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Learning to Pray Like the Psalmists

Learning to Pray Like the Psalmists. To Pray Like the Psalmists, We Must Believe in God Like the Psalmists. To Pray Like the Psalmists, We Must See Ourselves as the Psalmists Did. Seeing Ourselves Like the Psalmists. WE ARE SHEEP. We Are Sheep.

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Learning to Pray Like the Psalmists

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  1. Learning to Pray Like the Psalmists • To Pray Like the Psalmists, We Must Believe in God Like the Psalmists. • To Pray Like the Psalmists, We Must See Ourselves as the Psalmists Did.

  2. Seeing Ourselves Like the Psalmists • WE ARE SHEEP

  3. We Are Sheep • Psalm 23:1-6— The Lord is my ashepherd, I 1shall bnot want. 2 He makes me lie down in agreen pastures; He bleads me beside 1cquiet waters. 3 He arestores my soul; He bguides me in the 1cpaths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Even though I awalk through the 1valley of the shadow of death, I bfear no 2evil, for cYou are with me; Your drod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You aprepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You 1have banointed my head with oil; My ccup overflows. 6 1Surely agoodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will 2bdwell in the house of the Lord3forever. • David describes God’s care in three different ways: • God supplied their needs. • God provided leadership and guidance. • God is a guardian.

  4. Sheep • Will destroy their own feeding ground. • Are easily cast down. • Have no natural defenses. • Are easy prey. • Prone to wander off and get lost.

  5. The Psalmists View of Self • Helpless • Psalm 70:5— But aI am afflicted and needy; bHasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay. (NASB) • Powerless • Psalm 88:4— I am reckoned among those who ago down to the pit; I have become like a man bwithout strength, • Hopeless • Psalm 33:16-19-- The king is not saved by a mighty army; A warrior is not delivered by great strength. 17 A ahorse is a false hope for victory; Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength. 18 Behold, athe eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who 1bhope for His lovingkindness, 19 To adeliver their soul from death And to keep them alive bin famine. • Defenseless • Psalm 141:8-10-- For my aeyes are toward You, O 1God, the Lord; In You I btake refuge; cdo not 2leave me defenseless. 9 Keep me from the 1ajaws of the trap which they have set for me, And from the bsnares of those who do iniquity. 10 Let the wicked afall into their own nets, While I pass by 1bsafely.

  6. The Psalmists View of Self • Easily Cast Down • Psalm 42:5-7— I cried out to You, O Lord; I said, “You are amy refuge, My bportion in the cland of the living. 6 “aGive heed to my cry, For I am bbrought very low; Deliver me from my persecutors, For they are too cstrong for me. 7 “aBring my soul out of prison, So that I may give thanks to Your name; The righteous will surround me, For You will bdeal bountifully with me.” • No natural defenses • Psalm 141:8;

  7. The Psalmists View of Self • Easily Cast Down • No natural defenses • Easy prey • Psalm 124:1-8-- Had it not been the Lord who was on our side,” bLet Israel now say, 2 “Had it not been the Lord who was on our side When men rose up against us, 3 Then they would have aswallowed us alive, When their banger was kindled against us; 4 Then the awaters would have engulfed us, The stream would have 1swept over our soul; 5 Then the araging waters would have 1swept over our soul.” 6 Blessed be the Lord, Who has not given us 1to be atorn by their teeth. 7 Our soul has aescapedbas a bird out of the csnare of the trapper; The snare is broken and we have escaped. 8 Our ahelp is in the name of the Lord, Who bmade heaven and earth. • Readily go astray • Psalm 119:67--Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word. How did this perception affect the psalmists prayer life? Not only did the psalmist rely on God in the tough times, but in the good times. The psalmist viewed himself as a sheep. The only way he will survive is with a relationship with the Shepherd.

  8. Contrast the Righteous and the Wicked • Psalm 5:1-12— Give ear to my words, O Lord, Consider my 1bgroaning. 2 Heed athe sound of my cry for help, bmy King and my God, For to You I pray. 3 In the morning, O Lord, 1You will hear my voice; In the amorning I will order my 2prayer to You and eagerly bwatch. 4 For You are not a God awho takes pleasure in wickedness; bNo evil 1dwells with You. 5 The aboastful shall not bstand before Your eyes; You chate all who do iniquity. 6 You adestroy those who speak falsehood; The Lord abhors bthe man of bloodshed and deceit. 7 But as for me, aby Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house, 1At Your holy temple I will bbow in creverence for You. 8 O Lord, alead me bin Your righteousness cbecause of 1my foes; Make Your way 2straight before me. 9 There is anothing1reliable in 2what they say; Their binward part is destruction itself. Their cthroat is an open grave; They 3flatter with their tongue. 10 Hold them guilty, O God; aBy their own devices let them fall! In the multitude of their transgressions bthrust them out, For they are crebellious against You. 11 But let all who atake refuge in You bbe glad, Let them ever sing for joy; And 1may You cshelter them, That those who dlove Your name may exult in You. 12 For it is You who ablesses the righteous man, O Lord, You bsurround him with favor as with a shield.

  9. Psalms 5:1-12 • (vv.1-3) The Psalmist will pray in anticipation of God’s answer. • (vv.4-6) The wicked are boastful and proud. The will speak lies in their arrogance. • (vv.7-8) The Psalmist will bow to the Lord in the temple and rely upon Him. • (vv.9-10) The wicked lie. Instead of humbling themselves before God they try to flatter with their lips. They rely on their talents and flattery. • (vv.11-12) The Psalmist will take refuge in God.

  10. Seeing Ourselves Like the Psalmists • WE ARE SHEEP • WE ARE SINNERS

  11. WE STRUGGLE WITH SIN • Psalm 38:3— There is ano soundness in my flesh bbecause of Your indignation; There is no health cin my bones because of my sin. • Psalm 38:18— For I 1aconfess my iniquity; I am full of banxiety because of my sin. • Psalm 38:4— For my ainiquities are gone over my head; As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.

  12. Romans 3:10-18— as it is written, “aThere is nonerighteous, not evenone; 11 There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; 12 All have turnedaside, together they havebecomeuseless; There is none who doesgood, There is not evenone.” (Psalm 14:1-3) • 13 “Their throat is an opengrave, With their tongues they keep deceiving,” (Psalm 5:9) • “The poison of asps is under their lips”; (Psalm 140:3) • 14 “aWhosemouth is full of cursing andbitterness”; (Psalm 10:7) • 15 “aTheir feet are swift to shedblood, 16 Destruction and misery are in their paths, 17 And the path of peace they have not known.” (Isaiah 59:7-8) • 18 “aThere is nofear of Godbefore their eyes.” (Psalm 36:1)

  13. How Did This Affect the Psalmists Prayers? • The psalmists understood that sin was the reason for his suffering. (Psalm 38:1-3; Psalm 32:3-5) • The psalmists solution was to penitently turn from sin and to rely on God’s grace. (Psalm 38:18-22) • The psalmists understood that God was the only path to righteousness. (Psalm 5:7-8; Psalm 25:4-10; Psalm 26:12; Psalm 39:1-2; Psalm 141:3-4) How did this affect the psalmists prayers? The psalmist understood sin to be an overwhelming problem. The only way to overcome is through a complete or total surrendering of his will to God’s will. Augustine of Hippo: “Without God, I cannot; without me, God will not.”

  14. Seeing Ourselves Like the Psalmists • WE ARE SHEEP • WE ARE SINNERS • SOMETIMES WE ARE INNOCENT

  15. The Psalmist Declares His Innocence • The Psalmists Declares His Innocence: • Psalm 7:3-5— O Lord my God, if I have done this, If there is ainjustice in my hands, 4 If I have arewarded evil to 1my friend, Or have bplundered2him who without cause was my adversary, 5 Let the enemy pursue 1my soul and overtake 2it; And let him trample my life down to the ground And lay my glory in the dust. 3Selah. • The Psalmists Asked for Vindication: • Psalm 7:8-- The Lordajudges the peoples; Vindicate me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.

  16. The Psalmist Declares His Innocence • The Psalmists Declares His Innocence: • Psalm 26:4-7— I do not asit with 1deceitful men, Nor will I go with 2bpretenders. 5 I ahate the assembly of evildoers, And I will not sit with the wicked. 6 I shall awash my hands in innocence, And I will go about bYour altar, O Lord, 7 That I may proclaim with the voice of athanksgiving And declare all Your 1wonders. • The Psalmists Asked for Vindication: • Psalm 26:1— Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have bwalked in my integrity, And I have ctrusted in the Lord2dwithout wavering

  17. The Psalmist Declares His Innocence • The Psalmists Declares His Innocence: • Psalm 59:3-4— For behold, they ahave1set an ambush for my 2life; 3Fierce men 4alaunch an attack against me, bNot for my transgression nor for my sin, O Lord, 4 1aFor no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me. bArouse Yourself to 2help me, and see! • The Psalmists Asked for Vindication: • Psalm 59:1-2-- Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; 1bSet me securely on high away from those who rise up against me. 2 Deliver me from athose who do iniquity And save me from bmen of bloodshed. The psalmists were not declaring themselves absolutely innocent of sin. Instead in certain circumstances they proclaimed innocence. (The treatment that they received was unjust.) Therefore they would petition God for relief.

  18. Learning to Pray Like the Psalmists • To Pray Like the Psalmists, We Must Believe in God Like the Psalmists. • To Pray Like the Psalmists, We Must See Ourselves as the Psalmists Did. • To Pray Like the Psalmists, We Must View Prayer as the Psalmists Did.

  19. How the Psalmists Viewed Prayer • Prayer Is Necessary • Prayer was not a rule based necessity (Ref. 1 Thess. 5:17) • Prayer was a necessity because it was the only way to deliverance. • Psalm 145:17-20— The Lord is arighteous in all His ways And kind in all His deeds. 18 The Lord is anear to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him bin truth. 19 He will afulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also bhear their cry and will save them. 20 The Lordakeeps all who love Him, But all the bwicked He will destroy. • In the final analysis the psalmist did not pray because they felt prayer benefited God in some way, but they prayed because they needed prayer and they needed what God offered to those who appealed to Him in prayer. • Psalm 50:12-15— “If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the aworld is Mine, and 1all it contains. 13 “Shall I eat the flesh of 1abulls Or drink the blood of male goats? 14 “Offer to God aa sacrifice of thanksgiving And bpay your vows to the Most High; 15 aCall upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall brescue you, and you will chonor Me.”

  20. How the Psalmists Viewed Prayer • God Hears Prayer • Psalm 6:8-9— Depart from me, all you who do iniquity, For the Lordbhas heard the voice of my weeping. 9 The Lordahas heard my supplication, The Lordbreceives my prayer. • Psalm 18:6— In my adistress I called upon the Lord, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voicebout of His temple, And my ccry for help before Him came into His ears. • Psalm 61:5— For You have heard my avows, O God; You have given me the inheritance of those who bfear Your name. • Psalm 106:44— Nevertheless He looked upon their distress When He aheard their cry; 45 And He aremembered His covenant for their sake, And 1brelented caccording to the greatness of His lovingkindness. • Psalm 116:1-2— I love the Lord, because He bhears My voice and my supplications. 2 Because He has ainclined His ear to me, Therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.

  21. How the Psalmists Viewed Prayer • Prayer Works • Psalm 34:4— I asought the Lord, and He answered me, And bdelivered me from all my fears. • Psalm 40:1-3— I awaited 1patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me and bheard my cry. 2 He brought me up out of the apit of destruction, out of the 1miry clay, And bHe set my feet upon a rock cmaking my footsteps firm. 3 He put a anew song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will bsee and fear And will trust in the Lord. • Psalm 81:7— “You acalled in trouble and I rescued you; I banswered you in the hiding place of thunder; I proved you at the cwaters of Meribah. 1Selah. • Psalm 118:5— From my adistress I called upon 1the Lord; 1The Lord answered me and bset me in a large place.

  22. How the Psalmists Viewed Prayer • Prayer Is Life • The psalmist affirm that the opportunity to praise God ceases at the grave. • Psalm 6:5— For athere is no 1mention of You in death; In 2Sheol who will give You thanks? • Psalm 30:9— “What profit is there in my blood, if I ago down to the pit? Will the bdust praise You? Will it declare Your faithfulness? • Psalm 88:10— Will You perform wonders for the dead? Will athe1departed spirits rise and praise You? Selah. • Psalm 115:17— The adead do not praise 1the Lord, Nor do any who go down into bsilence; The psalmists affirm that prayer is for the living. Is there a parallel in the spiritual realm? Prayer is fundamental to spiritual life. (2 Thess. 1:7-10; Isa. 59:1-2;)

  23. Study Outline: • TO PRAY LIKE THE PSALMISTS, WE MUST SEE GOD LIKE THE PSALMISTS DID. • TO PRAY LIKE THE PSALMISTS, WE MUST SEE OURSELVES LIKE THE PSALMISTS DID. • TO PRAY LIKE THE PSALMISTS, WE MUST SEE PRAYER LIKE THE PSALMIST DID.

  24. Study Outline: • TO PRAY LIKE THE PSALMISTS, WE MUST PREPARE TO PRAY AS THE PSALMIST DID. • TO PRAY LIKE THE PSALMISTS, WE MUST HAVE THE SAME GOAL IN OUR PRAYERS. • TO PRAY LIKE THE PSALMISTS, WE MUST BE RIGOROUSLY HONEST AND OPEN. • TO PRAY LIKE THE PSALMISTS, WE MUST BE CREATIVE. • TO PRAY LIKE THE PSALMISTS, WE MUST MAKE THE SAME COMMITMENTS THEY MADE • TO PRAY LIKE THE PSALMISTS, WE MUST PRAY WHEN THEY DID. • TO PRAY LIKE THE PSALMISTS, WE MUST LISTEN FOR GOD’S RESPONSE. • TO PRAY LIKE THE PSALMISTS, WE MUST WAIT ON THE LORD.

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