• Sermons on living by faith
• Sermons on daily witnessing to the lost
• Sermons on using your talents for the Lord
• Sermons on daily studying God’s Word
• Sermons on being a good steward of our time and our money
These are good things for any pastor to preach to his congregation because these are the things the Bible teaches.
Today, we hear a lot of sermons on:
• How to feel good about yourself
• How to live healthy and wealthy
• Planting seeds to get wealthy
• Power of positive thinking
• Possibility thinking
• Name it and Claim it
• Blab it and Grab it
These are the kind of sermons many preachers are preaching.
But in this sermon I want to preach:
• Something the Bible teaches from cover to cover
• Something that you can’t grow in the Lord without it being part of your Christian life
• Something that you can’t live a victorious life without it being part of your life.
• I want to preach on something that Bible preachers through the ages have preached on
I want to preach on the subject of PRAYER!
Before I preach on the subject of prayer, I want to make two personal confessions:
(1) I must confess that I do not pray as much as I should. So that you will understand what I am saying, I did not say I do not pray, I said, I do not pray as much as I should.
Sometimes I find myself worrying, and humanly trying to work out problems without the help of the Lord.
(2) I also must confess that I do not preach on the subject of prayer as much as I should, and I ask the Lord to forgive me. Again, I did not say I do not preach on prayer, I said I do not preach on the subject of prayer as much as I should.
Let’s look at some things we see about the Christian life in Psalm 64 that deal with prayer.
We see . . .
I. HIS REQUEST
Being a child of God is the greatest blessing an individual can have in THIS LIFE. Does that mean that after we accept the Lord we live happily ever after? No! When we get to heaven we will enjoy the PERFECT LIFE, BUT NOT UNTIL THEN!
The Christian life is the best life a person can have here on earth, but both SAINTS and SINNERS have personal problems in this life.
Illus: Did you hear about the young couple that decided to get married? As the big day approached, they grew apprehensive. Each had personal problems they had never before shared with anyone, not even each other.
• The Groom-to-be, overcoming his fear, decided to ask his father for advice. "Father," he said, "I am deeply concerned about the
success of my marriage."
• His father replied, "Don't you love this girl?" "Oh yes, very much," he said, “But you see, I have very smelly feet, and I'm afraid that my wife to be will be put off by them."
• "No problem," said dad, "All you have to do is wash your feet as often as possible, and always wear socks, even to bed." Well, to him this seemed a workable solution.
• The bride-to-be, overcoming her fear, decided to take her problem up with her mom. “Mom," she said, "When I wake up in the morning my breath is truly awful."
• "Honey," her mother consoled, "Everyone has bad breath in the morning." "No, you don't understand, my morning breath is so bad, I'm afraid that my fiancé will not want to sleep in the same room with me."
• Her mother said simply, "Try this. In the morning, get straight out of bed, and head for the kitchen and make breakfast. While the family is busy eating, move on to the bathroom and brush your teeth. The key is, not to say a word until you've brushed your teeth." "I shouldn't say good morning or anything?" the daughter asked. "Not a word," her mother affirmed. "Well, it's certainly worth a try," she thought.
• The loving couple was finally married. Not forgetting the advice each had received, he with his perpetual socks and she with her morning silence, they managed quite well. That is, until about six months later. Shortly before dawn one morning, the husband wakes to find that one of his socks had come off. Fearful of the consequences, he frantically searches the bed. This, of course, wakes his wife and without thinking, she looks him in the face and says with her bad breath, "What on earth are you doing?" After she breathed in his face he said, "Oh no! You've swallowed my sock!"
Illus: A man went to a doctor and the doctor told him he needed some surgery. The doctor could tell the announcement of surgery really shook him up. The doctor said to him:
• “I can tell you really are shook up about having surgery.”
• The man said, “Yes, I never had any surgery before!”
• The doctor said, “Don’t be afraid I never have operated on anyone before!”
We all have personal problems! But we do not handle them the same way.
• Some turn to alcohol and drugs.
• Some turn to their friends for comfort. They do no more than sympathize with us.
Christians have the best solution when we have problems. We can turn to the Lord in prayer.
Now some might be saying, “Preacher, that is not so great.” Most SAINTS AND SINNERS turn to the Lord in prayer when they have a problem. THIS IS TRUE! But what if I told you that the Lord does not hear the prayer of a sinner? I am not going to tell you that; but GOD’S WORD DOES!
The Bible says, in Psalm 66:18, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord WILL NOT hear me.”
David knew this as a child of God, and He was in trouble, and He wanted God to hear His prayer. He prayed, in verse 1, “Hear my voice, O God.”
Illus: Listen, if you fell into a hole and you could not get out, you would recognize how important it is that someone hears your desperate cry for help. David was in a hole and he cried out, “Hear my voice, O God….”
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR GOD TO HEAR US? There are times in our life when no one but God can help us. When those times come, we want to be able to say, “Hear my voice, O God….”
Illus: There is a television commercial that shows and elderly person that has fallen down. She is in the house alone and she is crying out, “I HAVE FALLEN AND I CAN NOT GET UP!”
This same commercial shows that elderly person can wear a device around their neck, and when they fall, all they have to do is push a button and tell someone that they fell, and immediately help is on the way.
Listen, Saint of God, we are blessed people to be able to call upon God almighty for help when we need it.
Look at verses 1-2, David said, “Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity.”
David said, “Hear my voice.” David recognized something that many folks do not recognize. We can pray and God will hear our prayers. When God hears us, we should never take that lightly. We are talking to ALMIGHTY GOD!
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger said, “What if I told you I personally talked with former president Ronald Reagan. Would that impress you?”
“Suppose I tell you I talk to God the Creator on a daily basis. WOULD THAT IMPRESS YOU?”
Considering that we are no more than a, “Speck of dust” on this earth, it is astounding that He would have time to talk with us.
Now I know we have some folks who think so highly of themselves that they act like they are doing God a favor to take a few minutes and talk to Him. But Let me tell you something; none of us are more than speck of dust on this earth, and one of the greatest blessings in this life is for God almighty to HEAR OUR CRY.
Illus: Helen Poole said:
• “I was tucking our preschooler in for the night when she asked if she could pray.”
• “Delighted, I told her it was a great idea to talk to Jesus. As she began praying, her words kept getting softer and softer until only her lips were moving. Then she said ‘Amen.’”
• "Honey," I said, giving her a hug, "I didn't hear a word you said."
• "That's okay, Mama," she responded. "I wasn't talking to you." (Helen B. Poole, Canon City, Colorado. Christian Reader, "Kids of the
Kingdom.")
Have you ever been in in a church where people pray like God is hard of hearing?
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger was at one of these churches, and before service, they came and asked him and a preacher friend if they would like to join them in prayer in one of the class rooms before church service got started. They both agreed they would be glad to join the brethren in prayer before service. There were about 10 or 12 men, and once that door closed, all of these men started praying out loud. They were praying so loud, you could have heard them in the parking lot. Dr. Belger prayed this one simple prayer, “Lord, please forgive me. I can not pray in this mass confusion.”
Isn’t it wonderful that we Christians have a God we can call upon when we need His help?
• It is during this time, Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” We can whisper a prayer and He can hear us.
We all can rejoice knowing as Believers God encourages us to call upon Him.
• It is during this time, in Romans 8:26 we read, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
Now let me teach you something about these precious verses. There are times when I find myself in great need, and I go to the Lord in prayer. But as I go to Him in prayer, I do not even know what or how to pray. But as I seek the Lord, the Bible tells me that the Spirit of God within me prays for me, because He knows what I need. But look at the last part of that verse. He prays from within to the Father, “WITH GROANINGS WHICH CANNOT BE UTTERED.”
In other words, He prays and no words come from my lips because He prays from within. The Holy Spirit PRAYS WITHIN US GROANINGS, WHICH CAN NOT BE UTTERED. Not one word or one groan comes from our lips, but they come from our heart where the Holy Spirit is praying for us.
David wanted God to hear him. He wanted to talk to God about some very important things in his life. As he prayed, he asked God for several things.
• “Preserve my life from fear of the enemy”. He was being threatened by his enemies, and he wanted God to protect him from their threats.
• He said, “Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity.” They were conspiring in secrecy about how they could destroy him, and he wanted God to hide him from these evildoers.
We see HIS REQUEST and . . .
II. HIS RECOGNITION
HE RECOGNIZED THEY WERE ATTACKING HIM!
Look at verses 3-6, we read, “Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words: That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them? They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep.”
Notice in verse 3, he said, “Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words….” He says his enemies use their tongue like a sword. Now you can do a lot of damage with a sword, and a person can do a lot of damage with their tongue. You can chop someone’s reputation up with a sword and you can do the same with the tongue.
Look at the word, “Whet.” This is the word, “Shanan” (Pronounced as “Shaw-nan”) which means to point, to pierce, to sharpen.
• The WEAPON OF WORDS has been used to destroy more lives than probably any other tool Satan has.
• The WEAPON OF WORDS has been used to cause more misery in the life of others than any other tool Satan has.
David’s enemies are literally trying to destroy this great man of God by using the most EVIL WORDS they were capable of uttering.
Illus: We all have heard that, “Talk is cheap.” This phrase gives us the impression that words have little or no value, and are relatively harmless.
Talk is not cheap! It has cost some their jobs, homes, reputation, and their lives!
Words are perceived to be even more harmless when the subject or “victim” is not present. Some will say, “What they don’t hear won’t hurt them.” Listen, lives and churches have been destroyed by the tongue.
Words can be CONSTRUCTIVE or DESTRUCTIVE.
Illus: A group of frogs were hopping contentedly through the woods, going about their froggy business, when two of them fell into a deep pit. All of the other frogs gathered around the pit to see what could be done to help their companions. When they saw how deep the pit was, the rest of the dismayed group agreed that it was hopeless, and told the two frogs in the pit that they should prepare themselves for their fate, because they were as good as dead. Unwilling to accept this terrible fate, the two frogs began to jump with all of their might.
• Some of the frogs shouted into the pit that it was hopeless, and that the two frogs wouldn't be in that situation if they had been more careful, more obedient to the froggy rules, and more responsible.
• The other frogs continued sorrowfully shouting that they should save their energy and give up, since they were already as good as dead. The two frogs continued jumping as hard as they could, and after several hours of desperate effort were quite weary.
• Finally, one of the frogs took heed to the calls of his fellows. Spent and disheartened, he quietly resolved himself to his fate, lay down at the bottom of the pit, and died as the others looked on in helpless grief.
• The other frog continued to jump with every ounce of energy he had, although his body was racked with pain and he was completely exhausted. His companions began anew, yelling for him to accept his fate, stop the pain and just die. The weary frog jumped harder and harder and - wonder of wonders! He finally leaped so high that he sprang from the pit.
• Amazed, the other frogs celebrated his miraculous freedom, and then gathering around him asked, "Why did you continue jumping when we told you it was impossible?"
• Reading their lips, the astonished frog explained to them that he was deaf, and that when he saw their gestures and shouting, he thought they were cheering him on. What he had perceived as encouragement inspired him to try harder and to succeed against all odds.
The Book of Proverbs says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue:…." (Proverbs 18:21)
Destructive words can DESTROY PEOPLE, and David recognized that his enemies were using this powerful weapon to try to destroy him. No Wonder David is REQUESTING that God hear him. He RECOGNIZED the danger he found himself in.
We see HIS REQUEST, HIS RECOGNITION, and . . .
III. HIS REMEDY
Look at verses 7-9, we read, “But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded. So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away. And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of his doing.”
They shoot these bitter, destructive words at him, but he recognized that HIS REMEDY was God. Look at verse 7, “But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded.”
When we are in the WILL OF GOD, people can use all kinds of weapons against us, but the Word of God says, in Isaiah 54:17, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper….”
No weapon that is used against those who are in the will of God will prosper, because when we are in the will of God, they are not fighting us, they are FIGHTING ALMIGHTY GOD, and they are going to lose that battle, no matter who they are.
David talks about them shooting at him in verses 3-6, but in verse 7 he talks about God coming to his defense and SHOOTING AT THEM.
In verse 8, he says that this thing is going to backfire on them. We read, “So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away.” David is ecstatic that God comes to our rescue.
Look at verses 9-10, we read, “And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of his doing. The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.”
Conclusion:
I want to say again that I deeply appreciate THE GREATNESS OF HAVING GOD ON OUR SIDE!
Let those continue who preach other things such as:
• Emotionalism
• Blab it and Grab it
• Name it and Claim it
I am going to continue putting my faith in the POWER OF PRAYER!
Illus: Many churches wonder why we have so many weak Christians. They claim they are filled with the Spirit of God, when they are only filled with emotionalism.
I guess we all have seen folks that would get emotionally excited when some preacher or song leader would come out. Some of these are so emotionally charged they are jumping up and down. But yet those same people, when the emotion leaves them on Monday, continue living a life of sin.
But the power of prayer will see us through, seven days a week. I personally do not know anything greater than the privilege to call upon God. We all have personal problems, and the solution is, “I FOUND THE ANSWER…I LEARN TO PRAY!”
We see . . .
I. HIS REQUEST
II. HIS RECOGNITION
III. HIS REMEDY
