SERMON BODY:
(1). When You Pray.
• Come humbly (vs 1-2)
• Come daily (vs 3)
• Come intentionally (vs 4)
(2). What to Remember.
• God is forgiving (vs 5)
• God answers prayer (vs 6-7)
• God works miracles, (vs 8)
• God alone is God (vs 10)
(3). As You Pray.
• Learn God's way & Obey it (vs 11-13).
• Talk to God & Trust Him (vs 14-15)
• Be Specific in Your Prayers (vs 16-17a).
• Thank God for His help (vs 17b).
Ill:
Sleeping Beauty, Tom Thumb, and Quasimodo were all talking one day.
• Sleeping Beauty said,
• "I believe myself to be the most beautiful girl in the world."
• Tom Thumb said,
• "I must be the smallest person in the world."
• Quasimodo said,
• "I absolutely have to be the ugliest person in the world."
So they all decided to go to the Guinness Book of World Records to have their claims verified.
• Sleeping Beauty went in first and came out looking deliriously happy.
• "It's official, I AM the most beautiful girl in the world."
• Tom Thumb went next and emerged triumphant,
• "I am now officially the smallest person in the world."
• Sometime later, Quasimodo comes out looking utterly confused and says.
• "Who is Martin Fielder?” [Replace with some other ‘suitable’ person in the fellowship]
• TRANSITION: Now that has nothing to do with my message;
• But I thought you might enjoy the story!
Ill:
• On Tuesday I was at the Ministers Fraternal, for the Church Leaders of the area:
• Mark Madavan from Locks Heath Church;
• Shared the New Year fact that LHFC had taken a Bible verse as a moto for the year.
• The verse he chose was on prayer.
• Ephesians chapter 6 verse 18:
• “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.”
• He then shared with us, how he had asked lots of people in his Church;
• Especially the older members – if they felt they prayed enough?
• Now I could have told him in advance the answer he would get;
• Because the answer was and always is’ “No!”
• That is not just true at LHFC, but true here at DRC;
• And true in every Church I have ever gone along too!
Quote: Charles Swindoll from his book ‘Strengthening Your Grip’
• “If you find it difficult to pray, then you are in good company!
• The wartime theologian and writer Dietrich Bonhoeffer, for example,
• Once admitted that his prayer experience was; “Something to be ashamed of”.
• The Great reformer, Martin Luther, anguished in prayer,
• Saving three of the best hours of the day to pray; yet he seldom seemed satisfied.
• Go down through the list of Christian greats,
• We find one after another working hard at prayer,
• But frequently you will find they were dissatisfied,
• Some of them even woefully unhappy about their prayer life.
• E. M. Bounds, Alexander Maclaren, Samuel Rutherford, Hudson Taylor,
• John Henry Jowett, G. Campbell Morgan, Joseph Parker, Charles Haddon Spurgeon,
• F. B. Meyer, A. W. Tozer, H. A. Ironside, Billy Graham,
• Great men, strong Christian examples,
• Magnificent role models,
• Yet you can hardly find one of that number who was satisfied with his prayer life.
• Oh, they laboured in prayer, they believed in prayer,
• They taught and preached prayer...”
• But like you and me, they were all strugglers, who had to work hard at it!
• So if you struggle when it comes to prayer;
• Then you are in good company!
When it comes to praying you can use the ‘carrot’ or the ‘stick’ approach:
• I guess you all know that saying;
• It is an idiom that refers to a policy;
• Of offering a combination of rewards and punishment to induce behavior.
• So there is no point hitting you with the ‘stick’;
• And telling you again and again that you must pray more!
• We all know we need to pray more!
• I think the Bible uses the ‘carrot’, the reward approach;
• That is the Bible constantly shows us the benefits & rewards of praying.
• And todays psalm is a case in point.
(1). Come to God in Prayer.
Ill:
• The mighty Aztec empire was the most powerful Mesoamerican kingdom of all time.
• It stretched for more than 80,000 square miles;
• Through many parts of what is now central and southern Mexico.
• This enormous empire reached from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf coast;
• And from central Mexico to the present-day Republic of Guatemala.
• Fifteen million people,
• Living in thirty-eight provinces and residing in 489 communities,
• Paid tribute to the Emperor Moctezuma II (Moc-te-zuma);
• In Tenochtitlán (Ten-och-tit-lán) the capital city of the great empire
• Montezuma (Moc-te-zuma) was the emperor of the Aztec state from 1502 to 1520.
• The Aztecs were rich sophisticated and predatory.
• Yet in 1519 a party of Spanish conquistadors coming from Cuba;
• Under the command of Hernando Cortes landed on the Mexican Gulf coast.
• Cortes had an army of 600 men, seventeen horses and ten artillery pieces.
• Yet they advanced upon Montezuma's (Moc-te-zuma) great capital city.
• Emperor Moctezuma II foolishly and wrongly thought that Cortes;
• Was a reincarnated god,
• And so Moctezuma made no move to stop them or bar their way;
• As they marched towards the city.
• The Aztec army, was waiting in the hills for the signal to attack,
• But they were never called to action, to come and fight.
• Even though the Aztecs outnumbering their captors thousands to one,
• They soon submitted themselves to slavery.
• And the conquerors stamped their rule upon Mexico for the next three hundred years.
• TRANSITION: Help was available but they never called for it!
• This psalm reminds us we too have a choice.
• We can leave in defeat and as slaves to our enemies;
• Or we call on God to rescue us and defeat our enemies.
• Question: How do we do that?
• Answer: This psalm tells us!
(A). Come humbly (vs 1-2).
“Hear me, Lord, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
Guard my life, for I am faithful to you;
save your servant who trusts in you”
Ill:
• There is a saying among the Arabs that as the tares/weeds and the wheat grow;
• They outwardly show which God has blessed.
• The ears of wheat that God has blessed bow their heads and acknowledge every grain,
• And the more fruitful they are the lower their heads are bowed.
• The tares/weeds lift up their heads erect, high above the wheat,
• But they are only fruitful of destruction!
• TRANSITION: We must always come humbly before God;
• A recognition of our dependence him.
• King David the psalmist learnt that lesson;
• Look how King David describes himself in verse 1: ‘poor and needy’
• Then in verse 2 the king of Israel refers to himself as a “servant”;
• And pleads for mercy!
• Think of it! This was the man God had chosen to lead His people,
• Here he is pleading for God’s help.
When we come to almighty God in prayer – we must come humbly!
• We do not do God a favour when we pray;
• It is always God who does us the favour!
• Humility involves the acknowledgment of our smallness beside God's greatness.
• A reminder that we can’t but he can!
Quote: E.M. Bounds:
“That which brings the praying soul near to God is humility of heart. That which gives wings to prayer is lowliness of mind. Pride, self-esteem, and self-praise effectually shut the door of prayer. He who would come to God must approach the Lord with self-hidden from his eyes. Humility is a rare Christian grace of great price in the courts of heaven, entering into and being an inseparable condition of effectual praying. It gives access to God when other qualities fail. Its full portrait is found only in the Lord Jesus. Our prayers must be set low before they can ever rise high.”
(B). Come daily (vs 3).
“You are my God;
have mercy on me, Lord, for I call to you all day long.”
Ill:
A Morning Prayer for Help” - note that I said “morning"!
“Dear God, so far today I’ve done alright,
I haven’t gossiped, lost my temper, been nasty, selfish or over indulgent.
…but in a few minutes God,
I’m going to get out of bed and from then on,
I’m going to need all the help I can get.
Ill:
• RE: evening prayers;
• One night I think I heard this prayer coming from one of my kids bedrooms!
"Now I lay me down to rest,
and hope to pass tomorrow's test,
If I should die before I wake,
that's one less test I have to take."
Ill:
• Jesus taught us the importance of daily prayer.
• He said in Luke chapter 18 verse 1, “Always pray, never lose heart”
• He also taught the importance in the parable of the persistent widow;
• Luke chapter 18 verse 7 of calling on God both "...day and night..."
• When He taught His disciples to pray in Luke chapter 11 verse 3:
• He told them to ask God for their daily needs;
• "Give us each day our daily bread."
Note:
• Remember to make your prayer life one that is a firm rule;
• And not something that is done occasionally or sporadically.
• Rescue your prayer life from your emotions.
• If you only pray when you feel like it, then you aint gonna pray much!
Ill:
• Here is an idea – start with a written prayer in the beginning.
• In our traditions we tend not to use prayer books;
• But we can pray through a psalm or read a hymn or chorus etc.
• Don’t try and wing it.
• Because we are developing a discipline that is beyond what we will feel like doing.
• Cultivate a specific time each day;
• And a specific set of guidelines that you follow each time will also be a big help.
• By all means pray spontaneously;
• But always have alongside a hymn book or a list and a guide etc.
(C). Come Intentionally (vs 4).
“Bring joy to your servant, Lord,
for I put my trust in you.”
Ill:
• Whenever you take small children out for a walk;
• One thing they cannot appreciate is the view.
• If you stop and say, “Wow! Kids look at that view!”
• They will say; “Yes” and then carry on as before.
• TRANSITION: When it comes to prayer ‘Look at the view’
• Be focused.
• Quote: Oswald Chambers:
• “We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on our circumstances”
Ill:
• Maybe that is why Jesus taught in his famous prayer;
• “When you pray say; …Our Father!” – Focus on God!
In this psalm, the psalmist is someone wanting to walk close with God.
• God is the one he intentionally wants to place his trust!
• He knows that left to himself, his spirit will soon weaken and become low.
• So, he purposely asks God to not let that happen.
• He want his spirit to be so filled with the spirit of God;
• So that he will be able to withstand whatever trouble may come our way.
• “Lord give me joy” and I will trust you whatever the day will bring!
(2). Remember the Traits of God.
Ill:
A little boy once said his night time prayers like this:
"Dear God, please take care of my daddy and my mommy and my sister and my brother and my doggy and me…
And please take care of yourself, God, ‘cause if anything happens to you,
we're gonna be in big trouble!"
• TRANSITION: Well I am glad to say nothing is gonna happen to God!
• The psalmist brings to our attention many of God’s characteristics and attributes.
• And that is important because as we remember the characteristics of God;
• And as we see how those attributes relate to our concerns.
• We are then able to understand or see the way God can deal with them.
(1). God is forgiving (vs 5)
“You, Lord, are forgiving and good,
abounding in love to all who call to you”
• When it comes to a Christian and their God;
• Never forget that God is ready to forgive the flawed individual.
Ill:
• General Oglethorpe;
• (Was a British general, Member of Parliament, philanthropist, and founder of the colony of Georgia)
• He once said to John Wesley the Anglican minister and theologian,
• “I never forgive and I never forget.”
• To which John Wesley replied, “Then, Sir, I hope you never sin.”
• TRANSITION:
• The word “forgive” means to wipe the slate clean, to pardon, to cancel a debt.
• When we wrong someone,
• We seek their forgiveness in order for the relationship to be restored.
• Forgiveness is not granted because a person deserves to be forgiven.
• No one deserves to be forgiven.
• Forgiveness is an act of love, mercy, and grace.
• There is tremendous power in forgiveness.
• It withholds from offenders what they deserve. This is called mercy.
• It offers offenders something they don’t deserve. This is called grace
And the psalmist knew that is the basis on which God deals with us:
• Mercy:
• He withholds from offenders what they deserve i.e. judgement.
• Grace:
• It offers offenders something they don’t deserve i.e. forgiveness.
(B). God answers prayer (vs 6-7).
“Hear my prayer, Lord;
listen to my cry for mercy.
When I am in distress, I call to you,
because you answer me”.
Ill:
• There was a pastor who had a parrot.
• All the parrot would say was, “Let’s pray, let’s pray.”
• The pastor tried to teach him to say other things but to no avail.
• But all the parrot would say was, “Let’s pray, let’s pray.”
• The pastor found out that one of his congregation also had a parrot.
• But his parrot would only say, “Let’s kiss. Let’s kiss.”
• So the pastor decided to invite the person and the parrot over to his house.
• When the person arrived they put the parrots into the same cage to see what would happen.
• The persons parrot said, “Let’s kiss, let’s kiss.”
• The pastor’s parrot said, “Thank you, Lord. My prayers have been answered.”
• TRANSITION: The greatest motivation to pray;
• Is knowing that God answers our prayers!
• That is how each one of us got saved, were ‘born again’,
• That is how we became Christians!
• Our Christian life started;
• When we prayed to God and he heard and answered our prayer!
• And the Christian life should continue in the same way;
• As believers we need to be dependent on God;
• Sometimes we need to just stop;
• And consider the many answers to prayer that God gives us.
• It is truly amazing how much God does respond to us.
(C). God works miracles (vs 8).
“Among the gods there is none like you, Lord;
no deeds can compare with yours”.
Ill:
• Charles 'Chuck' Colson,
• Was President Richard Nixon’s hatchet man-in-chief during the Watergate years.
• He was to his colleagues as the “evil genius”;
• Colson spent several months in prison in 1974;
• After pleading guilty to obstruction of justice.
• After his release from prison he became a committed Christian;
• And he forged a new career as an evangelist.
• He who founded Prison Fellowship and Break Point ministries.
• He experienced a miracle conversion that turned his whole life around;
• You can read his story in the book ‘Born Again’ by Charles Colson.
• He saw many hardened prisoners as well as intellectual people come to faith.
• Each one a miracle!
• But Charles Colson points out:
“It is absurd for Christians to constantly seek new demonstrations of God’s power, to expect a miraculous answer to every need…this only leads to faith in miracles instead of faith in God.”
• TRANSITION: Miracles are not mine to demand or to claim;
• They are for God to grant as and when he sees the need.
• We probably underestimate the supernatural;
• William Temple, the archbishop of Canterbury during the second world war,
• Said to his critics who opposed him and said God did not answer prayer.
• His reply: “When I pray, coincidences happen, and when I don’t, they don’t”
• We have a God who makes things happen;
• Who works the supernatural not for our entertainment but for his purposes.
Ill:
• Imagine you are in a boat and you are approaching the river bank,
• You throw a rope and hook to the bank and pull.
• Question: Do you pull the river bank to you?
• Or do you pull yourself towards the bank?
• Prayer is not pulling God to my will,
• But the aligning of my will to the will of God.
• And as I pray to a miracle working God;
• Then at times I too will experience not ‘coincidences’ but miracles!
(D). God alone is God (vs 10).
“All the nations you have made
will come and worship before you, Lord;
they will bring glory to your name.
“For you are great and do marvelous deeds;
you alone are God.”
Ill:
• King Louis XIV (14) had the longest reign of any French king - 72 years.
• He had the most magnificent, extravagant court in all Europe,
• And he even planned his own funeral to be just as spectacular.
• The King instructed Bishop Jean-Baptiste Massillon that upon his death;
• He was to lie in state in a golden coffin at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.
• He further instructed that at his funeral service;
• The entire cathedral was to be completely dark,
• Lit dimly by only one candle positioned above the coffin;
• So that all would be awed by the late king's presence, even in death.
When King Louis died, Bishop Massillon did exactly as the King had instructed.
• At the funeral thousands waited in hushed silence;
• As they peered at the exquisite casket that held the mortal remains of their monarch, Illuminated by a single flickering candle.
• But as he began his funeral oration, and to the surprise of all,
• Bishop Massillon slowly reached down and snuffed out the candle;
• Which represented the late king's greatness.
• Then in the darkness he proclaimed to all: "Only God is Great"
• A defiant cry to both the late king and those in attendance;
• Who had called him "Louis XIV the Great."
• TRANSITION: We recognize and admire some people;
• i.e. great thinkers, great scientists, great inventors, great achievers etc.
• In many ways they tower above all of us ordinary people,
• But they still have the same needs we do.
• They experience aches and pains.
• They have troubled minds and hungry hearts.
• They cannot stave off death nor guarantee life beyond the grave.
• Only God is truly great - great enough to meet our deepest needs,
• Great enough to forgive all our sins,
• And great enough to carry us through the dark valley of death into eternity,
• To be with Him forever.
• So we declare with the psalmist, “You are great, You alone are God”
• Quote: “In a world of empty superlatives, God is the greatest.”
(3). Present the Requests
(A). Learn God's way & Obey it (vs 11-13).
“Teach me your way, Lord,
that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.”
Quote:
“It is strange that, while praying, we seldom ask for change of character, but always a change in circumstances”.
• The psalmist asks for a change of heart;
• For an undivided heart, one that is teachable, dependent and faithful.
There are so many Christians with the problem of divided hearts.
• Partly for Christ and partly for self.
• Partly surrendered and partly reserved.
• Partly for the Kingdom of God and partly for the kingdom of this world.
• Now such a situation makes for an ineffective, unsatisfied and unhealthy life.
• Even Jesus stated: “He that is not with Me is against Me”
• (Matthew chapter 12 verse 30).
• This is the great struggle going on within the lives of all Christians.
• It was David's problem. To be spiritually-minded or self-minded.
Ill:
• Somebody once said: “There can be no part-time Olympic gymnast.”
• Let that sentence strike a chord with each one of us!
• To achieve excellence in anything, it requires our “undivided heart.”
• But more importantly, this “undivided heart”;
• Is how we can walk safely and steadily “on the beam.”
• Because a gymnast on the balance beam will falter if they let their mind wander off.
• In our daily lives, if we want to walk that precarious walk without faltering?
• The psalmist reminds us in this verse – we need God’s help each day!
Quote: Eugene Peterson in The Message paraphrases this verse:
“Put me together, one heart and mind;
then, undivided, I’ll worship in joyful fear.”
• I like that because it sounds like the way I often pray:
• “Put me together, Lord, because right now my life is scattered in a thousand directions.”
I like The Message paraphrase because it brings out two thoughts:
• First speaks of my need.
• “Unite my heart to fear your name.”
• The second speaks of my desire.
• "Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”
• May this be a daily desire;
• And part of our daily prayers!
(B). Talk to God & Trust Him (vs 14-15)
“Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God;
ruthless people are trying to kill me—
they have no regard for you.
But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness”
• We are always going to encounter difficult people;
• This seems to be the way of the world.
• But we find strength as we have already said in the nature of God.
• And as God forgives us with all our failings and faults;
• We must ask God to extend that love to other people!
• Quote: Matthew chapter 5 verse 44:
• “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”
Ill:
• Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish priest imprisoned at Auschwitz in 1941.
• He spent four months there before dying a martyr’s death.
• During those four months, Father Kolbe was beaten with regularity.
• His cellmates were beaten as well.
• But Father Kolbe prayed for his captors.
• And he asked his cellmates to do the same.
• He reminded them that the same evil that destroyed the bodies of prisoners;
• Was destroying the souls of his captors.
• Many of the guards were young. Many of them were conscripts.
• Many of them chose profoundly evil acts, with full moral culpability.
• But each one of those who tortured Father Kolbe was a human being,
• An immortal soul, who had been seduced, ensnared,
• Or possessed by the lies of the Evil One.
• Father Kolbe prayed for his tormentors.
• They were not his enemies.
• Their salvation was the prize he hoped to gain;
• By his prayers, by the witness of holy love, and by his martyrdom
(C). Be Specific in Your Prayers (vs 16-17a).
“Turn to me and have mercy on me;
show your strength in behalf of your servant;
save me, because I serve you
just as my mother did.
Give me a sign of your goodness,
that my enemies may see it and be put to shame
• God knows exactly what we need before we ever ask!
• He already knows what we desire!
• Yet, even though God knows our needs;
• And already knows what we are going to pray about,
• He still wants us to make these requests.
Question: Why?
Answer: Suggest 4 things:
• FIRST: Dependence.
• Presenting our needs to God is a practical reminder to us;
• That we need to depend on him for our ‘Daily Bread’ for our needs!
• SECOND: Communion.
• So often I find myself speaking of him rather than to him.
• In human relationships we know if the communication dwindles;
• That relationship can very quickly dissolve.
• THIRD: Preparation.
• So much, so very much, needs to be accomplished in us;
• Before we are ready to serve God and meet the needs of other people.
• FOURTH: Cooperation.
• The Christian life is not Me & God.
• It is not even God and Me!
• But rather it is God through Me by the power of his Holy Spirit!
• Only when we make time for prayer;
• Are we truly inviting and cooperating with God to be part of our lives
Quote: St Isaac the Syrian says we should:
• Who?
• St Isaac the Syrian was a 7th-century Syriac Christian bishop and theologian!
• “Pray with attention – so that we can have a true encounter with God
• Pray with humility – because this sort of prayer goes straight to God’s ear
• Pray with affection and tears – with joy and thanksgiving,
• But also with true repentance and purity.
• Pray with patience and ardor;
• ‘to deny oneself’ is courageously to persevere in prayer.
• Pray from the depths of the heart – even if we pray using ‘the words of another’;
• They should be uttered as if they are our own.
• St. Isaac says this is especially true of the Psalms.
• Pray with faith and absolute trust in God – because He knows our life.”
(D). Thank God for His help (vs 17b).
“… for you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.”
Ill:
• When asked to list what he was thankful for,
• One little boy wrote, "My glasses!"
• The teacher seeing his answer said:
• "That's good, they help you see better".
• "No," responded the child,
• "I’m thankful for my glasses because they keep the other boys from hitting me;
• And they stop the girls from kissing me."
• TRANSITION: This little chap had clearly understood the meaning of gratitude.
• The psalmist closes this song by thanking God.
• Because God has helped him and comforted him.
In Conclusion:
Quote: Moments
“Happy moments, praise God.
Difficult moments, seek God.
Quiet moments, worship God.
Painful moments, trust God.
Every moment, thank God.”
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=8LE8VNk2lNPMUnjhG64sZBwjsyehrSxC&forceSave
