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.
a. Acknowledging God’s true worth is essential to effective prayer.
b. Adoration of God is central to prayer
c. A.C.T.S., is listed from greatest amount of time to least amount of time
i. When we pray we reverse the process
ii. We spend little time on adoring God, confessing out sins and thanking Him.
iii. We spend excessive time asking for ourselves!
d. When we focus our prayer on the CHARACTER of God, our requests to God fall in line with God’s character!
3. HABAKKUK’S PRAYER FOR THE WORK 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.
a. Habakkuk asks God to renew His deeds
i. Renew does not mean to refurbish
ii. Renew means to “do a new work”
iii. Renew means to “make alive”
iv. Habakkuk is asking God to make His work living and new!
v. Habakkuk is asking God
1. Do it in his lifetime
2. Do it with him!
WE HAVE GOT TO ASK GOD TO MAKE HIMSELF NEW AND ALIVE IN US AND TO US!
REVIVALS USUALLY COME WHEN OUR SITUATIONS ARE DESPERATE
Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
b. Habakkuk asks God to remember His mercy
i. God is a God of mercy
ii. When we pray for God’s mercy we are praying for the central character of God to be REAL in our lives!
Luke 18:9-14 (MSG) He told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people: 10 "Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man. 11 The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: ’Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man.
12 I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.’
13 "Meanwhile the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, ’God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.’ "
14 Jesus commented, "This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God. If you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face, but if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself."
1. The Pharisee illustrated Hab 2:4a
2. The publican illustrated Hab 2:4b
Habakkuk 2:4 "See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright-- but the righteous will live by his faith--
iii. We need to be aware of God’s character when in prayer
iv. Everything God would do is a reflection of his mercy
v. Everything we would ask is a request of His meRcy!
- ARE YOU PRAYING – IF YOU ARE A BELIEVER YOU SHOULD BE TALKING TO GOD.
- ARE YOU APPROACHING GOD IN PRAYER THE RIGHT WAY – WITH HUMILITY?
- ARE YOU SPENDING PRAYER TIME IN THE RIGHT AREAS?
- ARE YOU PRAYING FOR GOD TO ANSWER YOUR PRAYERS BASED ON HIS MERCY?
