INTRO.- ILL.- I got into a fight one day. It was high school. Gym class. We were playing hog ball. The coach blew the whistle and each team ran for the balls placed in the middle of the gym floor.
I got to one ball first. On the opposing team there stood a guy, one year older than me. I was a freshman and he was a sophomore. A rich kid. I didn’t like him and he apparently didn’t like me. So we started throwing punches at one another! I threw punches just as fast and as hard I could. I heard someone yell, “Get him, Shep!” I got him as best I could.
The coach blew the whistle, stopped our fist fight, and made us go sit out the game in the bleachers.
After school, that same guy along with his buddy cornered me in front of the school, next to the street. He said some choice words (which I don’t remember) and it looked like we were going to fight again and finish what was started in gym class, except that I was outnumbered and didn’t know what was going to happen.
I sent a prayer heavenward, “Lord, come quickly!” Not really. Not sure exactly what I was thinking at that time, but suddenly, someone else showed up quickly. It was my older brother, Larry, to the rescue. He said some choice words to my opponents and then said to me, “Get in the car!” In my heart of hearts, I was thinking, “YAY!” It wasn’t often I was glad to see my older brother but this time I was more than happy.
He came to my rescue. He rescued me from a situation that could have been bad. There are times in life when we all find ourselves between a rock and a hard place and need someone to rescue us.
ILL.- I remember at the funeral home one day when a lady wept loudly at seeing her deceased husband in a coffin after he had passed suddenly from a heart attack. She said, “will somebody please pray!?” I came her to rescue. I was there for the viewing because I was going to preach the funeral of this man whose brother was a member of our church. I quickly stepped up, and I believe put my arm around her and said, “Let’s pray.” Has anyone ever rescued you in your time of trouble?
Psalm 40:1 “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.”
Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
How thankful we should be for our gracious, comforting, loving God who comes to our rescue and sometimes, even when we’re not aware of His help. Bless His name! In our text, the Psalmist said, “Lord, come quickly.”
PROP.- What is it that he wanted or desired of the Lord?
1- Hear my prayer
2- Guard my mouth
3- Keep my heart
4- Fix my eyes
I. HEAR MY PRAYER
1 O Lord, I call to you; come quickly to me. Hear my voice when I call to you. 2 May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.
Psalm 4:1 “Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer.”
Psalm 6:9 “The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer.”
Psalm 17:1 “Hear me, Lord, my plea is just; listen to my cry. Hear my prayer— it does not rise from deceitful lips.” We always want God to hear our prayers, whatever they are. And He does.
Acts 10:1-4 “At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!” Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.”
Did you hear that? Cornelius believed in God but was not a believer in Jesus at this time and yet his prayers had come up as a memorial offering to God. God heard his prayers and they meant something to God.
This tells me that God must hear the prayers of all people, including Muslims. And He does! And if God hears the prayers of the unbeliever then what about us who believe? I say so! We have a special union with God because of our faith in His Son who is the Savior of the world!
There is an exception, of course, as to when God may not hear our prayers. DO YOU KNOW WHEN THAT IS?
Psalm 66:18 “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.”
Isaiah 59:1-2 “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.”
Oh wow! Since sin separates us from God sin also separates us from God’s hearing and blessing. What a powerful thought. We must live as righteously as we can if we want God to hear and answer our prayers. We cannot and must not be blatant hypocrites, saying one thing, praying one thing while doing another. We all sin but we must not cherish or love our sin, otherwise, God apparently won’t answer our prayers.
ILL.- It’s like that guy who was encouraged to give his life to Christ. His friend said to him, “Don’t you want God to forgive you of your sins?” The man replied, “No, I like my sins.” If we like our sins too much God will not answer our prayers. Did you ever offer prayers that you felt were not answered?
For the most, however, God is quick to hear and answer those who come humbly before Him.
James 4:7-10 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
Instead of laughing over sin, but we must weep over our sin, humble ourselves before the Lord and then He will hear our prayers and come near to us.
II. GUARD MY MOUTH
3 Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. WHAT A PRAYER! I’d bet that most people have never prayed a prayer like this one!
Living Bible: “Help me Lord to keep my mouth shut.” Wow! Yes, there are times when we need to do that.
Proverbs 10:19 “When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.” The more we speak, the more likely we are to sin in our speaking. If we keep on talking we’re liable to say something we shouldn’t.
Psalm 19:14 “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Amen. This is what we should strive for; to be pleasing to the Lord in our hearts, our minds and our speaking.
Psalm 39:1“I said, “I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth while in the presence of the wicked.” We must always be careful how we talk and especially around certain people. Some people are just waiting to catch us when we make a slip in some form and especially, in our speaking.
ILL.- Tim Tebow is a Christian football player, a quarterback. Many Christians support him but there are many people outside the realm of Christianity, the media, etc., who are always finding fault with him, with his prayers, etc. They call it “Tebowing” when anybody gets down on one knee in prayer just like Tim Tebow does. Some love it but many laugh at him. Any time a Christian takes a stand for Christ and Christianity he will be loved by some and ridiculed by many.
Recently, some commentator wrote: “Tim Tebow is perhaps the least-pursued winning quarterback in NFL history, and the only way for him to salvage his career is by refusing to engage the media throng that hangs on his every word.”
In other words, don’t always talk. Don’t always respond to your critics and/or the media. We Christians have our own media who may be quick to criticize us and we don’t always have to respond. In fact, sometimes the best response is no response. DON’T SAY ANYTHING. Keep your mouth shut.
I Peter 2:21-23 “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”
I Peter 3:10 "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.”
Lord, guard my mouth. Keep watch over my lips. Help me to keep my mouth shut at times.
III. KEEP MY HEART
4 Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies.
Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil. What a prayer! And temptation is everywhere.
ILL.- It’s like the old Holiness preacher Bud Robinson who was taken by friends to see the sights of New York City one night. When he got back to his room, he prayed, “Lord, thank you for letting me the sights of New York City and thank you most of all that I didn’t see a thing I wanted.”
Well, while that was true of Bud Robinson it may not be true for us. Why? Because there are many things in this world that we see with our eyes and we want with our hearts! And they may not be evil things but they could well become evil by the way we pay attention to them.
ILL.- There has always been one thing I wanted but I never got it or bought it simply because I decided it wasn’t worth it and it could become a time-consuming thing and I have work to do. What is it? A nice aluminum bass boat. One our neighbors has a nice one which sets in his driveway all the time. And I think, “That’s a nice boat. I wonder why he doesn’t use it? I wonder if he’d sell it?” etc.
4 Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies.
Lord, don’t let me be drawn to evil things or take part in the things that some evil people do. Or don’t let anything become evil to your life by allowing it to control your life.
God has a way of curing some of our temptations in life. IT’S CALLED AGING.
II Timothy 2:22 “Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
It should be obvious that some of the temptations of our youth don’t appeal to us any more. Thank God! There is a point and time when we should grow up spiritually and not allow the things of this world to capture our attention and grab our lives.
ILL.- One lady who had been converted to Christ said to her non-Christian friend who couldn’t understand the change in her life, “There is just one letter of the alphabet that makes all the difference between the two of us. You love the world. AND I LOVE THE WORD.” Meaning, of course, that she loved the Word of God more than the world. And so should it be for us.
Job 31:33 “If I have concealed my sin as people do, by hiding my guilt in my heart...”
Psalm 17:3 “Though you probe my heart, though you examine me at night and test me, you will find that I have planned no evil; my mouth has not transgressed.”
IV. FIX MY EYES
8 But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign Lord; in you I take refuge—do not give me over to death.
Psalm 16:8 “I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”
Psalm 19:8 “The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.”
Psalm 25:15 “My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare.”
Psalm 119:18 “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.”
Psalm 119:37 “Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.”
Hebrews 12:1-3 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. FIX MY EYES ON YOU, LORD!
CONCLUSION------------------
Lord, come quickly. Hear my prayer. Guard my speech. Keep my heat pure. Fix my eyes on you.
All the water in the world,
However hard it tried,
Could never sink a ship
Unless it got inside.
All the evil in the world,
The wickedness and sin,
Can never sink the soul’s craft
Unless it got inside.
Steve Shepherd, Cape Girardeau, MO
shepherd111@hotmail.com
