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: We continue our journey through the Psalms today by reading Psalm 58. Let's follow along. It says, Justice, do you rulers know the meaning of the word? Do you judge the people fairly? No.
You plot injustice in your hearts and you spread violence throughout the land. These wicked people are born sinners. Even from birth they have lied and gone their own way. They spit venom like deadly snakes. They are like cobras that refuse to listen, ignoring the tunes of the snake charmers no matter how skillfully they play.
Meaning they're they're closed off to advice. They've closed their ears. Break off their fangs, O God. Smash the jaws of these lions, O Lord. May they disappear like water into thirsty ground.
Make their weapons useless in their hand and may they be like snails that dissolve into slime, like a stillborn child who will never see the sun. God will sweep them away both young and old, faster than a pot heats over burning thorns. The godly will rejoice when they see injustice avenged. They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked. Then at last, everyone will say, there truly is a reward for those who live for God.
Surely, there is a God who judges justly here on earth. As we reflect on these words, I think that, just even back to verse one. Man, can we relate justice Do you rulers do you know the word? I think there's been times regardless of, whatever your political stance is or who whom you find your confidence in within government, there's been times where we've probably all felt that there is injustice done. And we look to rulers.
What what are you gonna do? Where are you in this? And David prays this prayer that I think is such an example for us. At first glance, you might say, David's praying some pretty intense things, that might be harmful for those for those people. And, yes, they're wicked, but do they do they really deserve that?
But if you look at it, you actually see that David is praying, God, would you take away their effectiveness? Would you take away their power to do harm? And and he's saying, would you, God, intervene? Would you take away what they have that we don't have, but what they have, which is power? God, would you do something?
Would you renew this idea that there is there's a reward for righteousness? And as David prays and he prays for the injustice, we see that God intervenes and he avenges the injustice. And He renews in us that idea that righteousness wins and that righteousness is good and there is a reward for sticking to what is right. There might have been times you're like, Well, what good does it do? What good does prayer do?
What good does it do to to step in and to intervene? And we're reminded that that at at last everyone will say that there truly is a reward for those who live for God. Surely, there's a good God who judges justly here on earth. This is something that we can wait for and long for with hope knowing that the Lord intervenes. And so we just we pray together now, and we say, God, would you intervene in the moments and in the places, God, both in our own life, but also in the world where we are desperate to see, justice prevail and where maybe justice injustice has been done and we're tired.
We're growing weary of seeing, no change or seeing the change that we believe needs to happen. God, would you renew in us again that it is is worth following you. It's worth praying, and it's worth asking for you to intervene. And so we we come before you again and we we ask that you would. God, we ask that you would take away the power, of those who are in, positions and capable of doing harm, God, that you would take away their power, God, and that you would, sit again in the seat of control, God, and that you would make all things right in the end.
We believe this with with confident hope because you are a good God. And we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.