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Rise with Confidence: Unlocking Psalm 3 for Daily Victory · Verse and Voice Podcast

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  You're listening to Verse and Voice with Charlie, where God's Word meets your everyday walls.
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  Welcome to Unlocking the Psalms, a place where we discover the revelation in
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  the Psalms, understand when to pray them, and learn how to turn God's Word into
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  powerful personal prayer.
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  I am your host, Charlie, and today we are unlocking Psalm 3,
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  a psalm you can pray early in the morning before stepping out to face the day.
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  I believe strongly there are moments you woke up with a heavy heart.
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  You were facing a new day knowing that you have challenges to overcome.
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  You have certain decisions to make and some responsibilities to fulfill and
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  even battles that you cannot predict.
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  Perhaps for some of you, you are pursuing a goal, building a business or serving
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  God, raising a family, or you're trusting God for a breakthrough.
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  You want to move forward, but you are concerned about the opposition that you may encounter.
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  So here's the important truth.
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  You don't have to begin your day in fear of what might happen.
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  You can begin your day just by placing your confidence in God.
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  So Psalm 3, as a way of a background, is a prayer of David when he fled from Absalom, his son.
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  And in those moments, David was facing a painful rebellion.
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  People were rising against him and some believed that even God could not deliver him.
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  Yet David did not allow the voices around him to determine his confidence in God.
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  So in verse 3, he declared something that I love so much. He said, What.
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  A powerful way to begin your morning.
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  Today, we're going to discover how to use Psalm 3 to pray for protection,
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  commit our plans to God, and ask Him to frustrate the schemes of those who seek our harm.
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  And also to receive the peace to move forward confidently.
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  So let's unlock the psalm by starting with the revelation behind it.
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  Psalm 3, the verses 1 to 3, and I read from the King James Version.
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  Lord, how are they increased that trouble me?
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  Many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul,
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  there is no hell for him in God.
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  Seller but thou oh lord are assured for me my glory and the lifter up of my head,
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  so the first revelation in psalm 3 is that god's protection is is greater than
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  the opposition that you and i face,
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  notice that david did not pretend that he had no enemies okay he actually acknowledged
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  that people were rising against him,
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  he was honest about the situation but he refused to make the situation greater
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  than his god in verse 1 david speaks about those troubling him and in verse
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  2 he describes the voices.
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  Declaring that he there is no help for him in god but verse 3 begins with two powerful words but thou,
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  in other words david was saying yes there are people against me but but you
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  oh lord have my shield and,
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  Finally, there may be challenges in your life, but God remains your source of help.
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  There may be opposition that stands against your plans, but opposition does
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  not have the final word over your future.
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  So when you wake up in the morning, do not spend your first moments imagining
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  everything that could go wrong.
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  You know, just begin by reminding yourself of who God is.
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  He is your shield. And what does a shield do? A shield provides protection.
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  So David was declaring that his ultimate security was not in his own strength,
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  connections, or resources, or ability to even predict every danger.
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  No, his confidence was in God.
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  So remember this, Psalm 3 does not promise that you will never face a difficult day.
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  It teaches you that you can face that day with confidence in God's presence and help.
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  So when do we pray Psalm 3? I would actually say before you step out into the
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  day, one of the most, you know, powerful things about Psalm 3 is that David's
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  confidence in God was not merely a statement he made during the day.
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  No, he also trusted God through the night and rose with a renewed confidence, right?
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  So in Psalm 3, verse 5 and 6, he declared that, I laid me down and slept.
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  I awaked, for the Lord sustained me.
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  I will not be afraid of 10,000s of people that have set themselves against me right about.
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  So David had experienced that opposition, yet he could lie down,
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  sleep, and wake up because he trusted the Lord to sustain him.
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  And this gives us a practical pattern for morning prayer.
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  So before you check your messages, before you respond to the pressures of work,
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  before you begin your journey, and even before you engage with the demands of that day.
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  Just take time to pray, all right? So I'll encourage you in these areas,
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  pray Psalm 3 when first you want to commit that day to God, right?
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  You do not know every conversation or decision or opportunity or the challenge
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  that would even arise, but ask God to guide your steps and help you act with wisdom.
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  Secondly, you are concerned about a position, which we all do, right?
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  Perhaps you're facing resistance at work. It could be difficulties you are having in your business.
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  It could be conflict in relationships or challenges you are having in your ministry.
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  Bring these concerns before God. Ask Him to expose any wrongdoing when necessary
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  and also to protect you from harm and help you respond wisely.
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  Remember, not ever setback means someone is conspiring against you.
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  Okay, so pray without allowing suspicion or fear to control your mind, right?
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  Thirdly, you need courage to pursue your purpose, right? So David declared that
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  he would not be afraid even if thousands surrounded him.
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  He was expressing confidence in God's sustaining power.
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  So you can ask God to give you the courage to take the right steps,
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  have difficult but necessary conversations and remain faithful to your responsibilities as well.
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  Finally, we all need peace after a difficult day or night.
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  If you wake up anxious or you woke up troubled or overwhelmed,
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  use Psalm 3, you know, to turn your attention back to God.
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  Let prayer become the place where you surrender your concerns and you receive strength for the day.
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  So do not wait until trouble comes before you pray. You know,
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  establish the habit of meeting God in prayer before the day begins, right?
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  So I'll jump to Psalm 3, verse 7.
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  Where David asked God to frustrate evil plans, right?
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  So I read, he said, Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God, for thou hast smitten
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  all my enemies upon the cheekbone.
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  Thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.
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  So there's something powerful about this verse. This verse actually contains
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  a certain level of cry for God's intervention, right? So David was asking God
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  to arise and deliver him from those who opposed him.
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  And we can see the imagery of striking the cheek and breaking the teeth,
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  which communicates the defeat and silence, the silencing of hostile power, right?
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  So David was entrusting his deliverance to God rather than relying solely on his own ability, right?
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  So I love these verses so much. How can we even apply this verse to our morning prayers today, right?
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  We can ask God to frustrate the plans that are intended to cause us harm,
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  to prevent any wrongdoing from,
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  being successful, to expose deception and also give us wisdom to avoid dangerous situations.
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  Because maybe for some of you.
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  You could have someone who is deliberately seeking to sabotage your work,
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  right? Just pray for truth to prevail.
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  Maybe if someone is spreading false information about you, just ask God to bring
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  the truth to light and give you wisdom in how you should respond, right?
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  And for some of you, maybe you are making important decisions.
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  Ask God to protect you from deception and also help you to recognize that which
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  is wise and what is harmful, right?
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  But remember one thing that our prayer is not a license for revenge.
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  It is an invitation to entrust our cause to God.
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  So we don't need to pray out of hatred or wish harm on people.
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  We can ask God to stop evil, to protect the innocent as well,
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  to expose all these wrongdoings and also lead people away from such destructive behavior, right?
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  So I love this psalm. It's so powerful.
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  And I wish you make some declarations out of it, right?
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  But beloved, before we leave this episode, this is just a simple practice that you can follow.
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  Every morning, you can take some time, maybe five to 10 minutes to pray the
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  psalm chapter three. And I believe you're going to have a great experience with it as well.
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  So pray before you face the day and trust God when opposition rises.
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  I will encourage you to walk forward in faith, walk forward in wisdom, and also in peace.
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  So you don't have to wake up afraid of what people might do.
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  Just wake up ready to trust the God who sustains you.
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  God bless you and have a victorious day in Christ. Amen.