PRAYING WITH PURPOSE-- PSALMS 5:1-12
Introduction: Those who believe in and practice set forms of prayer can find no justification for such in the Book of Psalms. There is a complete disregard for mechanical praying throughout the book. When you have a burning concern, praying come from the heart and not the head. It gets straight to the point and reveals the need without regard to words and phrases. Much modern-day praying is merely “saying” our prayers, as do little children when they first learn, “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the lord my soul to keep.”
The Psalmist knew how to pray because he prayed: early, audibly, thoughtfully, earnestly, orderly, daily, expectantly, reverently, and wisely. In this Psalm his prayer begins with words, deepens into sighs, and rises into cries. He prayed with purpose.
When studying the Psalms you will notice that the subject of many of the psalms is the contrast between the Righteous and the wicked. There is a difference in their position, practice and prospect. The same is true in the fifth Psalm. Here we see a strong contrast between the ungodly and the godly. The difference in this chapter is in their TALK (vs. 1-7), and their WALK (vs. 8-12).
The occasion of the Psalm is in a time of trouble. Soul searching prayer is always the best help in troubled time. To many times we try to figure out our on problems when all the while God is wanting us to come to him. We have to be backed into a corner with no way out but up before we get excited about praying. This makes us lose alot of battles before we ever start. More spiritual battles are won on your knees in prayer than on your feet in combat. It’s like the discouraged preacher said, “The devil has driven me to my knees and he will regret that.” We are at our strongest when we are on our knees. I want to show you three things out of this chapter.
I. THE REQUEST OF DAVID TO GOD - Vs. 1-3 David makes a plea to God. David was in a time of persecution and discouragement. Aren’t you glad that we have a God that we can go to in times of trouble.
A. His Prayer was Personal
1. The possessive pronoun “my” is found 7 times in the first 3 verses.
2. Too many times we pray as if God were so distant object in outer space so we float up a prayer to him.
3. God is a person. God is a person that lives inside us. He is personal so our prayers should be personal.
4. There is no need to try and impress God with our prayers. Just talk to him as if he were standing right beside
you.
B. His Prayer was Passionate
1. Prevailing prayer comes from a full heart that erupts into tears.
2. The Psalmist wasn’t just killing time or going through a ritual. He was dead earnest.
3. Earnest praying will lead to effective praying.
4. Earnest praying is praying with desire.
a. Desire is not merely a simple wish, it is a deep seated craving. It is an intense longing, for attainment.
b. Desire goes before prayer. In fact prayer is created and intensified by desire.
c. The deeper the desire the stronger the prayer.
d. Without desire, prayer is a meaningless mumble of words. This type of formal praying with no heart is a
waste of precious time and should be shunned like a pestilence.
e. Without desire there is no burden of soul, no sense of need, no visions, no holding on to God with a desperate grip.
f. We need to be like Jacob when he said, “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.”
g. If we have that desire, we have a promise in the word of God that tell us the results. “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
C. His Prayer was Pointed
1. “For unto thee will I pray”
2. He came boldly to the throne of Grace.
D. His Prayer was Prospective
1. When David prayed here, he expected an answer.
2. He looked up in expectation for that which he prayed.
II. THE REPUGNANCE OF GOD TOWARDS THE WICKED - Vs. 4-6
A. God Displeasure in the Wicked - vs. 4
B. God’s Disgust in the Wicked - vs. 6b
C. God’s Destruction of the Wicked - vs. 5-6a
III. THE RELATION OF GOD TO THE SAINTS - Vs. 7-12
A. God is our Shepherd - vs. 8
1. Notice the words “lead me”
2. That’s the attitude of an obedient sheep.
3. There’s nothing that our shepherd loves more than for us just to trust him
4. Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy
ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths.”
5. Psalm 37:23 “The steps of a good man are ordered by the lord.”
B. God is our Shield - vs. 12 Phil. 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work
in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
C. God is our Song - vs. 11
1. Even though surrounded by enemies, the saints can still sing.
2. The wicked may laugh now, but they will weep forever.
3. We may weep now, but we will rejoice then.
4. Psalm 30:5 “Weeping may endure for the night, but joy cometh in the morning.”
CONCLUSION:
The Lesson to be learned here is that prayer which begins with sighing generally ends in singing. We need to pray with purpose. We need to spend each day in prayer to God. Here are some good statements about prayer that I believe will be a help to any who will put them into practice.
1. “The first hour is to the day what the rudder is to the ship; therefore spend it in prayer.”
2. “It is far certain one cannot pray too much, but most of us pray far too little.”
3. “If we are too busy to pray, we are too busy to have power.”
4. “The Devil has to work hard for all he gets in the home of a praying mother and father.”
5. “Praying will make you lay aside your sinning or else sinning will make you lay aside your praying. The Two can’t
work together.”
6. “A child of God can see more on his knees than a philosopher can on his tiptoes.”
7. “Prayer is more discussed and less practiced than any other doctrine in the word of God.”
8. “The quickest way to get on your feet is to get on your knees.”
9. “Our ability to stay with God in the Prayer closet, is the measure of our ability to stay with God when we are
outside of it.”
10. “Strength in prayer is better than Length in prayer.”
11. “Pray hardest when it’s hardest to Pray.”
12. “Prayer is not conquering God’s reluctance, but laying hold of his willingness.”
13. “Anchor yourself to the throne of God, then shorten the rope.”
14. “The only way to do much for God is to ask much of God.”
15. “Prayer is a golden river at whose brink some die of thirst, while others kneel and drink.”
