Encouragements to Pray

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:

1        Hear me, LORD, and answer me,

    for I am poor and needy.

2        Guard my life, for I am faithful to you;

    save your servant who trusts in you.

You are my God;

3        have mercy on me, LORD,

    for I call to you all day long.

4        Bring joy to your servant, LORD,

    for I put my trust in you.

5        You, LORD, are forgiving and good,

    abounding in love to all who call to you.

6        Hear my prayer, Lord;

    listen to my cry for mercy.

7        When I am in distress, I call to you,

    because you answer me.

8        Among the gods there is none like you, Lord;

    no deeds can compare with yours.

9        All the nations you have made

    will come and worship before you, LORD;

    they will bring glory to your name.

10      For you are great and do marvelous deeds;

    you alone are God.

11      Teach me your way, LORD,

    that I may rely on your faithfulness;

give me an undivided heart,

    that I may fear your name.

12      I will praise you, LORD my God, with all my heart;

    I will glorify your name forever.

13      For great is your love toward me;

    you have delivered me from the depths,

    from the realm of the dead.

14      Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God;

    ruthless people are trying to kill me—

    they have no regard for you.

15      But you, LORD, are a compassionate and gracious God,

    slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

16      Turn to me and have mercy on me;

    show your strength in behalf of your servant;

save me, because I serve you

    just as my mother did.

17      Give me a sign of your goodness,

    that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,

    for you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me. (Psalm 86, NIV)

REFLECTIONS:

“You, LORD, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call on you” (verse 5). What a promise to claim today! Just two verses later the psalmist says, “When I am in distress, I call to you, because you answer me” (verse 7).

The psalmist gives a number of encouragements to pray. First, remember who God is. Never forget his character or his attributes. The better we know him, the better we are able to pray. What kind of God are we praying to? One who is good, merciful, and ready to forgive. Verse 15 reminds us that our God is “a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” This is the reality of who our God is. This is the very description God used to proclaim his name when he passed in front of Moses (Exodus 33-34):

The LORD then “came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD.  And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,  maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin…’” (34:5-7).

At his very heart, God is a God of love. He is not merely loving. He is love (1 John 4:8). God is not merely love in some general sense. He is love toward you and love toward me. No matter what we may think of ourselves, God looks at us with eyes of love. We may see our sin and say: “I can’t pray to God. My hands are dirty. My heart is dirty. I’m not what I ought to be.” But the Lord looks at us and says: “I know who you are. I know what you've done. And I love you.” I'm naturally prone to want to hide my sin from God, to run from him rather than to him for forgiveness. But because of his gracious and merciful character, God is slowly teaching me that he is always ready and willing to forgive. He rejoices to hear all who cry out to him for mercy. And, even more, he rejoices to extend forgiveness and boundless love.

Second, remember what God does. “For you are great, and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God” (verse 10). Out of the goodness and generosity of his heart, God spoke forth all of creation. Even now, God upholds his beautiful creation—he “holds all things together” (Colossians 1:17), and “works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will” (Ephesians 1:11). God protects us from enemies—seen and unseen. And, when harm comes our way, God rescues us with his powerful right hand. God extends compassion and kindness to the poor and needy, to the weak in the lame. God provides for our every need—nourishment, safety, love, provision, friendship, hope. God graciously extends forgiveness and redemption to us through the blood of his Son. God lavishly blesses his people with “every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). In his kindness, God offers us hope and a glorious inheritance. And in his goodness, God works to make all things new in Christ. Indeed, our God is a God of “marvelous deeds.”

Reflecting on what God does reminds me of a powerful, hope-producing pronouncement by Jeremiah the prophet: “This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it—the LORD is his name:  ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know’” (Jeremiah 33:2-3). Remember what God does. Then look to him for help.

Third, remember what God promises. When God speaks, we can take it to the bank. His words and his promises flow forth from his heart. His word and his promises reveal his character. In his generosity God promises to not only hear our prayer, but to answer us. Jesus made some remarkable claims about God's willingness to answer our prayers:

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:7-11)

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.  And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (John 14:12-14)

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7)

James says plainly: “You do not have because you do not ask” (James 4:2). I know this is true of my life. Often, I fail to remember the true nature of my God. I take the enemy's bait and live as if God has bigger things in mind that my puny request. Rather than bothering him with my personal matters, I feel it necessary to pray about big, overarching things. I embrace a feeling of insignificance and withhold my personal desires. But, the Scriptures reveal a God that is more than willing to hear what's on our heart and to move and work on our behalf.

So today, if you are finding it difficult to open your heart God in prayer, take courage! Remember who God is, the kind of God to whom you are praying. Remember the great and wonderful things he does. He can do the impossible for you today. And remember, he promises to answer.

POINT TO PONDER:

The psalmist gives us a number of wonderful encouragements to pray. As you go about your day, keep these thoughts before you. Contemplate God’s character. Remember what he has done in your life. Recount his faithfulness to you. And be sure to claim the promises of his word.

PRAYER:

Teach me your way, LORD,

    that I may rely on your faithfulness;

give me an undivided heart,

    that I may fear your name.

I will praise you, LORD my God, with all my heart;

    I will glorify your name forever.

For great is your love toward me;

    you have delivered me from the depths,

    from the realm of the dead.

WHO AM I?

I am Tres Sansom, and …