Approaching Prayer
Prairie Baptist Church – 9/20/09
P.M. Service
Text: Psalm 5
Key verse: Psalms 5:1 - Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.
Premise: We need to consider the right attitudes God is looking for that are essential to Him responding to and guiding us.
The Introduction
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of Attitude on life. Attitude to me is more important: than facts, than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do, than appearances, than giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company…a church…a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the Attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one thing we have, and that is our Attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you…We are in charge of our attitudes.” Charles Swindoll
In life, we learn that the key to getting results is most often based on how we approach it:
• Our teachers in school
• Our bosses at work
• Our spouses
• Etc.
The Bible has much to say about the right and wrongs of approaching certain issues and situations in life.
It could be that, if we don’t experience good results to our prayers, maybe it is the approach we take with God.
• Sometimes we’re demanding
• Sometimes we’re afraid (to ask, don’t like “no” for an answer)
• Sometimes we’re casual (whatever attitude, no passion or fire)
• Sometimes we approach with unconfessed sin in our lives
Whatever the reason, we need to approach God with some attitudes that can help alleviate any confusion and please Him as well.
1. A Significant Plea - 5:1-3
2. A Sacred Perspective - 5:4-6
3. A Submissive Priority - 5:7-8
4. A Severe Pronouncement - 5:9-10
5. A Satisfied Position - 5:11-12
Body
1. My Attitude of Prayer: Serious – 5:1-3
A. A woman took her husband to the doctor’s office. After his checkup, the doctor said, "Your husband is suffering from a very serious infection." The husband, who was hard of hearing said, "What did he say?" His wife said, "He says your sick". The doctor went on. "But there is hope. You just need to reduce his stress. Each morning, give him a healthy breakfast. Be pleasant, nice, and kind. For lunch and dinner make him his favorite meal. Don’t discuss your problems with him, it will only make his stress worse. Don’t yell at him or argue with him. And most importantly...just cater to your husband’s every whim. If you can do this for your husband for the next 6 months to a year, I think your husband will have a complete recovery." The husband said, "What did he say?" His wife said, "He says, You’re going to die".
B. Prayer should never be taken lightly or superficially:
i. It is a personal conversation with our Father and King (2my king and my God)
a. give ear = to have the normal faculty of hearing, with a focus that understanding is the result
b. 1st Peter 3:12 - For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.”
c. We are His children (1st Jn. 3:1)
ii. It is asking God to hear what is on our hearts and what is important to us (1my words, my meditation, 2heed to my cry, 3in the morning)
a. What we have to say matters to God – Psalm 116:2 - Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.
b. We are His children and He loves and listens to us.
iii. It is done with expectant faith (3I will look up)
a. 1st John 5:14-15 - 14Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
b. God wants us to believe in His ability to answer any request
c. God wants us to submit ourselves to His will in the answer.
2. My Attitude of God: Sacred – 5:4-6
A. The story is told of a woman in northern England who hung out her washing and was so proud of its whiteness. She thought it glistened! Then snow came making a beautiful blanket of white. Seeing her clothes and the snow side by side, she exclaimed, "What can a poor woman do against God’s almighty snow?" "So, in the white radiance of God’s holiness, we are led to exclaim, ’What can any man or woman do against the purity of God Almighty?"
B. We pray to a holy God so we must approach Him in holiness – 1st Jn. 1:9 - If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
i. Sin is detestable to Him (4does not take pleasure in wickedness)
ii. He cannot have sin in His presence because it is contrary to His nature (4nor shall evil dwell with you)
iii. God hates the sinful condition and its consequences (5-6) - Proverbs 6:16-19 - 16These six things the LORD hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: 17A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.
3. My Attitude of Self: Submissive – 5:7-8
A. The captain of the ship looked into the dark night and saw faint lights in the distance. Immediately he told his signalman to send a message" "Alter your course 10 degrees south." Promptly a return message was received: "Alter your course 10 degrees north."
The captain was angered; his command had been ignored. So he sent a second message: "Alter your course 10 degrees south--I am the captain!" Soon another message was received: "Alter your course 10 degrees north--I am seaman third class Jones." Immediately the captain sent a third message, knowing the fear it would evoke: "Alter your course 10 degrees south--I am a battleship." Then the reply came "Alter your course 10 degrees north--I am a lighthouse. Your call"
B. What attracts God is a humble heart (humbling ourselves before the throne of grace) - James 4:6 - But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
i. To seek God in the right spirit
a. Mercy – (7your mercy) - the goodness or love of God shown to those who are in misery or distress, despite what they deserve. Other related words are loving-kindness, love, loyalty, and faithfulness.
b. Fear – (7fear of you) – reverence and awe
c. Worship – (7I will worship) – expression of worth to God.
ii. To seek God’s leading – (8lead me) - Psalm 25:4-5 - 4Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths. 5Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day.
4. My Attitude of the World: Separated – 5:9-10
A. A good illustration of the need for separation is found in the ermine - In the forests of northern Europe and Asia lives little animal called the ermine, known for his snow-white fur in winter. He instinctively protects his white coat against anything that would soil it.
Fur hunters take advantage of this unusual trait of the ermine. They don’t set a snare to catch him, but instead they find his home, which is usually a cleft in a rock or a hollow in an old tree. They smear the entrance and interior with grime. Then the hunters set their dogs loose to find and chase the ermine. The frightened animal flees toward home but doesn’t enter because of the filth. Rather than soil his white coat, he is trapped by the dogs and captured while preserving his purity. For the ermine, purity is more precious than life. – HGB Our Daily Bread, April 21, 1997
B. There should be a distinction between us and the world (God responds to the prayers of a holy people) – 2 Cor. 6:17 - Therefore “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.”
i. A difference in our talk (9) – Ps. 19:14 - Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.
ii. A difference in our walk (10) – Eph. 5:15-16 - 15See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
5. My Attitude of the Results: Satisfied – 5:11-12
A. In Our Daily Bread, Philip Parham tells the story of a rich industrialist who was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat. "Why aren’t you out there fishing?" he asked. "Because I’ve caught enough fish for today," said the fisherman. "Why don’t you catch more fish than you need?" the rich man asked. "What would I do with them?" "You could earn more money," came the impatient reply, "and buy a better boat so you could go deeper and catch more fish. You could purchase nylon nets, catch even more fish, and make more money. Soon you’d have a fleet of boats and be rich like me." The fisherman asked, "Then what would I do?" "You could sit down and enjoy life," said the industrialist. "What do you think I’m doing now?" the fisherman replied.
B. Contentment should be our attitude before, not after, prayer
i. It is produced by trust in God’s will – James 4:15 - Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”
ii. It is exhibited in a joyful spirit, no matter the outcome – Ps. 16:11 - You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Conclusion:
How do you approach God in prayer?
