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Why should God answer my prayer for help? A study of Psalm 143
Copyright 2014 by Bob Rogers
“Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my pleas for mercy!” – Psalm 143:1, ESV
Your life is a mess, and you cry out to God for help. Have you ever stopped to consider why God should answer your prayer? In Psalm 143, David shows us how to pray for help for the right reasons. This is not a method to manipulate God; this is a supplication that submits to the Almighty.
In the psalm, David asks God to hear his cry. He talks about how his enemies are hot on his trail, and how he is so weary and worn out that he is ready to give up. Then he concludes his prayer with the right way to appeal to Yahweh.
First, notice the wrong reasons to ask God for help.
1) Not because I’m good. “No one living is righteous before You,” David says to the Lord (v. 2). God isn’t going to answer me because I’m good, because I’m not.
2) Not because I beg him. In verses 4-6, David sounds pitiful, saying his spirit faints and his spirit fails. Yet, as we shall see, all of this begging is not the reason that God answers.
3) Not because I need him. In verse 7, David says he’s afraid he’s going to end up at the bottom of the pit. Yes, God cares about our needs, yet even this is not the reason God comes to my aid, because, as we shall see, it’s not about me.
Second, notice the right reasons to ask God for help.
1) Because God is good. “Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!” (v. 10). The Hebrew word used here means “good, gracious, beautiful and pleasant.” God answers because God is good, not because we are good (no one is righteous– v. 2).
2) Because God glorifies His name. “For your name’s sake, LORD, preserve my life!” (v. 11). Whenever you see “LORD” in all capital letters, it translates the given name of God, Yahweh. God answers our prayer for help to glorify His holy name, that He might draw people to faith in Him.
3) Because God is faithful to His covenant love. “And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies…” (v. 12). The phrase “steadfast love” translates one word in Hebrew, chesed, the word for God’s love that He gives in His grace to His people, not because we deserve it, but because He promised to do it when He made a covenant with His people. David also uses this word in verse 8, saying, “Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love.”
So if you are crying out to God to help you, ask for the right reasons. Don’t ask because you’re good, because you’re not. Ask because God is good. Don’t ask to help because you want it; ask because it will glorify God. Don’t ask for help because you need it; ask God to help because God has promised to be faithful to you and love you. Don’t tell God what a big problem you have, tell your problem what a big God you have, and stand back and watch Him work in ways you never dreamed.
Guest blog: “Defeating Giants” by Melissa Hanberry
David took Goliath’s life with a stony missile and a conquered sword. Those are the tools of the trade we associate with his victory. But his first step in winning the battle was winning the war of words. “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted.” (1 Sam 17:45) And there were two more weapons with David that day. Those sticks didn’t escape Goliath’s attention, so they shouldn’t escape mine. David’s rod and staff? The same rod and staff of Psalm 23:4? Maybe David carried them to battle for comfort, a tangible reminder of the Good Shepherd who counts, rescues, and protects His own. Today they remind me that our battle with cancer is not fought on one plane with one weapon alone. In the same way a shepherd numbers his sheep as each passes beneath the rod, He numbers the very hairs on Maggie’s head and bids us not to fear (Luke 12:7). And with the staff, He searches and rescues me from the end of my own path. With such a Shepherd, my valley of darkest shadows becomes my place of deepest trust and sweetest victory.
Surprised by Joy
Copyright 2014 by Bob Rogers
Christian writer C.S. Lewis famously described his salvation experience as being “surprised by joy.” Joy is one of the fruit of the Holy Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22– and it is surprising how joy comes. Notice these three examples from the Bible:
*Joyful surprise of forgiveness from sin. When we are convicted of sin, we usually feel shame and may even experience depression. Yet confession of sin and God’s forgiveness brings the surprising result of joy. After David’s confession of the sin of adultery with Bathsheba, he cried out to God in Psalm 51:12, “Restore the joy of Your salvation to me.” God answered that prayer, for in Psalm 32 he exclaims, “How joyful is the one whose transgression is forgiven… How joyful is the man the LORD does not charge with sin…” (Psalm 32:1-2, HCSB).
*Joyful surprise during trials. When we suffer trials, we may experience stress, anxiety and worry. Yet James says that God uses trials to produce a godly endurance and maturity, which once again is a surprising reason for joy. “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow” (James 1:2-3, NLT).
*Joyful surprise of strength in the midst of grief. How can we experience joy in the midst of grief? Isn’t grief the opposite of joy? After the Jews returned to Jerusalem from exile, Ezra the scribe gathered all the people in the public square and read the law of Moses to the people and explained it to them. The people began to weep, grieved over their ignorant disobedience of God’s word. But the priests urged them to celebrate instead of weep. Why? They said, “Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10, NASB). It is natural to grieve when we experience loss in our lives, but when we take a look in faith at the big picture, we draw strength from the LORD, who is our Savior. As the apostle Paul says in Romans 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.”
So my brothers and sisters, has life got you down? Are you ashamed and grieving over your past, and anxious and hurting in the present? Then look in faith to the wonderful future you have in Christ. Surprise! The joy of the Lord is your strength.
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(If you see a video ad below this post, please understand that I have no control over these ads, and that I do not necessarily endorse the product.)
The shotgun house on Desire Street
Copyright 2014 by Bob Rogers
Lillie Mae Lanier leaned on her wall
In her shotgun house on Desire Street.
Missing her husband, afraid of it all
In her shotgun house on Desire Street.
Her heart hurt, her head broke
Open the truth that she spoke
To her wall– as it wondered if it could stay still
When such painful emotions were written on the wall
In the shotgun house on Desire Street.
Katrina had come, Katrina had gone
To the shotgun house on Desire Street.
Waters had risen, families washed away
But Lillie Mae Lanier never wandered away
From the faith she had on Desire Street
Why? You may ask. Why lean on that wall
In your shotgun house on Desire Street?
Lillie Mae still leans day after day
In her shotgun house on Desire Street
For she knows the wall will never give way
And one day will take her heart far away
From her shotgun house on Desire Street.
When all that you have has melted away
And Monday’s food must last till Friday
You need a wall to lean on
You need a foundation to stand on
Lillie read the words written on her wall
That keeps her faith strong
That moves her along
She knows that one day He will take her away
And she’ll never again live on Desire Street.
For she’s a princess in hiding
And she’s waiting for her King
To smile on her heart on the day she departs
From her shotgun house on Desire Street.
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(If you see a video ad below this post, please understand that I have no control over these ads, and that I do not necessarily endorse the product.)
How to pray in times of distress
Copyright 2012 by Bob Rogers
Psalm 102 teaches us how to pray when we are in distress.
It was written by someone who suffered through the exile in Babylon, but it applies to anybody in suffering. Like the changing weather, this psalm expresses the psalmist’s changing mood. Open your Bible to the psalm and follow this prayer outline:
1) Clouds gather (v. 1-2). He first cries out to God. “Lord, hear my prayer…Do not hide Your face from me in my day of trouble…”
2) Gloom and darkness (v. 3-11). Next, he describes his suffering: heartache (v. 4), he can’t eat (v. 4), he loses weight (v. 5), he is lonely (v. 6). he can’t sleep (v. 7), he suffers abuse (v. 8), he weeps (v. 9), and he suffers because of his sin (v. 10). Thus he says, “My days are like a lengthening shadow.” (v. 11). But the clouds part and the sun shines in.
3) Sunshine (v. 12-22). A ray of future hope from the Lord shines in his heart, and he sees that he will see the ruins of Zion and rebuild Jerusalem, or at least the future generations will see it.
4) Clouds return (v. 23-24). But as he waits for the fulfillment of his future hope, the clouds of doubt return briefly. Can’t we all relate to that?
5) Eternal light (v. 25-28). Finally the psalm ends with a statement of faith in the eternal light of God, for even when the earth wears out like clothing, “You are the same, and Your years will never end.” (v. 27). This part of the psalm is quoted in Hebrews 1:10-12 as a prophecy of Jesus Christ. This reminds us that our ultimate light and hope for our distress comes when we trust in Jesus.
Bob Rogers 