Lord Teach Us To Pray - Part Two

LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY

Part Two

Last week we looked at a couple of the stories of David and we found that he is most known for what is recorded in Acts 13:22 - David became the “a man after My (God’s) own heart, who will do all My (God’s) will.”

We also noted that David’s life was not a perfect life.

David’s life was no different than any of ours.

His life was filled with blessings and failures, good times and not so good times. He learned early on in his life how to cry out for God’s mercy when he was lost and lonely, rejected and afflicted. God had taught David to pray and how to pray. We need the Word of God to teach us to (not only) pray, but how to pray.

David’s life was filled with lots of emotions. Many times he would declare God’s goodness, and the next day he would ask God where He had gone.

David’s life is an example for all of us not just with his experiences in life, but (as well) his experiences in prayer.

David wrote many of the Psalms about his life and the blessings of God. Many of these Psalms are (actually) prayers. As an example consider the 34th Psalm:

I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

My soul shall make its boast in the LORD...

My point is that we need to pray

PRAYERS THAT RECOGNIZE GOD.

Today we should rejoice in all that God has blessed us with. In faith, we know that God can/ will deliver us from the pain of any struggles we might face.

We have the choice to look in one of two directions:

A) REGRET - We can look back at all of life’s disappointments. That is not God’s plan.

B) We can begin to look forward to the expected glory of God’s promises. HOPE

One of David’s prayers was for Recognizing God.

Text: Psalms 103:1 4(a)

Prayer:

The passage, this morning, tells us that God does it all for each of us. Everything - we hope for, or have need of, is found only in the Lord.

Our prayer life can and will realign our thinking and give to us a better perspective of the reality of Jesus Christ.

We need to know the Truth.

According to what the world tells us, only a small percentage of people will ever be happy.

You see the world says if you don’t hit the lotto, or get an inheritance from a rich relative, your just out of luck.

What we have to look forward to is found in Phil 4:19,

“And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

Look at it this way….

Jesus, without a doubt, is still the wealthiest man this world has ever known. When you allow Jesus to become your Lord and Master, you instantly become an heir to His inheritance. He has all of the RICHEST OF RICHES.

But we know (for sure) that Jesus does not need a bag full of money. Now we may think we do, but Jesus does not…

What is near and dear to Jesus are all of His benefits.

From our text, I want to tell you about of those benefits.

1. His Forgiveness -

This is the first of six of the Benefits David lists in Psalm 103. God has forgiveness for each of us and for everyone in the world. The problem is many people are not looking for forgiveness these days.

The mere mention of forgiveness makes some people angry.

Regardless, ever since the Garden of Eden, man has been told he needs God, and that he needs God’s forgiveness.

Man may choose to ignore God, or deny God, but it won’t change anything as far as God is concerned.

Man is desperately in need of God! And His forgiveness!

Unfortunately, there is a thinking among many people that man doesn’t need God, much less any of His forgiveness.

What if I told you that –

1. Forgiveness is the core of man’s relationship with God?

2. Forgiveness is the greatest concern God has for man this morning.

3. Forgiveness takes priority over anything else...

4. Forgiveness is still the best thing about knowing the Lord.

5. Without God’s forgiveness we can receive nothing else from Him.

6. Forgiveness is the cornerstone of our relationship with God.

Man may:

• Try to attach himself to a greater power, or a greater force, or philosophy.

• Want help from God (occasionally) with the his disappointments, and heartaches, but not want anything to do with the forgiveness of God.

• Have a desire to have a deeper relationship with God, and yet he will deny his desperate need for forgiveness. (Just to know of God is not enough.)