And so as this new year begins and as many of you think about new routines that you wanna give yourself to, especially for those of you who follow Jesus, I wanna invite you to learn to pray the Psalms with us. It's a practice I picked up years ago that really saved, my ability to learn to pray, to speak to God honestly about how I was feeling and what I was thinking. And so every single day on sandalschurch.tv on YouTube, we're gonna be releasing, praying the Psalms, a Psalm a day. We started in January 1, and every day you're gonna get a new Psalm with the opportunity to read the Psalm with us, to reflect on a phrase, and then to respond to God in prayer, how to pray through the Psalms.
This has been a gift to me in my own journey with Jesus. I pray that it's a gift to you, and so would you join us. Grace and peace.
Dani Crowley: Let's continue our journey through the Psalms today by reading Psalm 55. Says, listen to my prayer, oh god. Do not ignore my cry for help. Please listen and answer me, for I am overwhelmed by my troubles. My enemies shout at me, making loud and wicked threats.
They bring trouble on me and angrily hunt me down. My heart pounds in my chest. The terror of death assaults me. Fear and troubling overwhelm me, and I can't stop shaking. Oh, that I had wings like a dove, then I would fly away and rest.
I would fly far away to the quiet of the wilderness. How quickly I would escape far from this wild storm of hatred. Confuse them, Lord, and frustrate their plans, for I see violence and conflict in the city. Its walls are controlled day and night against invaders, but the real danger is wickedness within the city. Everything is falling apart.
Threats and cheating are rampant in the streets. It is not the enemy who taunts me. I could bear that. It is not my foes who are so angrily who so angrily insult me. I could have hidden from them.
It said it's you, my equal, my companion, and close friend. What good fellowship we once had and enjoyed as we walked together to the house of God. Let death stalk my enemies. Let the grave swallow them alive, for evil makes its home within them. But I will cry.
I will call on God, and the Lord will rescue me. Morning, noon, and night, I cry out in my distress, and the Lord hears my voice. He ransoms me, and he keeps me safe from the battle waged against me, though many still oppose me. God who has ruled forever will hear me and humble them. For my enemies refuse to change their ways.
They do not fear God. As for my companion, he betrayed his friends. He broke his promises. His words are as smooth as butter, but in his heart is war. His words are as soothing as lotion, but underneath are daggers.
Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall, but you, oh God, will send the wicked down to the pit of destruction. Murderers and liars will die young, but I am trusting you to save me. Now if you've been following and reading through, the last few Psalms, this is kind of like the seventeenth bajillion time that David has been complaining about the wickedness around him and life falling apart, and he just really seems to be in a bad way. And, I'll be honest.
I read this, and I'm kind of like, David, get it together. Like, we get it. It's been tough, but, like, you trust in the Lord. Like, let's let's let's cool it. But he's persistent.
He's adamant. And he doesn't let his own exhaustion of his own sadness, the fatigue of the wickedness that's around him stop him from coming to the Lord and pleading on behalf of now not even just the people around him, but himself. He's been betrayed by a friend, and he's coming to God. And we see over the course of this Psalm and and the Psalms in general how his prayers soothe his heart. He starts with these these words that are really, strong.
They're kind of biting. And over the course, he his focus changes, and it moves to but the Lord. But the Lord is good. But the Lord will save me. But I trust in the Lord.
And I think that that's a reminder for us that even in times when we are tired of our own stuff, when we are tired of our own sadness, our own depression, our own anxiety, our own, problems just in life, we continue to come to the Lord in prayer and we find, solace in these moments with him. And so let's do that now. Let's go to the Lord and let's pray. Jesus, we come to you just again knowing that we need you, that we, have nothing without you. We actually have a lot of problems.
And, god, we're just thankful that you don't get tired of hearing of our problems, that you're not like me that gets tired of hearing about the lamenting over and over and over again. But you welcome with open arms, and and God you comfort us. And so I pray that for those of us who, have been in long seasons of, just struggle, long seasons of maybe deep and, deep emotions that are hard to navigate and and bear, God, that you would bring comfort and solace to them today, that they would, find new strength as as we pray, together even now, that they would sense your comfort, your peace, God, that they would, find new strength again just in your presence. So we love you, Jesus, and we thank you for who you are in your presence to us, and we pray this all in your name. Amen.