98-99 "What Is Prayer?"
2 Samuel 7
Psalm 5
Ephesians 3
What is prayer?
How do you pray?
What should you pray for?
Does God hear your prayers?
And how do you know that God hears you!?
If God knows all things, what is the point of prayer?
There is no way that I can answer all of those questions in one sermon,
and so we will spend the next few weeks looking at the biblical teaching on prayer.
But we'll look at more than just biblical teaching.
We'll also look at biblical examples of prayer.
Scripture not only provides instruction in how to pray,
but also gives many examples, through the prayers recorded in scripture.
Indeed, if we tried to cover every prayer in the Bible,
we would have to cover all 150 psalms,
along with many texts in the prophets,
many prayers in the historical books, in the gospels, acts, and the epistles.
If you want to learn how to pray,
the first thing to do is to understand the Lord's Prayer,
the second thing is to read and sing the Psalms.
We have been singing through the Psalms for a couple years now,
and with our new Psalter project, we will be able to work through them
more clearly and fully.
But for the next few weeks we will be working through the Lord's Prayer.
But before we turn to the Lord's Prayer,
we do need to ask a preliminary question:
Q. 98. What is prayer?
A. Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name
of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.
1. Our Response to God's Word and Works (2 Samuel 7)
Prayer is a response to God's word and works.
God had established David upon his throne.
David desired to build a house of prayer to God (a temple).
It was the right impulse.
But it would have sent the wrong signal.
David is not the one who builds God's house.
God is the one who builds David's house.
David's prayer is in response to God's word.
God has said, "I will build your house"
Your son shall build a temple for me.
The kingdom will be established under your son forever.
"Who am I?" (v18-22)
David humbles himself.
He was the anointed king, the son of God-
and yet he recognizes that even the most exalted of all men,
is nothing compared with God.
We are but dust.
It is God's promises-his words-that give David hope.
(Read v22)
This is where all prayer must start.
All prayer must start by acknowledging who God is, and who we are in relation to him.
But after speaking of the greatness of the promises of God, David also marvels at God's works:
"Who is like your people Israel?... (read v23)"
David marvels at the great redemptive work of God,
remembering what God did in establishing a people for himself.
David moves from the word to the works of God.
God has not only promised great things,
he has done great things!
And because of God's word and works,
David then asks God to do what he has promised.
(25-29)
Our prayers, too, should be responses to God's word and works.
We should be very explicit in our prayers
This is what God has said and done... (19-27)
Therefore, O God, continue to do it (28-29)
Our prayers often become too focused on ourselves and our situations.
Prayer is to help refocus us by reminding ourselves of our true situation!
What has God said?
He has promised us an inheritance in our Lord Jesus Christ.
He has promised to be with us always.
He has promised us grace to sustain us in our times of need.
He has promised to be our God and the God of our children after us.
What has God done?
He sent Jesus to die for our sins.
He seated Jesus at his right hand as the King of kings and Lord of lords.
He gave us the Holy Spirit as the downpayment of the promised inheritance.
He knit us together into one body, the church.
He forgave us our sins and gave us new hearts.
Based on this,
we may come boldly before the throne of grace,
seeking aid in our time of trouble,
praising him for his goodness and mercy,
knowing that Christ, our mediator, sits at his right hand interceding for us.
2. Our Desire for God's Word and Works (Ephesians 3)
Paul's prayer for the Ephesians in Eph 3 follows the same sort of pattern.
Do you want to know how to pray for others?
How to pray for the desires of your heart?
Take Paul as your model.
Pray this prayer (vv14-21), and weave your concerns into it.
Or rather, let your concerns be transformed by this Christ-centered focus.
Some of you may be familiar with the acronym "ACTS"
Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication
That can be useful, in some ways, but it can also be somewhat mechanical.
(Now I've finished the adoration section...)
A. Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God,[200] for things agreeable to his will,[201] in the name of Christ,[202] with confession of our sins,[203] and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.[204]
Note that the catechism describes prayer as an offering up of our desires to God.
3. Our Plea for God's Word and Works (Psalm 5)
Psalm 5 offers a series of petitions, rooted in what God has said and done:
1) Hear me (v1-7)
Because you don't delight in wickedness
Because you destroy the wicked
But I fear you
2) Lead me (v8-9)
Because of my enemies
Because their path leads to death
3) Destroy the wicked (v10)
Because of their great wickedness
4) but protect the those who flee to you (v11-12)
Because you bless the righteous
Please turn in your songbooks to Psalm 30.
This is a revised version of a psalm that we have sung from the Trinity Hymnal.
This is a Psalm of thanksgiving-apparently David intended for it to be sung
at the dedication of the temple.
If Psalm 5 is a prayer for deliverance,
Psalm 30 is a celebration of God's faithfulness.
There are times when we need to plead with God for mercy.
There are other times when we need to rejoice that God has heard our prayer and delivered us.
Q. 99. What rule hath God given for our direction in prayer?
A. The whole Word of God is of use to direct us in prayer;[205] but the special rule of direction
is that form of prayer which Christ taught his disciples, commonly called the Lord's Prayer.[206]
Over the next few weeks we will examine the Lord's Prayer to see what our Lord has to say about how we pray.