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Psalm 38:21

Don’t forsake me, LORD. My God, don’t be far from me.

19But my enemies are vigorous and many. Those who hate me without reason are numerous.
20They who give evil for good are also adversaries to me, because I follow what is good.
21Don’t forsake me, LORD. My God, don’t be far from me.
22Hurry to help me, Lord, my salvation.
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← Psalm 38:20Psalm 38:22 →
Notice

“My God” comes between two pleas against abandonment, showing how fear of God’s distance can remain part of speech addressed to him.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

What would you want to name before God when praying, “don’t be far from me”?

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What does calling him “My God” express for you when his help seems far away?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

5 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.

This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Psalm 22:19But don’t be far off, LORD. You are my help. Hurry to help me!Both prayers ask the LORD not to be far away, seeking his presence in distress.
Daniel 6:22My God has sent his angel, and has shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not hurt me, because innocence was found in me before him; and also before you, O …Both speakers say “My God”; the psalm pleads against abandonment, while Daniel reports that God has protected him.
Psalm 22:24For he has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, neither has he hidden his face from him; but when he cried to him, he heard.God’s response to distress links these passages: one asks him not to withdraw, while the other reports that he heard.
Psalm 22:11Don’t be far from me, for trouble is near. For there is no one to help.Both prayers use the plea “don’t be far from me,” with Psalm 22 naming nearby trouble and the absence of help.
Psalm 35:22You have seen it, LORD. Don’t keep silent. Lord, don’t be far from me.Both appeal to the Lord not to be far away; Psalm 35 also asks him not to keep silent.
Where this verse fits

Feeling distant from God. loneliness. anxiety or panic.

What the Bible says about doubt →What the Bible says about loneliness →What the Bible says about anxiety →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Pray these two pleas, naming your own trouble

prayeroncelight
Encouragement

There is room in prayer for fear that God is far away. The speaker has no answer yet, and still addresses YHWH as “My God.”

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 38:21. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 38 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).