Keys To Powerful Praise And Petition Series

KEYS TO POWERFUL PRAISE AND PETITION

PSALM 119:169-176

INTRODUCTION

A. David ends this all-encompassing psalm with four petitions—petitions that should be made to God by every believer.

B. We should not grow wearing of making them every day.

I. HEAR MY PRAYER (vv. 169-170)

A. David certainly does not have formalistic, canned prayers in mind. He calls them cries and pleas.

1. David recognizes that his understanding is limited, and that God’s ways are not man’s ways. He also recognizes that his petitions must be according to God’s word, which includes Scripture, but is not limited to Scripture (Rom 8:26).

2. David’s prayer was that of a faithful servant. Our prayers should be those of a loving child (Gal 4:6-8).

B. Jesus rebukes flowery speeches disguised as prayers (Matt 6:7-9).

C. Only those who come to God through Christ can properly say, “Our Father.” However, Jesus does not stop with the privilege of calling God Father. He encourages us not to be timid (Matt 7:7-11).

II. RECEIVE MY PRAISE (VV. 171-172)

A. David’s lips poured forth praise, and his tongue sang of God’s word.

B. The Psalms are the songbook of the saints of old, and they exhort one another to “praise” 137 times—almost three times more than the rest of the Old Testament combined.

C. Our praise should be multiplied many times over (Rom 15:8-13).

III. HELP ME (V. 173)

A. Trying to do God’s will apart from his helping hand is foolishness at best and arrogance at worst (Isa 29:13-14).

B. David’s twice-repeated request for help (vv. 173,175) shows that we do not demote God by calling him our helper; to the contrary, we express faith in and dependence on God (Psa 118:5-9).

C. Although not as prevalent as they once were, I still see bumper stickers that say, “If God is your copilot, you are in the wrong seat.”

1. This is a sincere attempt to give God the proper place in our lives, but when viewed against the background of the title of the book God Is My Copilot, it does the opposite.

2. The author flew a single-seat prop fighter. He took heavy enemy fire and was in and out of consciousness as he flew back to his base. He was affirming his faith in God, not demoting Him.

3. To make God the pilot of our lives makes us passengers who just sit back and wait to land in heaven.

4. We are all pilots, and we all fly single-seaters, but God is with us all the way (Heb 13:6).

IV. RESCUE ME (V. 176)

A. We can point to specific examples of David’s having strayed from the Shepherd, but David is probably speaking more generally than specifically, for it is the propensity of sheep to stray.

B. Jesus is our Shepherd, and He loves each of His sheep (Matt 18:12-13; John 10:7-17)

CONCLUSION

A. Let us join with David in petition and praise: “Let me live so I can praise you, and may your regulations help me (v.175).

B. Amen! Hallelujah!