Prayer - Part 3
May 23, 2021
Sometimes you get a great idea for a sermon series or even for a sermon, but then you have to start putting it together and you realize you have no idea what to do. Well, honestly, that’s what today is feeling like for me. I said I was going to talk about preaching and using scripture, especially the psalms . . . but I’m not really sure how this will work.
I feel like I’m trying to put about 5-7 sermons into one. I’m not really looking for you to pat me on the back and say good job. I’ll know if it works when I’m done, God will let me know if I accomplished what I think I was wanting to accomplish. I guess, I’m just warning you this may sound disjointed, but I think, I hope, it will really be good to take in some of my thoughts about using scripture as a means of praying.
To start with . . . I have to admit, I love reading the psalms. Yup, there’s a lot of them - 150 to be exact. And at times, I wonder why God would even allow some of these to be in the Bible, because some are laments, and we’re going to look at some because they are vital for us to look at and they can really help lead us in prayer. You may not realize it, but there are 42 individual psalms of lament and 16 community psalms of lament. They make up almost 40% of the psalms.
The beauty of reading and using the psalms as a guide in prayer is the power of what the psalmist is telling us and God. They are written in a way which help us to draw closer to God. Sometimes those words are far more poetic than what we might say, but they convey our heart towards God as they are filled with emotion and spirit. There are psalms of praise, joy, happiness, grief, sorrow, anger, fear, repentance, and anguish.
So, let’s begin by looking at Psalm 100 - -
1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into His presence with singing!
3 Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name!
5 For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations. - Psalms 100
This is a great psalm to lead you off in your prayer. It’s a reminder of the awesome nature of God. It’s a call for the community to come together in praise and worship of God. It’s a great prayer for us on a Sunday morning. When we’re preparing ourselves to come to worship.
When we can slow ourselves down and praise God as we prepare to come together. It’s an acknowledgment that we are His sheep, we are His people. He is our Shepherd. Come into worship, at home or wherever with thankful hearts, blessing His name . . . WHY? Because God is faithful.
He will not let us down. Yes, life is not always easy, there is suffering and death; grief and loss, but God’s faithfulness will last for all generations. That’s great news and news we need to proclaim to ourselves and to God.
We come before God and we make a joyful noise. Whether you can carry a tune or not, we sing out to the Lord, we come with a desire to serve Him not begrudgingly, but with joy and knowing we are His and His love is constant and abiding.
You can even use this as a prayer for your family. That they would experience this joy of worship and praising and serving God. And there’s nothing wrong with changing the words to fit your situation as well.
As with all of these psalms and scriptures, you can easily personalize any of them. You can take a communal scripture and turn it into an individualistic scripture.
Now, I want to look at a lament. Remember, almost 40% are laments. There are so many to choose from. A lament is a call to God in the times of our distress. When we lament, we are deeply grieving or in a state of deep sorrow about something in life.
Sometimes when we are suffering, the last place we want to turn to is God. Sometimes, we’re angry at God for allowing this suffering to take place, whether we’re guilty or innocent, we may struggle with turning to God. Someone may become sick, they may die, they may become injured, or disabled; it may be a job loss or a friend hurts you. The list could be endless . . . and we lament, we grieve . . . and in our moment of grief we ultimately come before God and cry out.
Listen to the first 4 verses of Psalm 77 -
1 I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and He will hear me.
2 In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted.
3 When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints.
4 You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
I mean think about these words. Haven’t we all been there at one time or another. We can’t sleep. We can barely talk. We don’t even know what to say. We cry out to God in our despair. We find no comfort as we continual beat down the throne room of God. Then, listen to the questions the psalmist asks of God. As they process their situation - these are our questions as well.
7 Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable?
8 Has His steadfast love forever ceased? Are His promises at an end for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has God in anger shut up His compassion?
We’ve all been there. We’ve all asked these questions. We’ve all struggled with God’s presence in the midst of our troubles - in the midst of our grief and heartache and sorrow. And we read these words, and we realize we’re not alone, even the psalmists went through these times.
Before I finish going through this Psalm, I want to share another one, it’s from Psalm 63. David wrote this as his son Absalom was chasing him down, trying to take his kingdom from him. David wrote -
1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Have you ever felt like you were being chased? Have you felt the enemy was approaching you, ready to pounce and destroy you. You feel parched, deserted, bitter. The Absalomites are moving in, and we are thirsting for God’s presence and protection. The drier the landscape the more we need the Living Water.
I believe many psalms were written over days and weeks. They are a story, a progression, especially the laments, as they move from grief to hope.
As David sits alone, he began to worship God too. He then proclaims - -
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
David begins to worship. In his fear and trembling. In the midst of his restless heart and spirit, he beheld God’s power and glory. For us, we look upon the Cross, the empty tomb, and we experience the power and presence of Jesus, our Intercessor at the right hand of God.
David did not know what would become of him. So many of us have that feeling as well. Yet, he prayed -
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.
It probably took awhile to get those words out as David feared for his life and the life of his family. The fear and anxiety that passed from his head to his heart, and finally the hope that came from his lips. He maybe had to say it a few times before he believed it.
There’s more, but I’ll let you read the last few verses of the psalm as David was clinging to God.
Now back to Psalm 77 . . . Remember those questions from the psalmist. They might have been ones David was asking as well. The one’s we ask. When we wonder - -
God are you there? God, have you forgotten about me? Is this some type of punishment? Is there no more compassion? Have I fallen out of your favor? Has your love for me dried up?
We’ve all questioned. And here’s the really, really cool thing . . . It’s in the Bible. I really see this as God’s was of saying “IT’S OK TO ASK!! IT’S OK TO QUESTION!!
Some people may protest and say we can’t say this to God. Yet, God wants us to come to Him, to make our requests known, to share our heart and deep longings. To share our joys and sorrows; victories and defeats. He says come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. It means we come to Jesus as we are feeling weary and over-burdened, weighed down by the world. And Jesus promises to give us rest and refreshment.
Again note, that the psalmist is not accusing God for his situation, but he’s bringing his grief, his pain to the Lord. It’s like saying, “Lord, I can’t reconcile my situation with your grace and mercy. Here I am, I know you are good. Lord, help me!!”
The psalmist then remembers God’s presence, he remembers how God led the Israelites through the desert, and ends with these words,
19 Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen. - Psalm 77
This reminds me of that poem, Footprints in the Sand. As God leads His people through the difficult times, we may not always see Him, but when we look back, we see His footprints . . . and know God was always with us. Never to fail or forsake us.
One of my doctoral professors, D.A. Carson wrote -- “There is no attempt in Scripture to whitewash the anguish of God’s people when they undergo suffering. They argue with God, they complain to God, they weep before God. Theirs is not a faith that leads to dry-eyed stoicism, but to a faith so robust it wrestles with God.”
I like that image. A reminder that we are not just stoic in the middle of our laments, but that our faith is so strong, that it leads us to wrestle with God, to ask the hard questions of God. And know and trust that God is not going to smite us because we asked!! That’s cool!!
I want to add a couple of other scriptures to this as well. There are more, but these are great to include in our times of trouble and hurt.
In Habakkuk 3, he wrote - -
17 Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
19 God, the Lord, is my strength; He makes my feet like the deer's; He makes me tread on my high places. - Habakkuk 3:17-19
And in Isaiah 41:10, God tells us - -
10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. - Isaiah 41:10
Those are great words of comfort as we move through the rough seasons of life. These are also great for where I’m going with the next Psalm. It’s psalm 139. Listen to these words in the middle of the psalm - -
13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you. - Psalm 139
I’m not going to spend a lot of time on this one. My point for this is the fact that David is looking at God, we don’t know what was going on in his life, but he is praising God, he is recognizing God’s role in his creation.
It’s an admission that God created him and us. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. Knit together by the divine author of life. God has written down the days of our life. God knows all about us.
In the end, what strikes me about these words and how they can help us is that when we are struggling maybe with our identity. When we are struggling with self esteem. When we are wondering with why am I here. Know that you are created by God. And if God created you, you are good. You are worthy! I don’t care what anyone else tells you. I don’t care who has put you down, because I’ve been there.
I’ve had the put downs. Told I wasn’t good, wasn’t smart, wouldn’t amount to much, but God knows better. God created me with a purpose. So, even when the times aren’t great, even when I doubt myself, even when I think I can’t do something, I can ultimately stop . . . and turn to God and have faith and belief that His plan is the plan I need to follow.
I trust that I am loved. I so love what Paul wrote in Colossians 3:12, as he’s talking about our new life in Christ, he said - -
12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and dearly loved,
It’s a reminder that we are chosen by God, we are considered holy and we are dearly loved.
Next, let’s look at Psalm 51 - this is a psalm of repentance. In all of our lives, we will have to turn to God and ask for forgiveness, we will seek restoration because of what we’ve done. In this psalm, David is repenting after his affair with Bathsheba and having her husband killed to cover up the affair.
Yet, in spite of David’s sin, God still calls David a man after His own heart. That gives me hope. Listen to what David wrote, and see if you can identify with what his feelings - -
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. - Psalm 51
David comes straight at it. He doesn’t hem and haw before God. Instead, he’s direct. God forgive me. Have mercy on me, blot out my transgressions. Wash me from my sin, cleanse me from my sin. My sin doesn’t leave my sight. I have sinned to others, but it’s before you, Lord that I have sinned. I’ve done what is evil in your sight. Whatever your judgment is, I deserve it.
WOW!! That’s powerful coming from David. Usually, we give a quick, forgive me. But I can picture the tears pouring from David as he falls on his face repenting and asking for God’s mercy.
I love the progression from David, because he moves from repentance to a request for renewal. Even though you can do whatever you want to me, Lord, have mercy on me, and I pray that you would renew me as well. Listen to what he prays - -
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.
Do you hear the request from David? Purge me, wash me, create in me a clean heart, renew a right spirit within me, restore to me joy, uphold me.
David adds, after I’m renewed, after I experience the power of your grace, then, I can teach others. I can teach from what you’ve taught me. And really, that’s what this psalm continues to do, as we read it, as we pray it, we too are struck at how God forgives.
Think about what David wrote in Psalm 103, I can’t help but think this occurred after he found God’s forgiveness...
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. - Psalm 103:8-12
Aren’t those great words? God won’t keep His anger forever! He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in constant, continual love. He doesn’t repay us for what we really deserve. He extends grace because as far as the east is from the west, that’s how far God removes our sins from us.
That’s great, great, amazing to hear and take in and be able to pray these very words.
Finally, as David is coming to the end of Psalm 51, he prayed –
16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. - Psalm 51
The way for restoration for all of us is through repentance. And God will never, never, never turn away a humble and contrite heart. God wants our us to come before Him with humility, not bearing gifts that mean nothing.
Isn’t repentance a prerequisite for faith in Jesus. We come to Jesus with humble hearts, proclaiming that He is Lord and Savior.
Peter tells us - -
9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,
not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. - 2 Peter 3:9
And in Acts, we read --
38 And Peter said, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. - Acts 2:38
OK, I think we’ve covered so much this morning. I hope this has been helpful. I hope that you see different ways you can pray to God.
