Hey Gang,
We continue this week in our series on worship as we deep dive into the very depths of our communication with God, when we worship - when we pray. There is nothing more important in our relationship with God than prayer and worship. Through prayer we establish a relationship with God, and through worship we recognize who He is.
We know from scripture that two things God requires of us as Christians is prayer and worship. When we enter into God's presence in worship, there should be two-way communication. God wants to speak to us in our times of worship. Church attendance does not make us worshipers. Having attended a church service begs the questions, "Did you worship while you were there?" "Did you go to meet God or just be part of a gathering?"
The question today is - Why do you pray?
We know from scripture that two things God requires of us as Christians is prayer and worship. When we enter into God's presence in worship, there should be two-way communication. God wants to speak to us in our times of worship. Church attendance does not make us worshipers. Having attended a church service begs the questions, "Did you worship while you were there?" "Did you go to meet God or just be part of a gathering?"
The question today is - Why do you pray?
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Who You Go Call?
If your car breaks down? If you get a new job? If you get bad news from the doctor? When you find out you are going to be a grandparent? Does who we call vary based on circumstances? Don't you think God wants to hear about these things in your life too?
- God actually desires that we be utterly dependent upon Him and that we are in desperate need of His help. Think of a human father. What good father would not want his children to turn to him when they need help? Naturally, a father loves it when his children come to him to seek help. There is something special about having someone there for you. God is this true source and He is more reliable than any human father or mother.
Psalm 50:15 “and call on Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
Psalm 91:14-16 “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges My name. He will call on Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
Psalm 145:18-20 “The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them. The LORD watches over all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy.”
Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”
As Jesus taught the disciples to pray in Matthew 6:9-13, I found it interesting that The Lord's Prayer (or The Model Prayer) begins and ends with worship. It begins with "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. . .". The word "hallow" points toward adoration, or reverence. This prayer ends with "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever, Amen."
The most important matter of worship is the condition of the heart. Psalm 86 is entitled “a Davidic prayer.” It’s a heartfelt prayer for God to intervene on behalf of the psalmist. Apparently he prayed under duress and in desperation; his life was threatened by godless men. We do not know the specific setting of this psalm, but it is valuable for understanding the role of prayer in true worship, whether personal or public.
I. HEAR ME – PSALM 86:1-7
1 Listen, LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. 2 Protect my life, for I am faithful. You are my God; save Your servant who trusts in You. 3 Be gracious to me, Lord, for I call to You all day long. 4 Bring joy to Your servant’s life, because I turn to You, Lord. 5 For You, Lord, are kind and ready to forgive, rich in faithful love to all who call on You. 6 LORD, hear my prayer; listen to my plea for mercy. 7 I call on You in the day of my distress, for You will answer me.
Notice the pattern of the prayer:
Petition Followed by Reason
1. David petitioned the Lord to listen and answer – why? He was poor and needy
2. He petitioned the Lord to protect his life and to save His servant’s life – why? He was faithful and trusted in the Lord
3. He petitioned the Lord to be gracious to him – why? He called on Him all day long
4. He petitioned the Lord to bring joy to His servant’s life – why? He turned to the Lord in hope
Isaiah 41:17 “The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the LORD will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.”
This pattern did not indicate self-righteousness on David’s part. None of us are entitled to God’s blessings of listening to or answering our prayers, protecting us, saving us, being gracious to us, or bringing us joy. Instead, David made his petitions based on God’s character and readiness to act. David based his personal sense of being poor and needy, faithful, trusting in the lord, calling on the Lord all day long, and turning to the Lord on the relationship God had established with him.
Have you ever felt like your prayers just hit the ceiling and go no further? How can we be better “pray-ers”?
As David prayed to the Lord in his time of distress, he was convinced God would not only hear his prayer but would answer in a meaningful and beneficial way. David prayed believing in the character of God to answer his need.
Communicating meaningfully with God starts with understanding who we are in terms of who He is. David rightly acknowledged, “I am poor and needy,” but God is “rich in faithful love.”
Here are some recommended psalms to incorporate into your prayers:
II. TEACH ME – PSALM 86:8-13
8 Lord, there is no one like You among the gods, and there are no works like Yours. 9 All the nations You have made will come and bow down before You, Lord, and will honor Your name. 10 For You are great and perform wonders; You alone are God. 11 Teach me Your way, Yahweh, and I will live by Your truth. Give me an undivided mind to fear Your name. 12 I will praise You with all my heart, Lord my God, and will honor Your name forever. 13 For Your faithful love for me is great, and You deliver my life from the depths of Sheol.
Verses 8-13 reveal two striking things about David
1. David knew many wonderful things about the Lord.
2. David realized he still had much to learn about God and His ways.
David asked God to teach him. How do we learn from God?
Why do we never really learn God’s truth until we act on it in obedience?
The most important matter of worship is the condition of the heart. Psalm 86 is entitled “a Davidic prayer.” It’s a heartfelt prayer for God to intervene on behalf of the psalmist. Apparently he prayed under duress and in desperation; his life was threatened by godless men. We do not know the specific setting of this psalm, but it is valuable for understanding the role of prayer in true worship, whether personal or public.
I. HEAR ME – PSALM 86:1-7
1 Listen, LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. 2 Protect my life, for I am faithful. You are my God; save Your servant who trusts in You. 3 Be gracious to me, Lord, for I call to You all day long. 4 Bring joy to Your servant’s life, because I turn to You, Lord. 5 For You, Lord, are kind and ready to forgive, rich in faithful love to all who call on You. 6 LORD, hear my prayer; listen to my plea for mercy. 7 I call on You in the day of my distress, for You will answer me.
Notice the pattern of the prayer:
Petition Followed by Reason
1. David petitioned the Lord to listen and answer – why? He was poor and needy
2. He petitioned the Lord to protect his life and to save His servant’s life – why? He was faithful and trusted in the Lord
3. He petitioned the Lord to be gracious to him – why? He called on Him all day long
4. He petitioned the Lord to bring joy to His servant’s life – why? He turned to the Lord in hope
Isaiah 41:17 “The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the LORD will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.”
This pattern did not indicate self-righteousness on David’s part. None of us are entitled to God’s blessings of listening to or answering our prayers, protecting us, saving us, being gracious to us, or bringing us joy. Instead, David made his petitions based on God’s character and readiness to act. David based his personal sense of being poor and needy, faithful, trusting in the lord, calling on the Lord all day long, and turning to the Lord on the relationship God had established with him.
Have you ever felt like your prayers just hit the ceiling and go no further? How can we be better “pray-ers”?
- Remember that prayer is talking with God and listening to God. Don’t pray to sound “religious” or impressive. Just talk with Him.
- Think about how easy and relaxed it is to talk with good friends or family members, the people we talk with frequently. Similar principles apply with God – make prayer an hourly habit.
- When a distraction arises, talk it over with God. That gets you into the habit talking things over with God and doing what He tells you.
- David gives us an important truth in verse 7 – he prayed or called on the Lord because he knew the Lord would answer.
As David prayed to the Lord in his time of distress, he was convinced God would not only hear his prayer but would answer in a meaningful and beneficial way. David prayed believing in the character of God to answer his need.
It’s God’s character that should empower our prayer life.
Communicating meaningfully with God starts with understanding who we are in terms of who He is. David rightly acknowledged, “I am poor and needy,” but God is “rich in faithful love.”
Here are some recommended psalms to incorporate into your prayers:
Praying the Psalms
8; 23; 27; 34; 46; 51; 57; 63; and 103
8; 23; 27; 34; 46; 51; 57; 63; and 103
II. TEACH ME – PSALM 86:8-13
8 Lord, there is no one like You among the gods, and there are no works like Yours. 9 All the nations You have made will come and bow down before You, Lord, and will honor Your name. 10 For You are great and perform wonders; You alone are God. 11 Teach me Your way, Yahweh, and I will live by Your truth. Give me an undivided mind to fear Your name. 12 I will praise You with all my heart, Lord my God, and will honor Your name forever. 13 For Your faithful love for me is great, and You deliver my life from the depths of Sheol.
Verses 8-13 reveal two striking things about David
1. David knew many wonderful things about the Lord.
2. David realized he still had much to learn about God and His ways.
David asked God to teach him. How do we learn from God?
- Learning comes through doing.
- Learning from God is not pouring religious knowledge into our heads. It’s doing as God says, very practically and in daily life. Then we understand how His ways work and we find heart to know Him more.
- Think about how young children learn. In the eternal scheme we’re not that different.
- Learning God’s ways is not just once and done.
Why do we never really learn God’s truth until we act on it in obedience?
Like David, we should never stop seeking to learn God’s ways. Opening ourselves to this spiritual growth process is an act of humility on our part and a frank admission we have much to learn.
III. HELP ME – PSALM 86:15-16
15 But You, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth. 16 Turn to me and be gracious to me. Give Your strength to Your servant; save the son of Your female servant.
How did David express confidence in God’s character? How will we live when we have confidence in God’s character?
- One aspect of God’s character is He is unchanging. So when David described God as compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, and rich in faithful love and truth, these things will always be true about God.
My personal hope is that my life will be an everyday testimony to the life-changing power of God through Jesus Christ.
Conclusion:
How can we improve the quality and depth of our communication with God during the day? How about when we worship?
- Pursue an attitude toward prayer that is a mixture of both confidence and humility.
- Listen as well as talk.
- Do as God says. Share with God what you do.
- Use God’s Word to prepare your heart for prayer.
Prayer of Commitment
Lord, help me to pray to You in the confidence that You hear me and love me and will answer me. Teach me to express my worship of You through my prayers. Amen
This is another great lesson from the Worship by Heart series. I hope you will use it this very week in you communication with God.
Have a blessed rest of the week and we'll see you on Sunday!
In His Love,
David & Susan
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