Saturday, June 30, 2012
Psalm 5:3 Morning by morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; Morning by morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.
LESSONS ON PRAYER
Notice. David's prayer life was disciplined, confident, and expectant.
David had the DISCIPLINE to petition the Lord morning by morning. He was in the habit of laying his requests before the LORD everyday. Prayer was part of his daily routine. Certainly we can pray any time and in any place. As we go about our busy day we often send up quick petitions to our Heavenly Father. But the men of God teach us the value of setting aside regular time everyday to get away with our Father for those wonderful heart-to-heart talks.
Certainly David's discipline in prayer flowed from the fact that he was also CONFIDENT in prayer. David was certain that his prayers were being heard and taken seriously. "O LORD, you hear my voice!" His confidence had nothing to do with himself. David's many sins are clearly cataloged, and show that he did not deserve gracious answers to his prayers. David's confidence was in the LORD, who forgives sin and promised David a Savior. Later in Psalm 5 our man of God says, "But I, by your great mercy, will come into your house." David knew his LORD was filled with great mercy, and therefore, would answer his prayers. Later in the Psalms he boasts of a Savior God who removes his sins as far as the east is from the west. The cross of Jesus is our great confidence in prayer!
Prayer is also EXPECTANT. "I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." Confident that God answers our prayers for Jesus' sake, we can wait in certain expectation for an answer. Here is where many of us often fail. We pray, but then forget to be to on the look out for an answer. It's like asking your mom for an ice cream bar, but then walking out the door before she has a chance to say "yes" or "no". Here's some advice given to me: Write down your specific prayer, tape it to the refrigerator, and then keep a careful eye out for how the LORD answers that prayer. Once we start really waiting in joyful expectation for answers to our prayers, prayer becomes all that much more wonderful and exciting.
