Answer Me Quickly, Lord Series

INTRO.- Answer me quickly, Lord.

ILL.- Here’s a bad situation where you barely have time to call on the Lord or anyone for help. May 23, 2013. Driver survives I-5 bridge collapse into Wash. river: A driver said he thought he was about to die when an Interstate 5 bridge span collapsed in Washington state, plunging his pickup and another car into the Skagit River below.

Dan Sligh, his wife and another motorist found themselves waist-deep in water when the freeway crumbled moments after the bridge was clipped by an oversized truck. Sligh said the accident was “like a Hollywood movie unfolding in front of your eyes - up close and personal.”

He said he managed to release his seat belt and climb out of his mangled truck to shallower water, despite fearing he had dislocated his shoulder. His wife also escaped, and was being kept in the Skagit Valley hospital where she was being treated for internal bleeding. "I thought we were done," Sligh said. “When I look at all the carnage, all the metal, I assumed that was it at that point. But here we stand. I’m OK. I’m beat up. I feel like I rode a rodeo bull or something.”

How scary that would have been! A person might have been screamed, “Lord, help us!” or “Lord, save us!” but that was probably the only prayer you could have offered with no time.

Think about all those who people in Moore, OK, May 20, 20013,who had 15-16 minutes warning, knowing a monstrous tornado was headed their way. I’m sure many prayers were offered up to the Lord and rightfully so. Who else could help you in a time like that? Who else could stop a tornado or disastrous affects from happening? The Lord is the only one who has the power to do that.

"My family and God is what's helping us through this," said Vickie Myers, 39, whose husband Brent, a disabled military veteran, was recovering after he was pulled unconscious from the rubble.

Joseph Salinas, 25, said he prayed for safety as he rode out the tornado in a friend's shelter in Moore, along with his mother, and his two children, Andrew, 2, and Faith, 3. They lost most of their possessions in the storm but Salinas does not despair. "As long as we have God, we have everything," he said.

A Gallup survey published in 2012 found that 77 percent of people in Oklahoma described themselves as strongly or moderately religious. There are 82 churches listed on the website of the city of Moore, which has a population of about 55,000 people. All are Christian denominations. Could it be that the Lord spared them somewhat because of their faith in Him?

Job 14:1 “Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.” Life is full of trouble, problems and difficulties, etc. Consequently, we need a help greater than ourselves or any human person. WE NEED THE LORD!

PROP.- The Psalmist’s prayer should be our prayer at times.

1- Answer me quickly, Lord

2- Do not bring me into judgment

3- Show me the way to go in life

4- Rescue me from my enemies

1. ANSWER ME QUICKLY, LORD

7 Answer me quickly, O Lord; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit. Come quickly, Lord. When we’re in deep trouble we want help and we want it now!

ILL.- Preacher Warren Wiersbe wrote: “In October, 1983, I was painting Van and Juanita Clark's home. They had a small black dog who would go to the back door and bark and bark until someone finally got the message and let it out. One day I was there, painting the outside of the home, while everyone else was gone. Their little dog, however, took his place at the back door and barked incessantly all day. The sad thing was that it never dawned in his little brain that all his barking was totally useless--no one was home to hear him!”

Is that you how feel when you’re experiencing trouble and you call out to God in prayer? Have you ever felt like He wasn’t there? The Psalmist may have felt that way when he said, DO NOT HIDE YOUR FACE FROM ME. God, are you there?

I’ve heard it said that God answers prayer in at least four ways: yes, no, maybe, and you’ve got to be kidding. Haven’t we all asked some of those “you’ve got to be kidding” prayers?

It’s possible that God doesn’t answer some of our prayers and we just aren’t paying attention. Sometimes God closes doors and sometimes He opens them slowly and sometimes quickly. We just to be open to His will, be discerning, and wait on the Lord. And sometimes God says, “No,” and it’s own our fault.