New Life In Christ Pt. 23 Prayer Perspective from the Psalms

Psalm 4:1  To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm of David. Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.

David began his prayer in Psalm 4 by acknowledging previous times when God answered his prayers. The word "enlarged" means that in his earlier prayers, David received relief from God that eased the trouble he was facing in some manner. The king was encouraged to pray because he knew that God had showed mercy to him before and He would do so again. 

Praying early each morning.

Psalm 5:2-3  Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. 3) My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

Prayer is not always the first thing on our minds when we rise in the morning, but it should be. As a new day begins we should express praise to Jehovah for giving us one more day of life and potential opportunities to love and serve the God of Glory. 

The word "direct" means to set in order, to arrange and make preparation for, in this case preparing a time to pray and an idea of what he is going to pray about. We should be like David and turn our eyes and hearts upward because God is our helper and our hope. 

Thus, David cultivated a practice of praying early in the morning when he arose and of directing his prayer to Jehovah, the Great I Am, the self existent, promise keeping, unchangeable God. Prayer is a time that we acknowledge our utter dependency upon God for everything: life, breath, skills and talents, stamina and endurance, salvation and redemption, help and deliverance. 

Praying with confidence God will hear. 

Psalm 6:9  The LORD hath heard my supplication; the LORD will receive my prayer.

This text teaches us about being confident in praying to Jehovah. The LORD hath heard...the LORD will receive." The word "heard" means to hear attentively the one who is praying. The word "supplication" means seeking grace and help from God in our time of need. 

The word "prayer" refers to the place of prayer, the act of praying with trust that God will hear. The word "will receive" means to take it in the hand and carry it along and is frequently used in taking a wife in marriage. 

This Psalm communicates to us a great willingness of God not only to hear the prayer of each believer, but that He takes a personal interest in each request from the sheep of His pasture. 

Psalm 17:1  A Prayer of David. Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.

This Psalm of David also begins with prayer. The word "hear" means hearing with intelligence and attentiveness. The word "right" means that which is morally righteous, a cause that is just or right, and lips that speak truth.  

Thus, we pray having confidence that God loves us and will listen carefully to our prayers. We pray in accord with His will, seeking to pray for things that are right in God's eyes, with words that are accurate and truthful. 

A prayer containing words from "feigned lips" would be like the manner that the Pharisees prayed in the gospels. They prayed in a way that put the attention upon them so that everyone would be impressed by how "religious" they were. They were self righteous and viewed all others with contempt. 

The Pharisee prayed in the temple thanking God that he was not like other men who were sinners, while the humble publican would not lift his eyes toward heaven, but cried out "God be merciful to me, a sinner" (Luke 18:10-14).

Praying with honesty and focus. 

Psalm 55:1-2  Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication. 2)  Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise; 

The word "attend" means we are asking God to listen to our prayer with attention, literally, bending the ear toward us. The word "hear" actually means receiving an answer or response from God. 

The word "mourn" is like a restless wandering, a soul that is not at rest, and which is seeking help and comfort from God. 

The word "complaint" refers to telling God about our troubles, our anxieties and our burdens. 

The phrase "make a noise" refers to being in a state of agitation and being disquieted in our soul. It means being stirred up about the troubles and problems that we face. 

We begin to see that good prayer is when we are open and honest in sharing what is on our heart with God. If we are overwhelmed then we tell Him about it. If we are being persecuted in some form, then we speak to Him with the expectation that God will hear and will answer our prayers. He may not answer our prayer in the manner that we want Him to but He will always answer with that which is best for us. 

Praying anytime and any place. 

Psalm 55:17 Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.

Paul taught us about praying without ceasing and praying continuously. The Psalmist echoes our need to stay in the spirit of prayer throughout our waking hours. The times of evening, morning and noon encompass the entire hours of a day. 

A different word for prayer is used in this text which has the idea of giving consideration to our words of prayer, thinking and pondering about what we are praying to God about. It means putting forth our inner thoughts, concerns and needs in prayer to God. 

Praying because we are dependent upon God. 

Psalm 86:1  A Prayer of David. Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy.

David recognized his helplessness to do much about the trials and troubles that he faced. He needed help from his God just like we need help from our God. The word "poor" means praying when we are wretched in spirit, when we find ourselves afflicted and weak. The word "needy" refers to praying when we are being oppressed and abused and we seek help and deliverance from God.

Thoughts to Ponder...

Psalm 102:17  He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.

We will find a ready audience with God when we pray to Him with a sincere heart. We have abundant assurance that Jehovah will hear us when we pray, that He has high regard for the believer. 

We must follow the example of the Psalmist by praying early in the morning that the Lord will establish our goings and make us faithful and fruitful in whatever we do. 

We must follow the example of the Psalmist by maintaining an attitude of prayer morning, noon and evening, ready to pray, ready to take our burdens to the Lord. 

We must pray expecting that God is ready to hear from us and that He seeks what is best for each of us. We must pray with confidence that God loves us and that He is ready to hear us when we pray and when we pour out all of our concerns and problems to Him. 

We need to pray with purpose and focus, specifically communicating our troubles and afflictions to Him, and being specific in our requests for help or deliverance. 

Last, the Psalmist teaches us that we are utterly dependent upon Jehovah for everything. He made us this way and this is an indicator of God's willingness and desire to hear our prayers. 

I pray that the Lord will begin helping us learn how to pray and for what we ought to pray. 

Bob