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
Pastor Fredo Ramos: of you who follow Jesus,
Pastor Fredo Ramos: 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 1st and every day you're gonna get a new psalm, but 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. Pray some peace.
Pastor Fredo Ramos: We continue in praying through the Psalms and, today we come to Psalm 31. David writes, oh Lord, I have come to you for protection. Don't let me be disgraced. Save me for you do what is right. Turn your ear to listen to me.
Rescue me quickly. Be my rock of protection, a fortress where I will be safe. You are my rock and my fortress. For the honor of your name, lead me out of this danger. Pull me from the trap of my enemies.
Verse 5, I entrust my spirit into your hand. One of my favorite verses actually, from a favorite Psalm. I entrust my spirit into your hand. Rescue me Lord, for you are a faithful God. Verse 6, I hate those who worship worthless idols.
I trust in the Lord. I will be glad and rejoice in your unfailing love. Down at verse 9, have mercy on me Lord for I am in distress. Tears blur my eyes. My body and soul are withering away.
Down to verse 12, I am ignored as if I were dead, as if I were a broken pot. I have heard that many rumors are about me, and I am surrounded by terror. My enemies conspire against me, plotting to take my life, but I am trusting you, oh lord, saying you are my God, my future is in your hands. Another translation says my times are in your hands. Rescue me from those who hunt me down relentlessly.
Verse 19, how great is the goodness you have stored up for those who fear you. Verse 21, praise the lord for he has shown me the wonders of his unfailing love. In panic, I cried out, I am cut off from the lord, but you heard my cry for mercy. And then verse turn verse 23, love the Lord, all you godly ones, for the Lord protects those who are loyal, but he harshly punishes the arrogant. So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord.
By way of reflection, Psalm 31, if you noticed early on, is cited by Jesus when he's on the cross. From verse 5, into your hands I entrust my spirit. The very words that Jesus confessed as he was being crucified and dying on the cross comes from this very Psalm, Words that David, prayed as he was facing his own kind of distress, his own abandonment from people, and I would imagine there's an opportunity for us today, in light of what we might be facing, to say, god, today I entrust my hands, or I'm sorry, I entrust my spirit into your hands. And then I love verse 15, my future is in your hands or my times are in your hands. So 2 things that we place into the hands of God today.
2 things that we release out of our control from our hands and we place them into his hands. First, that would be our spirit, our very being of who we are in the face of the adversity that we deal with. And then secondly, our times, our future, the things that we easily worry about, the things that we try to control with our own hands, we say no today, God, and Jesus, I hear you inviting us in now, that we are going to entrust our spirit into your hands. We are going to confess and declare by faith that our times are in your hands. Our and declare by faith that our times are in your hands.
Our future is in your hands. And so Lord, would we now then experience the fact that you pour out your goodness on those who trust in you, and would your unfailing love, as the Psalm says, protect us today. We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.