Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Three Elements of Prayer

April 25, 2016

Worship:   Part the Waters/I Need Thee Every Hour as performed by Selah

When I think I'm going under, part the waters, Lord
When I feel the waves around me, calm the sea
When I cry for help, oh, hear me
Lord and hold out Your hand
Touch my life
Still the raging storm in me
I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord
No tender voice like Thine can peace afford
REFRAIN
I need Thee, O I need Thee
Every hour I need Thee
O bless me now, my Savior
I come to Thee
I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain
Come quickly and abide, or life is vain
REFRAIN

Witness:
I chose the song above because it was on my lips as I finished praying before I sat down to journal. I have not journaled for a week now. I have taken on more responsibilities in my life. I joined a Lifegroup on Thursday morning. I have Band of Brothers Thursday night and have started a Lifegroup with a couple of my brothers. Actually, it was started by a friend of mine from church and Band of Brothers. He asked me to help lead it. This Lifegroup meets Saturday night at a Sober Living facility. I feel totally out of my element and stretched way beyond the small and narrow life I have let myself contract to. I have also joined the Next Steps team at my church. They help in ministering to the needs of those who raised their hands during the service or to help anyone who has a question after the service. After becoming involved in these things, I thought my excitement and desire to serve would flourish. However, I began to feel the old self-doubts and even emptiness and lack of desire to do anything. It was as if I joined in and immediately wanted out. This reminds me of the time I had an MRI on my head. I had checked myself into a hospital after another hospital could not explain why I felt funny and had gotten dizzy, things had gone dim briefly and I couldn’t walk straight. This hospital set me up immediately for an MRI (the other hospital did a CAT Scan and saw nothing). However, when My head entered the tube, which was not much larger than my body, I immediately panicked and wanted out. I eventually was able to get an MRI done in a much larger tube with a towel over my eyes. In both cases fear caused me to want out. Both fears were irrational. The small tube could not collapse on me (I have fears of being buried alive so I would freak out if I found myself on the bottom of a celebration pile-on) and the Lord will not leave me to my own strength if I desire to serve and minister to others.
Ps 25:6-7
6 Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
7 Remember not the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you are good, O Lord.
NIV
Ps 25:6-7

6 Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.

7 Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O Lord.
KJV
Ps 25:6-7
6 Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love,
which you have shown from long ages past.
7 Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth.
Remember me in the light of your unfailing love,
for you are merciful, O Lord.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
Ps 25:6-7

6 Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love,
 for they have been from of old.
7 Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!
ESV
David’s prayer continues through verse seven actually. In verses 4-5 he is praying for guidance and in verses 6-7 he is praying for grace. In the former, he seeks God’s map for his life and in the latter God’s mercy. The former is based on God’s actions and the latter on God’s attributes. Prayer, if it is true prayer, must contain at least these elements:
            1. Faith/ Trust
·        To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God. (Ps 25:1-2a NIV)
·        … for you are God my Savior (Ps 25:5b NIV)
            2.  Hope (A confident expectation)
·        No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame (Ps 25:3a NIV)
·        my hope is in you all day long Ps 25:5c NIV
            3.  Knowledge and reliance on God’s Character or attributes
·        Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love (Ps 25:6a NIV)
·        according to your love remember me, for you are good, O Lord.
            (Ps 25:7b NIV)
Are these elements found in our Lord’s Model Prayer?
            1. Faith/ Trust
Ø "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name (Matt 6:9 NIV)
            2. Hope
Ø your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
            (Matt 6:10 NIV)
 3. Knowledge and reliance on God’s Character or attributes
     (Not so much stated but assumed or implied)
Ø His Sovereignty
Ø 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matt 6:9-10 NIV)
·        His Holiness
Ø hallowed be your name (Matt 6:9b NIV)
Ø And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'
          (Matt 6:13 NIV)
·        His Love expressed in His goodness and mercy
Ø Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.' (Matt 6:11-13 NIV)

I’m sure we could glean more attributes out of “the Lord’s prayer,” but these should suffice to illustrate my point. So, the question I must ask myself as I enter into prayer is this:
v Do I trust in God as my Sovereign Lord, Savior and provider/guider?
v Do I have a confident expectation/hope that He hears my prayers and will answer them?
v Do I know and believe that God is who He says He is and will answer my prayers because He is sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, Omnisapient, holy, loving, and good?
Does that mean I will see things happen immediately or as I desired? No! He is all wise and knows what is best. Does that mean that I won’t struggle and face disappointments in my prayer life? Of course not. I am imperfect, but I will continue to trust in the perfect one. I will remember the truth expressed in a poem written by Edith Lillian Young. A poem put to music several decades ago by one of my favorite musicians Phil Keaggy. I will end this journal entry with these words and a link to Phil’s version of this poem in song.

Disappointment --
His Appointment

"Disappointment -- His Appointment"
Change one letter, then I see
That the thwarting of my purpose
Is God's better choice for me.
His appointment must be blessing,
Tho' it may come in disguise,
For the end from the beginning
  Open to His wisdom lies.
"Disappointment -- His Appointment"
Whose?  The Lord, who loves me best,
Understands and knows me fully,
Who my faith and love would test;
For, like loving earthly parent,
He rejoices when He knows
That His child accepts, UNQUESTIONED,
All that from His wisdom flows.
"Disappointment -- His Appointment"
"No good thing will He withhold,"
From denials oft we gather
Treasures of His love untold,
Well He knows each broken purpose
Leads to fuller, deeper trust,
And the end of all His dealings
Proves our God is wise and just.
"Disappointment -- His Appointment"
Lord, I take it, then, as such.
Like the clay in hands of potter,
Yielding wholly to Thy touch.
All my life's plan in Thy moulding,
Not one single choice be mine;
Let me answer, unrepining --
"Father, not my will, but Thine."
Edith Lillian Young
Job 23:14 For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me:
and many such things are with him.

[Best to read the poem as the song plays in background. The pictures on the video are beautiful scenes from Great Britain, but don’t really go with the words of the song or poem.]  
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