One Thing I Have Asked

One thing I have asked from the Lord,

that I desire (seek) to serve Him,

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord (be in His presence) all the days of my life,

to gaze on the beauty and pleasantness of the Lord (seeing His glorious face) and

to contemplate on Him in His temple.

Psalms 27:4

 

Only a pure (righteous) person, made so by God, can look at the Lord. In the Old Testament, the Israelites understood when an unrighteous person looked at God, that person would die. Moses understood this. He learned it from God when God covered Moses’ face on the mountain so he would not see His face and die. 

David expressed his greatest desire was to seek to serve the Lord. He stated one desire then expounded on it. To serve the Lord, David wanted to be with God in His house—the temple. He wanted to be where he knew the presence of the Lord resided. Why? Because in the presence of the Lord is holiness, peace, understanding, and the fulfillment of our greatest desire—to be in a right relationship with God. 

While in the house of the Lord seeking to serve Him, David could get clarity of thought with one purpose, without being pulled in the many directions a king is asked to make decisions. He could focus on God without the world pulling on him. David could hear the voice of God’s directions without clamor. That brings peace and understanding. 

Being with God and gazing on His face brings stillness, quiet, and fulfillment of our most inborn desire, to be in relationship with the Lord and to see and to serve Him.  No fear of death. No fear from the world. Just peace, joint purpose, and reverence. That’s what David meant when he wrote he wanted one thing: to seek to serve the Lord by being in His temple, gazing on Him, and contemplating Him. 

How can we serve the Lord now? Do we truly want to be in God’s presence, or do we only want His approval for what we want to do or already do. We can only truly be in God’s holy presence by being made righteous by His Son Jesus. We can feel the pull towards God and go to a quiet place seeking Him—in the forest, by the sea, in a church—but until we believe in Jesus and, thereby, are made clean from sin (be made righteous), we cannot be in the presence of God. We cannot behold the beauty of His face. His Spirit pulls us towards God with the conviction to follow Him to quiet places. Until we heed that pull and recognize and submit to God’s calling us to be in a righteous relationship with Him by believing in Jesus, we cannot see His face, only be drawn to Him. 

Following the convictions placed on your heart, the pulling of the Holy Spirit on you, and submitting yourself to God by believing in Jesus to be saved, leads you to want more than God’s approval for what you do. It leads you to do what God wants done.

So, how can you serve the Lord now? Believe in Jesus and be saved. Seek God in His quiet places; seek His face. Seek to know and do His will. Dwelling in the house of the Lord daily is being with Him like this. Seeking and being with God. Revering Him. Listening for His will and commands. Praising Him for His direction and what He has done. Going from there but not from Him to show Him through your being to the people with whom you meet that day. 

Do you go into your day without having seen God’s face? I encourage you to be with Him first so people will experience God through you. Without that time, there’s a greater chance people will only experience you not God. 

Resounding through Millennia

“I will praise the Lord and may everyone on earth bless His holy name forever and ever.” Psalm 145:21 [NLT]

Psalm 145 is a praise psalm by David. In this, if we just look at it peripherally, most of us will only see David praising God. Yet, if we dive into this psalm upon which people wrote hymns and contemporary songs, we will find David had several reasons for writing this psalm. Yes, most of all, he wrote it to sing praises to God. But Davidic psalms usually explain why he cried out or sang to the LORD. This psalm is no exception in that regard. There are two more things David did in this psalm. He commanded people to praise God, and he explained to every person who read, heard, or sang this psalm who the LORD God is and why we should praise and exalt Him..

David began this this psalm and ended it twenty-one verses later with the purpose of this psalm. He said, “I will exalt You, my God and King, and praise Your name forever and ever. I will praise You every day; yes, I will praise You forever.” [NLT] He meant, “God, I will lift up Your name with my heart, mouth, and spirit. I will magnify You and not me.” David then said twice for emphasis that he would praise God now, every day, and forever. He knew Who is greater than him and he knew of his salvation. God anointed David for an eternity with Him. David’s hope, love, thanks, and awe reverberated throughout this psalm and his being.

David didn’t end this psalm with this basic statement of praise. He continued by explaining why he would always exalt and praise God. David said twice in verse three, “God is great.” Though no exclamation points note David’s declaration, we can understand he was very excited in his praise and exaltation because he commanded people of the next generations to tell about God and proclaim Him, too (vs. 4). David wanted a resounding, rolling proclamation of praise and exaltation to occur over the centuries and millennia by all people.

David then explained what he did with his understanding of God. He said in verse five he meditated on who God is and what He had done. He then declared he would proclaim about these and God’s goodness. David taught everyone who read, heard, or sang this song, we should exalt and praise God with our hearts and lips and then carry it into our every day lives with meditation and proclamation. By meditating, we keep God, His covenant with us, and our resultant obedience to Him forefront in our minds and hearts.

Understand this next part; this is important. David said he exalted, praised, meditated on, and proclaimed God so everyone will share the story of His wonderful goodness and sing with joy about His righteousness (vs. 7). He understood each person is a sinner and separated from God, but God loves all of us and wants us to know about Him so we can come to know Him personally and accept the salvation He offers. David was evangelistic in this psalm. When a person is in a personal relationship with God, that person, too, will want to exalt, praise, meditate on, and proclaim God and His greatness and goodness.

After this point, in verses eight to seventeen, David taught later hearers, readers, and singers about God-who He is and what He has done and will do. Interspersed between each set of statements about God, he told the response of people upon learning about each aspect and act of God.

·       Vs. 8-9 – The LORD is merciful, compassionate, slow to anger, loves faithfully, is good to everyone, and showers compassion on all His creation.

o   Vs. 10-12 – All creation will thank the LORD and His faithful followers will praise Him. They will speak of His glorious kingdom, give examples of His power, tell of his mighty deeds, and about the majesty and glory of His reign.

·       Vs. 13a – David ended this section by explaining God’s kingdom is eternal and He will rule/reign forever, through the lives of anyone who ever lived and would ever live.

Ø  Vs. 13b-14 – The Lord keeps His promises, is gracious in all He does, and helps the fallen, weak, and weary.

o   Vs. 15a – Every person who looks to God in hope will receive all they need.

Ø  Vs. 15b-16 – God will provide for all needs of those who hope in Him. He will satisfy their need for food and drink.

v Vs. 17 – God is righteous in everything He does.

o   We can trust in Him taking care of us, loving us, being kind, and being faithful.

§  Vs. 18 – Because of God’s righteousness and kindness, He is close to those who call on Him in truth, those who are genuine in their desire to know Him.

§  Vs. 19 – Because of God’s righteousness and kindness, He grants the desires (about what one speaks to Him) of those who fear Him. He hears their cries for help and rescues them.

§  Vs. 20 - Because of God’s righteousness and kindness, the Lord protects those who love Him, and destroys the wicked.

In this psalm, David stated why God is great and why he praises Him. He said he wanted everyone to realize what God’s actions and attributes are. David said in Psalm 145 God is:

                        Majestic         Glorious                    Splendid                    Merciful            

                        Righteous       Compassionate         Slow to anger            Faithfully loving

                        Powerful        Faithful                      Gracious                    Good 

                        Provider         Kind                           Fearful/Awesome   

                        Did awe-inspiring deeds                Did mighty deeds    Helps the fallen                                                  Has an everlasting kingdom          Rules over all generations

                        Lifts the weary                     Is close to those who call on Him in truth

                        Answers the prayers of those who fear/revere Him

For these, David said in verse one he would exalt God and praise His name forever. Because of who God is and what He’s done, is doing, and would do, he wanted everyone to know about Him in truth and to have a personal relationship with Him. To emphasize David’s stance and commitment, he restated in verse twenty-one what he said in verse one, “I will praise the LORD.” He added his own desire, his prayer to God and plea to all who heard, read, or sang this psalm, that everyone on earth over all millennia would desire to praise God, too, because they know Him in truth through having a personal relationship with Him.

What may have seemed only a song in your mind when you read Psalm 145, hopefully has more meaning. It does for me. What is your response to this psalm? Do you desire to praise and exalt God, and proclaim Him to other people so they can come to know your faithful, loving, almighty God? We sing praises to God to recall who He is and what He’s done, to teach others how and why to praise God, and to proclaim about God and His greatness and goodness to non-Christians so they can have a relationship with Him, too.

Have you praised and exalted God today?

Have you led and/or taught others how to praise God?

Have you used your praise of God to tell someone who doesn’t know Him personally about Him so they would desire to be in a relationship with Him?

Each of these come from love in our heart – love of God and love of other people.

What will you do now?

Lord, You are great and I am not. I may have fooled myself to think I had everything under control, but really, it’s all Your doing. Lord, forgive me for walking in my strength with my plans. Help me to always take the time to praise You. By doing this, I remember what You have done and are doing in my life. By doing this, my voice will resound with praise of who You are and Your goodness, then others will hear, remember to praise You, and/or come to know You personally for themselves. Lord, whatever I have You have given me. Whatever I’ve done, You’ve taught me and made it possible. Lord, You are great, loving, faithful, and righteous; I bow to You and Your plans. Help me remember to take time to come to You, meditate on You, Your word, and Your actions, and to praise You. Stay first place in my life. Amen.

Yahweh, Revered Teacher

Then Moses said to the Lord, "Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue."  (Exodus 4:10 [NASB])

We each understand Moses’ hesitation here, his fear. Who am I that I should lead a million people? Who am I to question the leader? Who am I that I should stand up for God and what is right? Where do these doubts originate? They originate with fear, fear of inadequacy. Mostly these doubts begin with the fear that the still small voice in my conscience does not come from the all-wise and all-powerful God, Yahweh. When we doubt, we question God’s ability, wisdom, and love, and we put into question our love of God and people, our neighbors.

What did Moses say in verse ten? He said, “I have never been eloquent…for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” Moses realized his natural inadequacies, or rather his fear of inadequacies, but he did not take into consideration the training God had given him or the power of God. Moses was not a servant or slave in Egypt like the other Israelites. His own mother taught him at her breast and knee about their God, Yahweh. She taught him orally about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the One who is all-knowing, all-powerful, Creator of all things, the Provider and Protector, and the faithful, covenanting God. Moses learned about Yahweh. Moses received the education of a prince of Egypt, too. God ensured His future leader of His chosen people was educated. Now the LORD would show Himself mightily to Moses to give him a personal knowledge of Himself.

In Exodus 3, God told Moses to go back to Egypt, speak to Pharaoh, and tell him to let His people go three days into the desert to worship Him. God realized Pharaoh would not allow it and had a plan to convince Pharaoh that He is the One and only almighty God. First, He had to prove to Moses He is absolutely God. In Exodus 4:1, Moses’ doubts about Pharaoh not listening to him about Yahweh reared its head. God proved His power to Moses with two miraculous signs (a staff turned to adder then back to staff, and a non-leprous hand turned leprous then back to non-leprous), yet Moses’ fearful mind overwhelmed his belief in the power of God. Moses’ fear overwhelmed his understanding of God’s love for himself and the Israelites. He had forgotten the faithful LORD of the Israelites who covenanted with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants. Moses allowed his fear to put a blanket (blinders) over his heart’s eyes so he could not see almighty God, just his human, fallible self.

Moses pleaded his case with Yahweh of his own inability, not recognizing Yahweh’s ability to make Moses what He called him to be, His spokesman. Three times in the next five verses, Yahweh unveiled to Moses who He is. He used anoki statements in verses eleven, twelve, and fifteen. Remember, anoki statements are God’s revealing His nature to humanity. Anoki in Hebrew means “I am.” With anoki statements, God showed His nature to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Abimelech in Genesis. The LORD told Abraham He is His King, Protector, and faith. He told Abimelech He is all-knowing and all-powerful. The LORD told Isaac and Jacob He would bless them, be with them, protect them, lead them, and is ever-present, almighty, faithful, transcendent, and imminent. Yahweh disclosed His nature to Moses in the burning bush giving His ultimate statement saying, “I AM WHO I AM” in Exodus 3:14. This meant to Moses the LORD is the self-existent One, unchanging, eternal, the One Who was before time, is during time, and will be after time ends. Each time Yahweh reveals Himself to humanity, He seeks for people to know Him better, to draw near to Him, and to grow in likeness to and trust in Him. Yahweh is not just these things, He is the source of these things for those people who believe. God does not call people to do things without providing what they need to accomplish the task. Moses’ fear caused him to doubt or forget the revealed Yahweh.

Yahweh God replied to Moses in verses eleven and twelve. He reminded him He is Creator and has all power and authority. God said to Moses, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, sighted or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go! I will help you as you speak, and I will teach you what to say."  He told Moses, I am Yahweh, the self-existent One and I am all-powerful. Next, Yahweh gave him a command. “Now go!” Moses’ fear still blinded him to the reality of God, His power, wisdom, might, and authority. He heard God’s command, but just like a frightened mule, he would not budge. Moses said in verse thirteen, “Please Lord, send someone else.” Notice Moses didn’t call God the LORD, but Lord. He gave Him the title for one revered but didn’t recognize Him in his heart and mind as almighty God. His doubting caused him to falter and faint.

Next, we read the LORD’s anger “burned” against Moses. This brings a fear into my heart and it should have to Moses, too. Why do we doubt and fear until God’s anger at our unbelief burns against us? Why can’t we act when asked? The LORD realized Moses’ faith in Him was too small and so provided what He needed to bring His people, the Israelites, out of slavery in Egypt. God recognized Moses trusted most what he could see and what he knew. Moses knew and trusted his brother and so God sent Aaron to Moses. With verse fifteen, God said, " You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will help both of you to speak, and I (anoki) will teach you what to do.” Moses realized he heard God, but he feared Pharaoh more than God. He recognized Aaron “was glad in his heart" to see him (verse 14) and respected him because he trusted that Moses had encountered God at the burning bush. So, when God told Moses to tell Aaron and put His words into his mouth, Moses believed God. Moses trusted Aaron and feared God more than him. He trusted God to help them both speak and to teach them what to do. God showed Moses something new of His nature in this verse. He taught him He is Teacher. Being the most wise, power, Creator God is also the most wise, most knowledgeable Teacher. Moses, as a highly educated man, revered teachers and looked up to them. God as Teacher got Moses’ attention and reverence. God, being greater than Aaron, was the One Moses wold fear more in this new equation.

Yahweh prepared Moses for the task to which He called him. He told him what his task would be. The LORD gave Moses miraculous signs to remind him of Who He is. Still, Moses doubted and feared. He chose to be more afraid of what or who he knew personally, the Pharaoh, than the God of whom he learned about from his mother and the God with Whom he spoke in the “hard-to-believe” encounter at an unconsumed burning bush. Only when Yahweh provided someone tangible whom Moses recognized and feared less than the LORD, did Moses agree Yahweh could use him for the mighty task only He could do-set His people free.

God calls each of us who are His children to tasks for His purposes. He doesn’t call us then leave us to our own devices. God gives us from Himself everything we will need to do what He told us to do. From God who is (anoki) all-power, all-wise, all-knowing, all-mighty, Creator, faithful, love, Protector, Provider, Teacher, Shepherd, Savior, et al., He gives to each of us what we need to do what He asks. God is these things and the source of these things. These are gifts from His nature. God shows Himself to us to grow us, teach us, draw us near to Him, and to show us He is all we need for all things in life.

What keeps you from saying yes to God and becoming His child through faith in Jesus Christ? What keeps you from saying yes to God in doing the task to which He calls you now? It’s fear. Fear you are wrong to believe in God Whom you think you cannot see. Fear people will laugh at you and mock you. Fear instead of love. A love for God Who saves. A love for the people to whom He tells you to speak. We should remember what Paul said in Romans 8:31. He said, “If God is for us, who is against us?” Nothing we fear can stop God. With God, nothing can stop us. Consider what David said in Psalm 27:1, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life: whom shall I dread?” David and Paul both realized God casts out fear. With God there is nothing to fear because He is our shield, our Protector, our King, our faith.

What keeps you today from obeying God’s command? After Yahweh called Moses, He said, “Now go!” When God calls you, He equips you with His power, His words, and His love to go and do what He said.

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us.  (1 John 4:15-19 [NASB])

LORD, God, You are almighty and all-knowing and I am not. I have doubted Your calling of me. I have allowed fear to stop me from accepting Your gift of forgiveness and salvation from cleansing me and making me Your child. LORD, I have run away in fear when you called me to do something that set me apart as Your child. I understand this shows my love for You and for other people is very small. Please forgive me my doubts, fear, and lack of love. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so I am fit to do the tasks to which You call me. Be my strength and shield. Be my Savior and King. Amen.

Intimate Assurance

“The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He will make them know His covenant.” Psalm 25:14 [NASB]

This verse, translated from Hebrew, means the intimacy of the Lord or the friendship of the Lord is for those who fear Him, who are in awe of and reverence Him, and He makes known to them His covenant, His pledge to His people. David avowed to God he had an intimate friendship with the Lord because of his awe of Him and their covenant of faithfulness to each other. To David, what made a person intimate with the Lord and in a covenant with Him? He recorded from verses four through twelve who the person is that is a friend of God.

In verses four and five, and expanded in verse eight and nine, God teaches His friend His ways and paths. This assumes the friend of God yearns to have God in his or her life and seeks Him to grow closer to Him.  In verses four and five, David desired to know God-His ways, paths, and truth. He expressed his desire was so great he would wait for God all day. With verses eight and nine, David proclaimed God is good and upright and so He willingly and desirously wants to teach sinners, all people, His way. God desires to have a relationship with all people, not just the ones who are good, or who think they are good. David foreshadowed the Messiah’s coming for all people because God wants to have a relationship, a covenant with everyone. With verse nine, he said, “God leads the humble in justice and teaches the humble His way.” As a person draws closer to God, that person becomes renewed in the image of God and is humble. God continues to teach that person to transform him or her into Himself-to make him or her humble. As the person learns more, he or she learns to care for other people. Justice, like that of God’s, becomes what the person seeks for every person.

David continued to describe the person who desires to be in an intimate friendship of covenant faithfulness with God in verse six and ten. In verse six, he recognized his sinfulness and neediness, and remembered God’s everlasting compassion and lovingkindness towards Him and throughout history. God’s lovingkindness (His goodness, kindness, and faithfulness) David recognized and stood in awe of. Then, with verse ten, he said these paths of God, of lovingkindness and truth, are available for those people who keep His covenant and testimonies. To each person who desires God and seeks to be in an intimate friendship with Him, God leads in His ways, He teaches and instills in the person, His goodness, kindness, faithfulness, and His truth (truth of His faithfulness, stability, and continuance). To each person who comes to God, He leads them to know and learn, and then to become like Him with His characteristics of truth, compassion, faithfulness, goodness, and kindness. David desired an intimate friendship with God. He desired that which God freely gave to him to become part of his own being. David wanted to live out in the world what God gave to him, these characteristics. He wanted to keep this covenant with God by sharing with the world about God and what God put into him when He renewed him.

With verses seven and eleven, David recognized he was a sinner. He understood God is the One who can forgive and cleanse all people from their sins so they can be in a relationship with Him, be made new in His image. He asked the Lord not to remember his sins, but in His goodness, kindness, and faithfulness remember Him with love and cleanse Him. David went further in verse eleven. He recognized he could not save himself and pleaded with the Lord, because of His glorious name’s sake, to pardon his great sin. David realized his sins were all against the Lord; they separated him from God. He recognized God’s great love and wanted His glory proclaimed continually so asked for forgiveness so the world would hear again of His goodness and faithfulness.

David ended this segment of Psalm 25 with a rhetorical question that pointed to his thematic statement. He said, “Who is the man who fears and awes the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose.” The person who awes and reverences the Lord is the one who seeks to be with God and is the one to whom God teaches His paths and ways. This person is the one who chooses God’s ways out of lovingkindness, that is goodness, kindness, and faithfulness, for Him.

The person who fears the Lord in awe and reverence is the one in an intimate friendship with Him and seeks to know and follow Him. That person chooses to be faithful to his or her pledge/promise of love to God. That person chooses God above all others.

Are you one of those people?

Have you recognized your sinfulness and separation from God?

Are you humble because of following the Lord, His ways, His teachings, and His paths?

Do you seek justice and truth?

Are you good, kind, and faithful because of God’s goodness, kindness, and faithfulness to you?

Do you crave and seek God in an intimate friendship?

Are you faithful to God and His covenant faithfulness to you?

Are you this person who fears the Lord? If you are, the intimate friendship with the Lord is yours and you have no need other than to be in His presence. Your eyes will continually be toward the Lord (vs 15). You will rest in assurance nothing can pluck you from His hand, neither loneliness or affliction, troubles or distresses, nor sins or enemies.

v  You know with assurance God is your Guard and Deliverer; He is your             refuge.

v  You will wait with assurance that God’s integrity and uprightness will preserve you.

You will wait with assurance for your covenant God because of His goodness, kindness, faithfulness, and compassion to you, and yours to Him. He redeems His own.

God doesn’t only seek the good and right. Jesus said He came for the sick. He came to call the sinners (Mark 2:17). God wants to be in a relationship with each of us. He makes sinners clean. God is intimate with the upright (Proverbs 3:32). He is the one who makes each of us upright (Psalm 25:7 & 10). Just as the Lord spoke to Moses as a friend, He sought Him out and Moses craved Him (Exodus 33:11), so today God desires to be in a covenant (a faithful, intimate friendship) with you.

Lord, God almighty, I do not deserve anything You offer to me. Yet, You keep calling to me to come to You. Lord, I do not understand this great love and mercy of Yours, still, I am drawn to You. I am sinful and should not be near You. Cleanse me so I can come before You. Draw me into an intimate friendship with You for which I can never be sated so that I continue to desire You. Don’t let me go. Keep calling to my heart. Thank you for Your patient calling to me, that you never gave up on me. Thank you for your unending love, mercy, and faithfulness. I am Yours; draw me to You and never let me go. My heart I give to You forevermore. Amen.

Conspire, Contempt, or Confidence: A Psalm 2 Devotional

“How blessed are all who take refuge in Him.” Psalm 2:12b

From the Bible’s beginning in Genesis 1 and 2, we hear of God’s plan for a Savior of humankind. David was familiar with this. He advanced God’s plan for a Messiah - a King and the Son of God, in Psalm 2. For David, the Messiah, presented in first and second person, is the bringer of judgment and refuge. He exemplifies the other side of God’s righteousness – justice.

David experienced non-Hebrew nations’ rulers and kings’ conspiring to usurp God’s decrees. These rulers felt His decrees were bondage and chains and they stood against Him. God, from His throne, with this prophecy, declared through David His contempt for them with laughter and scoffing. He told of His anger and consuming fury terrifying the rebellious people.

God told David’s hearers and readers a greater King than earthly kings reigns. He installed His King on Zion, then Jerusalem and His heavenly home, the New Jerusalem upon Christ’s return. God gave as His King’s possession the nations to the very ends of the earth. His anointed King has dominion over earthly leaders. This King shall break with His strength the rebellious nations. He will shatter them until they become dispersed among all the peoples of the earth and have no nation to which to be a citizen. Just as the Father, Son, and Spirit created humanity from the earth, the anointed King of God can smash and shatter the earthenware, humanity made from earth.

David spoke to the rebellious kings and judges and to every person of all time. He commanded:

·         Show discernment. (to the kings) – have insight into who you are and Who God is and be prudent.

·         Take warning. (to the judges) – receive this instruction and chastening from God.

·         Worship the Lord with reverence. (all people) Reverence is mental and heart action. It comes from fear and respect of God due to His great might and knowledge – Who He is – and because of His love of all people.

·         Rejoice with trembling. (all people) Trembling is a physical reaction. It comes from fear and awe of God – Who He is, what He’s done, and what He can do.

·         Do homage. (all people) Homage is an intentional public physical action. It is bowing or kneeling before God. Homage gives special honor and respect publicly.

Much better than these commands, David reveals the covenant God has with His people who worship, praise, and honor Him. He cried out, “How blessed (happy) are all who take refuge in Him!” The Messiah redeems the souls of these people and saves them from condemnation – eternal separation from God (Psalm 34:22).

What David proclaimed about God’s anger against the kings, rulers, and judges who schemed to rebel against God, applies to each of us today. Whenever we rebel against God and His truths, we become like those rebellious leaders. God laughs in contempt at us for daring to think we could overrule and overpower Him and His decrees. We are just earthen vessels, whereas He is the Creator. God condemns rebels with His burning fury and wrath. He destroys them. The LORD's provision of His Son as the sacrifice for our sins means we will not receive eternal punishment and separation from Him.  God made Him our refuge from eternal punishment, and from temptation and sin. We can worship God with reverence and rejoice with trembling when we have a relationship with Him that recognizes His greatness and love and our finiteness and sin. When we come before the Lord with this kind of relationship – as our Refuge, Savior, and King – then we understand and gladly show homage to Him.

To which do you relate -

conspiring against God, 

contempt of God, or 

the confidence of God as His child?

PRAYER (part 1): What, Why, and How

Introduction

If you are a Christian-a follower of Jesus-then ministers and teachers undoubtedly taught you about prayer. Many people have written books and study guides to teach other people what prayer is, how to pray, what comprises prayer, and whose prayers God hears. This Bible study is an earnest seeking of everything the Bible says on prayer and praying-noun and verb. There are over 130 verses in the Bible about prayer, praying, calling out, supplicating, asking, petitioning, and requesting.

In this Bible study, I researched and found 132 verses that speak on this topic. Of the 132 verses studied, sixty-four related to four of the fifty-nine areas of prayer denoted within the verses. That means of the fifty-nine areas related to prayer, the Bible spoke of four areas in over half the verses. That is statistically significant.

Before getting to that discussion, let us understand what this study will show us. By studying the Bible, we find answers to the following questions on prayer and praying.

·         What is prayer?

·         What do we do when we pray?

·         How do we/are we supposed to pray?

·         What is expected of the pray-er?

·         When should we pray?

·         Should we expect God to answer prayer?

·         What happens when we pray?

The study of God’s Word-the Bible-is a discipline every Christian should follow. A person cannot grow in his or her relationship with God without knowing more of Him and striving to become more Christlike. The Bible teaches both these things. The people in the Bible understood what prayer is. Jesus Christ taught His disciples how to pray and modeled it regularly for them. If for no other reason, these should compel us to pray, too. Join with me in the first of a fifteen-part Bible study series on prayer as we learn what the Bible teaches on prayer and the person who prays–the pray-er.

What is Prayer?

The word “prayer,” according to 2 Samuel 7:27 (the first place in the New American Standard Bible to use the word “prayer”), comes from the Hebrew word tephillah and means prayer, to pray a prayer, hear prayer, and house of prayer[i]. In this passage, David talked with God about building His temple. God promised him his royal line would not vanish. Notice prayer is listening and speaking.

For a relationship to exist and grow, communication must occur. People of every era have known having a relationship with their god or with Yahweh, the One true God, requires praying to their god or God. For Abraham and his descendants-his blood descendants (the Israelites) and faith descendants (Christians)-praying was/is being in conversation with the One and only God, Yahweh.

Most people learn for communication to occur, each person involved in the conversation must listen and speak. If one side does all the talking, no true communication or growth of relationship occurs. The talkative person uses the other person as a sounding board only. With that in mind, for true communication to happen between a person/people and God, the person/people must listen to God and speak to Him.

From this understanding of communication, we know prayer is a person or group of people listening to and speaking with God–communicating and communing with Him. Before David’s prayer in 2 Samuel 7:27, other people spoke to God. Consider Moses at the burning bush or on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandment tablets from God. Besides this, consider Abraham when God spoke to him about being the father of many nations. Recall Samuel hearing and speaking to the LORD when he was a small boy working with Eli. These men spoke to God, and He spoke to them through the writers of these parts of the Bible did not use the word “prayer.” 

At other times in the Old Testament, the writers used specific words that describe how or what the person or people prayed–crying out, petitioning, thanking, etc. Other places in the Bible that refer to speaking with God through prayer are: first Kings 8:28, Job 16:17, Job 22:25-27, Psalm 18:6, Psalm 19:14, Jeremiah 7:16, Daniel 9:20, Luke 3:21, Acts 10:2 & 9, Acts 20:36, Ephesians 6:18, and 1 Timothy 2:8.

People throughout time prayed to God. They sometimes queried whether God listened to them when they prayed. God spoke of hearing the prayers of His people in Jeremiah 29:12. This verse is part of a covenant-a promise-He gave to His children, Israel, and to His adopted children through faith. Second Samuel 7:27 records David’s recognition that God heard his prayer relating to his desire to build His temple. Along with this verse, Daniel 2:23 and 9:20, and Acts 9:11 speak of God answering Daniel’s prayers and speaking to Ananias. Daniel requested God’s will concerning his circumstances. He gave him an answer. In the second reference, Daniel prayed to God and God sent His messenger, Gabriel, to help him. Ananias received word from God through a vision telling him to go to a blind Saul and restore his sight. Each of these show positive conversations from God. God often told His servants/prophets not to pray to Him for Israel (negative conversations) because He would not listen nor answer the prayers. Jeremiah 7:16 and 11:14 record these types of conversations.

One other point must be made about being in a vital relationship with God, a relationship where two-way communication occurs. God desires to be in a relationship with every person. This desire requires a person be cleansed from his or her sin by the sacrificial death of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. The relationship with God is so precious to Him that John recorded in Revelation 5:8 and 8:3 that the prayers of the saints (believers) are incense, a sweet and pleasant fragrance, to Him. Our relationship with God is sweet and pleasing to Him and blesses us. Prayer is not only important as a sounding board for us, but for developing a pleasant, harmonious, and blessed relationship with Yahweh, too.

What do We do when We Pray? 

Prayer is life-giving (vital) for our relationship with God. When we pray, we recognize God for Who He is–Creator, LORD, Provider, and Lover of our souls. He gave His own Son to die in our place so we could be saved and live forever with Him in heaven. When we relate to God positively, we realize God is greater than anything we can perceive and all we know. With that in mind, we understand why the Bible shows us how to relate to God and approach Him in prayer. We must recognize seven things relating to God and respond to Him with reverence so we do not abuse/misuse our relationship with Him. He is God and we are just part of His creations.

David expressed in six of his psalms and in 2 Samuel who God is. His writings teach us today how to approach God in prayer. To approach God in prayer, we must recognize these things regarding God.

Ø  Recognize God is to be Revered – 2 Samuel 7:27

Ø  Recognize God’s Mercy – Psalm 4:1

Ø  Recognize God Exists – Psalm 65:2

Ø  Recognize God’s Power – Psalm 65:2

Ø  Recognize God’s Faithfulness – Psalm 143:1

Ø  Recognize God’s Righteousness – Psalm 143:1.

Other Bible writers such as Luke, Paul, and Job recognized some of these same things in relation to God and approaching Him in prayer. Consider the following verses–

·         Acts 10:2, 1 Corinthians 11:4 (revere God)

·         Job 22:25-27 (recognize God’s power)

Besides remembering these six aspects of God when approaching God in prayer, Solomon, Nehemiah, Daniel, Luke, and James spoke of another thing to recognize or do when praying to God. They said to recognize God lives in heaven, so pray towards there. Recognize God is greater than themselves-is eternal and all-powerful-so keep focused heavenward–keep focused on God. First Kings 8:28, Nehemiah 1:6, Daniel 9:20, Acts 8:22, and James 5:16 teach this.

The final thing spoken concerning what we do when we pray comes from Acts 20:36 and Colossians 4:3. Luke and Paul taught our prayers are to give testimony of God. This testimony comes from the previous seven things listed and from what God has done for you. If your prayer is not a testimony of who God is and what He has done for you, then your prayers are just a laundry list of “gimmes,” like a child’s Christmas wish list. If a “gimme” list describes your prayers, then your prayers-your supposed two-way conversation with God-are not effective. Your relationship with Him is not vibrant and growing. How should we pray then?

How Should We Pray to God?

When I was a child, my Sunday School teacher taught me to pray to Jesus for other people and myself. As a teenager, a minister taught more on prayer. He said prayers to God should include the words of the acronym A.C.T.S.–Adoration, Confession, Thanks, and Supplication. Considering the latter, I find it interesting the Bible records more concerning petitioning God for one’s self and others than any other part of A.C.T.S. I believe this occurs because people throughout time realized their need for God to provide for them and intervene for them where they lived. Most people approach God when his or her body or life is under threat. Do we forget Him at other times and only realize our need for Him in our lives when we face dire days? We see this truth for many of God’s children. Yet for those who strive to have a growing faith and relationship with God, prayer is more than an SOS. It concerns relationship. Let us consider how we pray to God.

Petition for Self

Both the Old and New Testaments record people praying to God as petitioning Him to help them. Authors of books in the Bible recorded twenty-four times when people petitioned God to help themselves. The New Testament records these prayers of petition nine times. Consider these verses:

·         Judges 15:18,

·         2 Samuel 7:27

·         1 Kings 8:28, 8:38

·         Nehemiah 4:9

·         Job 21:15

·         Psalm 5:2, 18:6, 35:13, 66:17

·         Jeremiah 29:12

·         Daniel 2:23, 9:20

·         Matthew 7:11

·         Mark 11:24

·         Luke 11:13, 21:36

·         John 16:26

·         Acts 7:59, 8:24

·         Philippians 4:6

·         1 Thessalonians 3:10

·         2 Thessalonians 3:1

·         James 1:5-7, 4:2

·         1 John 5:14-15

Besides these verses, which in specific mention “praying for” or “petitioning” the Lord for one’s self, other verses record people “crying out to” or “pleading for” the Lord’s help in their plight. These verses include 1 Kings 8:45; Psalms 4:1, 17:1, 35:13, 66:17, 88:2, 118:5, and 143:1; and Lamentations 3:8.

Petition for Others

As mentioned in an earlier paragraph, petitioning to God for other people occurred often in the Bible. Petitioning God for other people occurred at least twenty-three times in the Bible. Sometimes petitioning to God for self occurred at the same time as petitioning for others. The verses that record these prayers are–

·         1 Samuel 7:5, 12:19

·         1 Kings 8:28

·         Job 42:8

·         Jeremiah 7:16, 11:14, 14:22

·         Daniel 9:20

·         Luke 22:32

·         Acts 13:3

·         2 Corinthians 1:11

·         Philippians 1:19, 4:6

·         Ephesians 6:18

·         Colossians 1:9, 4:3

·         1 Thessalonians 3:10, 5:25

·         2 Thessalonians 3:1

·         1 Timothy 2:1-2

·         Hebrews 13:18

·         James 5:16

When people petition for other people, they care enough for the other person to intervene for them to God asking His help or protection for the person. Notice, when we pray to God as part of a growing relationship with Him, we do it because of love for Him. When we pray for other people, we do it because of our care/love for those people. This shows we follow what God taught in the Old Testament with the Ten Commandments–love God and love other people. It shows, too, what Jesus taught with the Greatest Commandment–love God and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40). Jesus taught His follower to go a step further than this with His next teaching.

Pray for Persecutors

Jesus in the New Testament taught what God taught in the Old Testament, but He took it a step further. He taught the people that the neighbor they were to love might be their enemy. Jesus taught His followers to love their enemies and pray for them, even those who persecute them (Matthew 5:44). To love and pray for their enemies, Christians must be in a growing relationship with God. They must become more Christlike. By becoming more Christlike, the love of God for their enemy grows in the Christian. From that growth of love, the believer can love and pray for his/her enemies. By loving and praying for one’s enemies, the believer will be like Jesus when He loved and prayed for those who persecuted Him.  

A.C.T.S.

You may ask, “What happened to A.C.T.S.?” The Bible writers wrote so much regarding petitioning God and asking Him to help that it appears adoration, confession, and thanks are unimportant. That is not true though. Remember, in communication we ask for people to help us, and encourage them, thank them, and often confess sins/faults to them. These must be part of our conversations with God, too. They are more important with our conversations with God than with people. 

Confession

When we sin, we sin against God. Remember, sinning separates us from God because He cannot be in the presence of sin since He is holy. We must be made holy again and so must confess our sin to Him and ask for His forgiveness. This will keep our relationship with Him unstrained. God is holy and all-powerful. That means He is merciful and cleanses sin from us when we confess and ask for His forgiveness. David, Nehemiah, Daniel, Luke, James, and John each speak on this in these verses–

·         1 Kings 8:28

·         Nehemiah 1:6

·         Psalm 42:8

·         Daniel 9:20

·         Acts 8:22

·         James 5:16

·         Revelations 5:8

Thanksgiving

Throughout the Bible, the authors of individual books and Jesus taught prayer includes thanks to God, too. To be in a growing and strong relationship, communication must include thanking the person for caring, helping, and praying for you. A relationship with God through Jesus Christ should include thanks to Him, too. God does and has done many things for us over the years as individuals and as a group from the beginning of time.

David spoke in his prayer that only those who lived with God could thank Him (Psalm 6:5). Daniel thanked God for giving him power and wisdom (Daniel 2:23). Jesus thanked His Father for the fish and bread to feed the 5000 people (Luke 9:16-17). Paul taught people to thank God for what He would do in answer to their prayers (Philippians 4:6). He told them to devote themselves to prayer and thanksgiving to God, too (Colossians 4:2). Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2:1-2 each Christian should pray and petition God for people in authority and give thanks for those leaders. Finally, in 1 Thessalonians 6:16-18, he told the people of Thessalonika to give thanks in everything. As seen, thanks to God should be part of every prayer. Believers must thank Him for what He has done and will do in their lives and the lives of other people for whom they pray.  

Adoration

Praising and exalting God is adoration. God deserves praise because He is omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), omnipresent (all places at once), and because He is the One true God. David, Daniel, Paul, James, and Luke praised God and taught other followers of Jesus to adore (praise and exalt) Him.

David called God His Rock and Redeemer. He was the strength upon whom David could rely (Psalm 19:14). He said God was merciful (loving-kindness) in Psalm 66:20. David called God his King and extolled (praised and exalted) Him (Psalm 5:2 & 66:17). Daniel recalled his ancestors followed Yahweh God, and He carried them. He said God gave him wisdom and power (Daniel 2:23). Paul and Silas gave testimony of God’s greatness and love while they were in prison (Acts 20:26). Paul taught believers to rejoice always because the Lord was their God. He aligned this with thanking Him in all circumstances and praying continually (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). James taught people to pray with cheerful songs to God. John saw people bowing before the Lamb in a vision while on Patmos (Revelation 5:8).

Adoration-praise and exaltation-is a form of prayer/song to and about God. Adoration differs from thanks because it does not necessarily refer to what God has done, but always to who God is. We praise God because He is greater than anything life can throw at us and we know God conquers all things. We can have hope amid trying times because we know we will be in heaven with Him one day. Knowing God as our Lord, Redeemer, Creator, Protector, and Provider gives us joy and hope that should flow back to Him as praise and exaltation–adoration. Adoration and thanks to God come out of our love as believers for Him.

Recap

In this lesson, we learned that prayer is communicating and communing with God, which requires speaking to Him and listening to what He says. For communication to be effective and growing, it must be two-way. God listens to our prayers and responds to them as David and Daniel found out. He is faithful to His children even if they are unfaithful to Him.

In the second part of this lesson, we learned we have to recognize God for who He is and approach Him with reverence. We must recognize His mercy, existence, power, faithfulness, righteousness, and that He rules over all from heaven. Besides this, when we pray and revere God, we give a testimony about God through our prayers. Paul and Silas did this while in prison.

The final part of this lesson taught us how to pray. Whether using the acronym of A.C.T.S. or remembering the specific parts from the Bible verses above, we must remember prayer–communication/communion with God–includes each aspect as seen in the teachings of Jesus, the apostles, and other Bible writers. Besides this, for our prayers to be genuine-providing a growing relationship with God and a growing Christlikeness-we should praise and exalt God, confess and ask forgiveness, thank Him, and petition for ourselves and other people, including our leaders and enemies. By offering prayers in each of these areas, we show love for other people and for God. We will have a continual growing relationship with God for which He provided salvation for every person.

Relevance and Conclusion

How active and vibrant is your prayer life? Do you only go to God when you need help or want something? Is He your super-Santa? That should not be.

If you are a Christian, you should continue to grow in your relationship with God. This relationship occurs because He provided the cleansing from our sins that separated us from Him through the blood of His only Son, Jesus Christ, who died for each person’s sin penalty. If you pray regularly, do you remember to adore, praise, and exalt Him? Do you thank Him daily? Often, we have our needs supplied and we do not give a thought that God’s faithfulness to us provided what we needed before we asked. Consider the bed you slept on last night. You probably bought or received it years ago, but forget to thank Him for it and praise Him each day for knowing in advance just what you needed before you did. That is God’s omniscience. That is God’s faithful love to you, too.

Do you ask God to help you see your sins of the day so you can confess them and ask for forgiveness from Him? God’s righteousness means He cannot be in the presence of sin, in your unrepentant presence. His righteousness has a flip side, like a coin. Because He is righteous, He must bring judgment for sin, yet because of His mercy and loving-kindness, He provided the penalty-bearer (Jesus Christ) before your birth and later sins. This action for you means He genuinely wants to be in a relationship with you. Have you confessed your sin today so God can give you His love and mercy today?

Praying for things is as natural as breathing to most of us. Want, need, and desire remind us to pray for our circumstances and our selves. Praying for other people is not as easy to remember. Just as we breathe and petition God for ourselves, we should petition for other people, including our enemies.

What is prayer? It involves and affects our relationship with God. Prayer is two-way communication with God that brings growth in our relationship with Him and in our Christlikeness. It produces Christian virtues and leads us closer to Him and closer to perfection through salvation in Christ.

It is time to reflect upon ourselves. What are our questions today?

v  Do you pray each day?

v  Do you recognize God for who He is and revere Him?

v  Are you in a growing relationship with the Lord so you do not have a Christmas wish list, but love and effective communication?

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[i] Brown, Driver, Bringgs, and Gesenius. “Hebrew Lexicon entry for Tephillah.” “The NAS Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon.” (http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/hebrew/nas/tephillah.html).