From The Heart
How To Pray When You Feel Like Giving Up
July 24, 2022
Ryan Rainey, Minister, Vista Ridge
The Branch Church
Psalm 11:1b -3 (NIV)
“Flee like a bird to your mountain.
For look, the wicked bend their bows;
they set their arrows against the strings
to shoot from the shadows
at the upright in heart.
“When the foundations are being destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”
Psalm 11:3 (NIV)
“When the foundations are being destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”
Matthew 10:23 (NIV)
“When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another.”
John 8:59 (NIV)
… they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
Psalm 11:1a (NIV)
In the Lord I take refuge.
How then can you say to me … .
Four Ways To Pray When You Feel Like Giving Up
- Challenge the voice of fear and frustration.
Psalm 11:2-3 (NIV)
“For look, the wicked bend their bows;
they set their arrows against the strings
to shoot from the shadows
at the upright in heart.
“When the foundations are being destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”
Psalm 11:1b (NIV)
How then can you say to me … .
Psalm 103:1 (NIV)
Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Psalm 42:5a (NIV)
Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Luke 13:31-32 (NIV)
At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.”
He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’”
Matthew 16:22-23 (NIV)
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Four Ways To Pray When You Feel Like Giving Up
- Look for God’s hand in the situation.
Psalm 11:4b-5a (NIV)
He observes everyone on earth;
his eyes examine them.
The LORD examines the righteous … .
Hebrews 12:26b-27 (NIV)
… but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken — that is, created things — so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
Job 23:10 (NIV)
“But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.”
Four Ways To Pray When You Feel Like Giving Up
- Remember that God is sovereign.
In Psalm 11, David Reminds Himself …
The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne. (vs. 4)
He observes everyone on earth … . (vs. 4)
The Lord examines the righteous … . (vs. 5)
On the wicked, he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur … . (vs. 6a)
For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice. (vs. 7)
Four Ways To Pray When You Feel Like Giving Up
- Anticipate the joy of the final outcome!
Psalm 11:7b (ESV)
… the upright shall behold his face.