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Sleep in Peace: Unlocking Psalm 4 for Restful Nights · Verse and Voice Podcast

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  You're listening to Verse and Voice with Charlie,
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  where God's Word meets your everyday walk.
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  Hi, lovely people. My name is Charlie, and I warmly welcome
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  you to yet another episode of Unlocking the Psalms.
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  I'm so glad you have joined me today. The question is, have you
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  ever gone to bed physically exhausted but found
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  it difficult to sleep because your mind was occupied with worries, with fears,
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  unanswered questions, or maybe concerns about what might
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  happen while you are asleep.
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  Perhaps you have had a challenging day. Maybe you are worried
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  about your family, your children, your finances, your health, or something,
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  you know, happening around you. Sometimes the night becomes
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  the moment when all the worries we managed to ignore during the day
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  suddenly, you know, becomes louder. But here is
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  where I would like to remind you of something. You don't have to
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  carry the burdens of the day into the night. You can you can commit
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  yourself and your household into the hands of God. So in this episode,
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  we are unlocking Psalms chapter 4, a powerful Psalm to
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  pray before going to bed, and we will discover how David found peace in
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  God even in the midst of distress. So wherever you
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  are listening from, just take a moment, settle your heart, and let's
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  discover what God has prepared for us in this Psalm,
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  right? So our focus scripture is gonna be Psalms chapter 4,
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  the verse number 8, and I read the King James
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  Version, it says, I would both lay me down in peace
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  and sleep, for thou, Lord, only makes me dwell in
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  safety. What a powerful declaration. So notice
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  that David doesn't say, um, I will sleep because everything around me
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  is perfect. Neither is he saying I will sleep because all my enemies have
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  disappeared. No, he says I will both lay me down in
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  peace and sleep. For Thou, Lord, only makes
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  me dwell in safety. This is what I get here. David understood
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  that his security was not dependent, you know, on the absence of trouble,
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  as his security was rooted in the presence and protection
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  of God. And this is an important revelation for anyone who struggles
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  with fear at night. You may not know what tomorrow holds,
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  but you can trust the God who holds tomorrow. All right. You may
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  not have answers to every question, but you can rest in the one who knows
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  all. Things, right? You may not be able to monitor everything
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  happening around you, but God never sleeps nor slumbers.
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  And it's something I want to encourage someone with. According to
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  Psalms 121:4, it says, behold, he that
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  keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
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  So whilst you sleep, God remains watchful. God remains faithful
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  whilst you are resting. And whilst you even close your eyes,
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  his eyes are still upon you. Okay, um, so I
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  want you to get this revelation that your, your peace at
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  night should not depend on your ability to control everything. It should depend
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  on your confidence in God. All right,
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  and I know someone is asking the question, so when do I pray the Psalm?
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  Um, just like I'm saying, first pray it before going to bed. Make Psalm 4
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  part of your nightly prayer routine. Um, before you sleep,
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  just surrender your worries, your family, your environment into
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  God's hands. Secondly, You can also pray when you experience
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  fear or certain kind of anxiety at night.
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  Sometimes, you know, the mind becomes restless when everything is quiet.
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  So instead of allowing fear to dominate your thoughts,
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  turn your attention to God's promises. Okay?
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  You can also pray when you are concerned about the safety of your household.
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  Maybe you are worried about your children, your partner or
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  your spouse, your loved ones, or even your entire home. Just bring these concerns
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  before God. Okay. You also want to pray it when
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  you feel surrounded by opposition. David was not living in
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  a trouble-free environment, right? Yet he, he had confidence in God.
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  And you can learn to trust God even when you don't know what others are
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  planning as well. Right. And finally, I'll say pray
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  it when you need emotional and spiritual rest, because not
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  every battle is fought physically. Sometimes, you know, the greatest battle
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  is happening in your thoughts. And Psalm 4 reminds
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  us to become still before God.
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  Right. So these are these key elements. And I'll just express something
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  quickly on Psalm 4:1, where he said,
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  hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness. Thou hast enlarged
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  me when I was in distress. Have mercy upon me and
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  hear my prayer. So David remembers God's past
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  faithfulness, right? He's essentially saying that,
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  Lord, You have helped me before. You have brought me through difficult
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  moments. Hear me again. Right. So there's power in remembering what God
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  has already done before you, you become overwhelmed
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  by what is happening to you. Even right now, as you're listening to me,
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  just remember the battles God has already brought you through.
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  Okay. In Psalms 4:4,
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  the King James says, stand in awe and sin not. Commune with your
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  own heart upon your bed and be still.
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  Right. So this verse is particularly important,
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  especially for nighttime prayers. David encourages
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  us to examine our hearts and become still before God.
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  So before you sleep, release bitterness, release any
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  unnecessary anger, you know, stop rehearsing painful conversations and
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  don't allow yesterday's disappointment to take hold
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  or steal tonight's peace. Right. Sometimes the greatest thing you can do before sleeping
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  is to just surrender your heart to God. And it's
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  very important. And that is why David is saying that
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  I will both lay me down in peace and sleep.
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  You know, with this, he's not merely wishing for peace, right? He's actually expressing confidence
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  in God's ability to preserve him. So make that verse
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  your personal confession tonight. Okay?
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  Make it your confession tonight. You know, so before you pray, just remember
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  that your confidence is in Jesus Christ and His finished work.
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  And I believe 1 Peter 1:18-19,
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  Peter reminded us that we have been redeemed, right, not with corruptible
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  things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood
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  of Christ. So through His blood, we have redemption and we have access to God.
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  And when we pray through the blood of Jesus, we are actually acknowledging the
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  victory of Christ and also placing our confidence in His finished
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  work. Okay, so the blood of Jesus is not like magic.
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  It's not a magical formula or anything of that kind, right? It's just
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  our confidence in the Savior Himself.
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  Before you take your, your night's sleep, I just want you to declare
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  this with faith after me, that tonight I will lay down
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  in peace and sleep in safety. My confidence is
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  in the Lord, my Keeper and my Defender.
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  I will not be tormented by fear or controlled by anxiety.
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  The Lord watches over me and my household. My home belongs to
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  God. My family belongs to God. My future belongs
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  to God. I am redeemed through the precious blood of
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  Jesus Christ, and I refuse to carry tomorrow's worries into
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  tonight's rest. So declare again that I receive the
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  peace of God. I receive refreshing sleep.
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  And you're also receiving refreshing
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  strength for a new day. Strength renewal is your
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  portion according to Psalms 4:8. Night,
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  you will both lay down in peace and sleep because
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  the Lord makes you dwell in safety. In Jesus'
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  mighty name, amen. So, my dear friend, thank you for joining me on
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  this episode of Unlocking the Psalms. Um, as you prepare
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  to sleep, remember this: you don't have to stay awake worrying about everything.
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  Commit those concerns to God and allow His peace to guard your heart.
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  I encourage you to make Psalm 4 part of your nightly prayer
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  routine, okay? Um, read it, meditate on it,
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  pray it with confidence in God. And remember, the same God who watched over you
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  today will remain faithful tomorrow.
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  My name is Charlie, and it has been a joy sharing God's word with you.
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  Until our next episode, keep praying, keep trusting, and keep unlocking
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  the Psalms. Good night, and may the peace of the Lord be with you.