Sunday, June 1, 1997 In Your Absence:
In this week's lesson, which came from Psalms 86:1-17, we studied about prayer and learned how we can strengthen our prayer life. Some people do not pray at all. Some only pray when they are in trouble. And many of those who do pray do not do so in a manner which is consistent with biblical teaching. From this Psalm, which was written by King David, we were able to gain some valuable insights into prayer and identify some specific ways that we can improve our prayer life.
In looking at David's prayer, we saw four distinctive features which contributed to his ability to reach the Lord. First, he was quick to admit his own personal need for God. He saw himself as "poor and needy" and as being unable to meet his own spiritual and physical needs. We may not wish to see ourselves in such an helpless estate. But in reality, we are, and we do well when we admit it. Second, David approached God with confidence, yet as we saw from this study, his confidence was not based on some kind of foolish assumption that God would automatically be quick to answer. Instead, it was based on his personal relationship with the Lord and also on his knowledge of God's love for him. One of the important conclusions of this week's lesson is that we can have this same confidence. If we have trusted Jesus as our Savior, then we, too, can rest in Him and place our hope, trust, and confidence in Him and in His love for us.
The third characteristic of David's prayer was that he was eager to praise the Lord. We must quickly add, though, that his words were not insincere or manipulative. In our society, people often use swelling words as a way to gain advantage on another, but such was not David's motive. He said that God is great, that God does marvelous things, and that our God alone is God. How true are each of these statements, and when they come from a pure heart, such words bring real joy to our Lord! The fourth distinctive feature of David's prayer was that he asked God to meet his needs. We should always bring our petitions to the Lord, but in so doing, we should also always understand that an earthly solution may not be part of His plan. Our Lord is long suffering, not willing that any should perish. He is also slow to anger. Yet, for whatever His reasons, He sometimes lets us experience the full extent of our difficulties. When we are in the midst of those difficulties, therefore, we need to remember that the Lord is always faithful. We also need to remember that a true test of our faithfulness towards Him is evidenced by our never ending willingness to wait patiently on Him.
May we always be found faithful, and may we also learn to incorporate David's teachings into our own prayers. As you go through this week, please make it your goal to serve the Lord, and as always, be sure to tell others what He has done for you. Thank you, and I hope to see you in class soon.
Tom of Spotswood"He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (I John 5:12)
"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)
Send email to: tlee6040@aol.com