Part 4 -- Prayer For The Overcast Days Of Life Series

PRAYER FOR THE OVERCAST DAYS OF LIFE

Habakkuk 3:1-2 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth.

2 Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.

Habakkuk 3:1-2 (MSG) A prayer of the prophet Habakkuk, with orchestra: 2 God, I’ve heard what our ancestors say about you, and I’m stopped in my tracks, down on my knees. Do among us what you did among them. Work among us as you worked among them. And as you bring judgment, as you surely must, remember mercy.

INTRODUCTION: What we have here in the 3rd chapter of Habakkuk is undeniably one of the great prayers of the Bible.

Prayer should be a natural part of our Christian experience. Part of our walk with Christ should be a personal prayer life. By nature, prayer has two forms. The first is that prayer has an informal aspect. It should be simple and spontaneous. Informal prayer is speaking to God about the things that come across our lives. If you can speak to others, you should and can speak to God in the same manner. Second, prayer has a formal aspect. Formal prayer has structure and composition. It is meant to give us a skeleton by which we can develop a mature prayer life. The “Lord’s Prayer” is a formal prayer. WE also use an acronym to assist us. “A.C.T.S.” is a formal prayer structure, laying out for us a “plan of attack” in praying – Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.

Prayer is our responsibility to God. Prayer is our response to receiving revelation from God, and acknowledging God’s instruction for our lives.

TRANSITION: Habakkuk’s prayer in Chapter three consists of three parts: Habakkuk’s Approach to God – 3:1-2, Habakkuk’s declaration of the acts of God – 3:3-15, and Habakkuk’s Testimony – 3:16-20

This morning though, we are just looking at the first part.

1. HABAKKUK’S APPROACH TO GOD

a. When One Comes To God In Prayer, We Need To Approach God HUMBLY

Habakkuk 3:1-2 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth. 2 Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.

i. Humility is an essential element of effective prayer.

ii. We cannot demand anything of God

iii. We do not deserve to be in God’s presence

iv. We do not deserve to be heard

1. All we have is due to the work of Christ in our lives

2. We have no standing before God APART from Christ!

v. Habakkuk understood this, and his prayer to God reflected his understanding

1. Chapter 1 – Habakkuk had his mind on HIMSELF

Habakkuk 1:1-3 The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet received. 2 How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not save?

3 Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.

2. Chapter 3 – Habakkuk now places his focus on God.

WE WILL ALWAYS STRUGGLE IN PRAYER IF OUR FOCUS IS ON OUR SITUATION INSTEAD OF LOOKING AT THEM IN LIGHT OF GOD AND HIS HOLINESS.

b. When One Comes To God In Prayer, We Need To Approach God REALISTICALLY

i. We do not approach God based on our position

1. Everybody is a sinner saved by grace!

ii. We do not approach God based on our activity

1. There are no “spiritual frequent prayer miles”

iii. We can only approach God by His grace

1. We do not deserve to approach God

2. We are INVITED to approach God.

3. “God be merciful to me a sinner”

Luke 18:9-14 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ’God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ’God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

2. HABAKKUK’S ADORATION OF GOD

Habakkuk 3:1-2 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth. 2 Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.