The Passionate Pursuit Of Effective Prayer.

The Passionate Pursuit Of Effective Prayer.

Psalm 13:1-6

Jenny and I left our house early to be with our parents for Thanksgiving, 1996. As we left I noticed our next door neighbor’s silver van was parked in his driveway.

My neighbor and I had gotten close. I didn’t know that he was a different man inside his house. -After 35 years his wife was filing for divorce. Two days earlier he had called me to his Church in Cartersville, I met him, he proceeded telling me his marriage and his ministry was over. -There wasn’t any talking to him.

Now it’s Thanksgiving night, we made it back home. As soon as we got inside the house another neighbor called me and asked if I had heard about G.P, he killed himself. -He parked his van in his driveway and shot himself. -That meant as we saw his van that morning, he was about to, or already did.

-My knees fell to the ground, I begin to sob. It broke my heart. -Honestly, it didn’t seem true.

Wednesday night I spoke on the book of, Psalm 1, and how the righteous live a blessed life. -A happy life. -A wholesome life.

Again, We learned in Psalm 1, that the righteous are blessed, and the wicked are punished.

The Lord knows the way of the righteous, and he ensures that they are prosperous.

The worldview of, Psalm 1 is affirmed in, Psalm 2, where the blessings of righteousness are extended to rulers and to nations.

Psalm 2, We learned that the nations rage… Against the Lord, and against his anointed, while the Lord sits in the heavens laughing.

-These rebellious nations are broken and destroyed by the power of God.

However, if you stop reading, after Psalm 2, our theology will be incomplete.

-You would probably come to the conclusion that loving, and serving God makes everything roses.

However Psalm 3, presents another side of the biblical picture of faith in which the neat, tidy, well ordered theology of Psalm 1 and 2 gives way to a theology that allows for the realities of life– realities that include struggle, injustice, abuse, doubt, fear, and the testing of our faith.

Immediately after we hear in Psalm 1 and 2, that God blesses the righteous, we hear these words in, Psalm 3:1-2 Oh, Lord, those who trouble me are increased. Many are they who rise up against days. 2. Many are saying to me, there is no help for you and God.

What happened? Life happened. Trails happen. Heartache occurs, mistrust and thousands more life trails come in many shapes and sizes.

This takes us to this mornings text, The caption over Psalm 13, For the choir director: A psalm of David. Psalms 13:1-6NLT O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? 2 How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand? 3 Turn and answer me, O Lord my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die. 4 Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!” Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall. 5 But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. 6 I will sing to the Lord because he is good to me.

Psalm 3 and 13, teach us that the righteous will face suffering, trials, and test.

These prayer psalms reflect the experience of a righteous Job. -The Bible declares that Job was perfect and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.

Satan appeared before God, and accused Job of being a Fair-weather believer.

God gives satan permission to attack Jobs children, animals, crop, everything he owned and possessed. (Job stays faithful).

Again satan says to God, let me take Jobs health and he will surely curse you. God allowed Satan to attack Job, and leave him inches away from his death.

Jesus states these powerful words in,

John 16:33NKJV “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

The apostle Paul declares in, 2 Timothy 3:12… those who live godly in Christ Jesus, will suffer persecution.

To those who suffer, Peter states in, 1 Peter 4:12 beloved, do not think it’s strange concerning the fiery trials, which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you.

Listen Saints, testings, trials, hardships, and sufferings are not a sign that we have failed; rather, they are a normal part of the Christian life, and their purpose is to make us stronger.

In Luke 13, when Jesus‘s disciples heard that Pilate had killed a number of Galilean Jews, and mixed their blood with the sacrifices, His disciples questioned Jesus, as to how this sort of thing could happen to God‘s people.