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Devotional-Psalm 28 · The Father's Business Podcast

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: The Father's Business was founded by Sylvia Gunter to encourage people to a deeper relationship with God.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to this devotional.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: This week's devotional is from Psalm 28, which is a prayer for help and a praise for the answer.
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: A lot of us find ourselves in situations where it feels like God is distant or not listening, because the circumstances are hard and we've cried out and we don't see a lot of change.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: I know we are going through situations in the Gunter family and also we have friends who are in very hard places, as well as emails that we receive at the Father's Business of others telling us their story of the tough places they find themselves in.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: And that's why I find the Psalms so comforting during this season, because David was a man after God's own heart.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: He worshiped God at such a deep level and yet he was also able to be completely honest and say I feel like you've abandoned me and cry out to God in the midst of his tough circumstances.
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: But what I love about the Psalms is as harsh as it starts out saying you have forsaken me and you have left me in the pit.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: It always takes a turn to where David says but I trust you, god, and I worship you.
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: And that's what Psalm 28 is all about.
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: It's about lifting our eyes off of our circumstances and focusing on who God is and praising him for his loving care, even in the hard places.
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: And so today we want to do that, because Psalm 147 says it is pleasant and fitting to praise the Lord.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: So today I'm going to read through Psalm 28 one verse at a time, and pause after each verse to lead us in a prayer that is honest and heartfelt, and I hope it ministers to you.
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: Psalm 28 says To you I call O Lord, my rock.
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: Do not turn a deaf ear to me, for if you remain silent I will be like those who have gone down to the pit.
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: God, I run to you when things get tough.
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: I desperately need help.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: Hear me and do not be silent.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: Do not turn away.
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: I am crying from an honest heart.
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: I am struggling and in pain.
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: My trust is fractured and my feelings are hanging on by a thread.
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: I want, with all of my being, to trust that you are my Lord and my rock of safety.
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: Verse 2 hear my cry for mercy.
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: As I call to you for help, as I lift my hands towards your most holy place, I earnestly throw myself on your mercy.
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: I call to you as desperately as I've ever have in all of my life.
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: By faith, I lift my hands to your holy throne of grace.
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: Answer me and let me hear your voice.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: I need you to be there for me.
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: I need to know that you are close.
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: I need your answer to be clear and tailor-made for my desperation.
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: Verse 3 says Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who do evil, who speak cordially with their neighbors but harbor malice in their hearts.
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: God, don't let me be ignorant of the enemy's devices.
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: The people I see are not the real adversary, even though it feels like it.
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: Don't let me fight according to flesh and blood.
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: The workers of iniquity hide themselves behind smooth words.
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: Don't let their.
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: Verse 4 says Verse 5, since they show no regard for the works of the Lord and what his hands have done, he will tear them down and never build them up again.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: God, I choose to bless the people who are being used to come against me, and I beg you to take your rightful authority over all invisible powers behind their visible actions.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: They have set themselves primarily against you and only secondarily against me.
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: The work of your hands, lord, this is your battle.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: Verse 6, praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy.
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: God, I praise you for who you are.
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: Thank you for your work in my life Because of your character as a committed covenant father.
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: You are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving kindness, desiring to bless me.
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: I thank you that in your mercy you hear the cry of my heart when I plead your promises.
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: Verse 7, the Lord is my strength and my shield.
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: My heart trusts in him and I am helped.
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: You are my strength or I have no strength.
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: I hide myself and still my soul in your impenetrable shield.
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: The habit structures of self-protection do not serve me.
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: You are my refuge, you are my fortress.
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: You are my protector, my help, my hope, my high tower to which I run and am safe.
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: Renew my broken trust in the inner parts of my heart.
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: Enable me to lean confidently into you and shout for joy.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: Because of your joy, I will choose now to give you an offering of song and of thanksgiving.
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: Verse 8, the Lord is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: Abba, I belong to you.
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: You committed yourself to protecting me.
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: You alone are my unyielding strength and my sure salvation.
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: On Christ, the solid rock I stand.
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: All other ground is sinking sand.
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: I stand in your fortress to see your salvation.
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: I will hide my soul deep in the rock.
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: I am your special treasure.
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: I am chosen and anointed and appointed and sealed by your Holy Spirit.
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: Verse 9,.
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: Save your people and bless your inheritance.
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: Be their shepherd and carry them forever.
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: Save me and nurture me, and let me enter into all my inheritance of your blessings.
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: You are my good shepherd.
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: You will lift me up onto your shoulders and carry me all the days of my life.
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: So, lord, for today, give me this day the bread of life that is my rightful portion.
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: Give me this day the bread of life that is my rightful portion.
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: You alone are my victory.
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: I hope this week, as you go through whatever trials and tribulations are a part of your journey, that you will be able to reflect on Psalm 28 and write your own prayer from this psalm that exactly meets where you are, because his character and his works exactly fit your needs.
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: He is your rock, he is your mercy, he's your holiness, he is justice.
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: He is strength.
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: He is shield from every danger.
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: He is strength.
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: He is shield from every danger.
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: He is faithful.
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: He is your help and saving refuge.
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: He is your protection and the shepherding presence in your life.
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: Our prayer for you is that your heart would fill with joy and thanksgiving over who he is, even if you can't see the path in front of you.
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: We pray that you would be able to find ways to turn any dire circumstances that you find yourself in into a showcase of our praiseworthy God.
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: He is going to show up.
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: As someone once said, god is never late, but he sure misses a few opportunities to show up early.
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: So I bless you to hang in there and continue to focus on who God is for you in these circumstances, because it is pleasant and fitting to praise the Lord.
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: To praise the Lord.