DAVID PRAYED BEFORE HE TOOK ACTION

PROCLAMATION

“He inquired of The Lord, saying, ‘Shall I go and attack these Philistines ?’  The Lord answered him, ‘Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.’”  1 Samuel 23:2 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

While David was in hiding and fleeing King Saul, word came to him that the Philistines had attacked Keilah, a city in the tribe of Judah.  Before he took action, David prayed.  He asked The Lord God if he should go and attack the Philistines and save the people of God in Keilah. (1 Samuel 23:1-2 and 4)  Only after The Lord God answered him and said, “Go, …” did David take action.

APPLICATION

David knew what he wanted to do, but he prayed and asked for guidance because it was more important for him to do what The Lord God wanted him to do.  We can learn a lot from David.  All of our actions should be preceded by prayer.  “In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:6)  We should pray before we act, and also before we speak.  We should pray to God about everything.  “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)  We should make sure that our lives and actions are in line with the will of God.

A PRAYER OF CLEANSING

Proclamation:

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions.  Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.  For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.  Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight; … Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:1-4 and 10 (NIV)

Explanation:

This psalm is a prayer of King David, written under the inspiration of The Holy Spirit of God.  After he had slept with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, David ordered him to be put in a position to be killed so that he could have her for himself. (2 Samuel 11:1-27)  David knew that he had sinned and he asked God to cleanse him of his sins. (Psalm 51:2)  He also asked God to purge him, clean him, wash him, (Psalm 51:7) and to blot out all of his iniquities. (Psalm 51:9)  David wanted God to give him a clean heart and a right spirit. (Psalm 51:10)  He also wanted God to restore the joy of his salvation. (Psalm 51:12)  Then he asked God to control his words so that he could give God praise. (Psalm 51:15)

Application:

Most of the sins that we commit are conscious decisions on our part and we know that what we are doing is wrong.  Most believers feel bad or guilty after committing a sin as if doing so robs us of the joy of our salvation.  We need to pray and ask The Lord God to have mercy on us and to forgive us.  We need for Him to cleanse us, to wipe away our sins and transgressions, and to create within us a clean heart and mind.  We also need His help to stay on the straight and narrow path that is His way.  We need to pray that He would order our steps, guide our tongues, and direct out thoughts so that our lives will be a good Christian example for others to see and so that we can all praise His name.

PRAY TO OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN

Proclamation:

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done …” Matthew 6:9-13 (NIV)

Explanation:

This is the model prayer which Jesus, The Christ, used as an example when He taught His disciples how to pray.  After giving them several examples of what not to do, He said to them “This, then, is how you should pray: …”  

Application:

Prayer is simply us talking to God.  When we think of prayer this way it becomes easier to understand why Jesus told us what not to do.  We should not pray to be seen. (Matthew 6:5)  There is a time and place for corporate prayer but we are not to draw attention to ourselves.  Also, we should not use vain repetitions when we pray. (Matthew 6:7)  No one would believe us if every time we spoke to them we used the exact same words and said the same thing every time.  I am sure that God is not pleased with us when our prayers to Him are always a combination of the same trite, over used expressions which we heard someone else say.  The model prayer is an example of how we should pray.  In our prayers we should acknowledge who He is.  We should thank Him for what He has done.  We should confess our sins and ask to be forgiven.  Then we should ask for what it is that we want.  We should also ask for something for some one else and not just be selfish.  A helpful acronym is “ACTS”, which stands for acknowledgement, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication.  We should pray regularly and frequently. (Luke 18:1 and 21:36)  In case we unknowingly ask for something which is inappropriate, we should also ask that His will be done and that He give us the ability to accept His will.  Our prayers should be sincere and heart felt in order to be effective. (James 5:16)

We Ought To Always Pray

"Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up."  Luke 18:1 (NIV)

Under the inspiration of The Holy Spirit of God, Luke, the physician and frequent travelling companion of the Apostle Paul, recorded these words which Jesus spoke to His disciples.  The purpose of the parable which Jesus spoke was to teach His disciples that they ought to always pray.

As modern day disciples of The Lord God, believers ought to pray, and pray often.  While it is good that we pray when we wake up in the morning, and when we lay down to sleep at night, that is not often enough.  Most believers also pray before they eat, which would be an additional two to three times each day, but that still is not enough.  We ought to pray frequently, almost continually.  We should pray before we speak, and before we undertake any activity, or make any decisions.  We should acknowledge Him, thank Him, and praise Him all day long.  In all that we do, we should acknowledge that God has His hand on us. (Proverbs 3:6)  We cannot thank Him enough for all of His blessing which He has bestowed upon us. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)  We ought to praise Him, continually, all day long, for who He is. (Psalms 34:1)  Our prayers do not have to be long in order to be effective, but they need to be sincere. (James 5:16)  There is power in prayer, and we ought to talk to our Heavenly Father frequently.  Remember the saying: "Little prayer, little power; Much prayer, much power; No prayer, no power."  The Lord God hears the prayers of the righteous. (Proverbs 15:29)

Pray Frequently And Often

"Pray continually;"  1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NIV)  The King James Version reads: "Pray without ceasing."

In his letter to the believers in the Church at Thessalonika, the Apostle Paul told them that they ought to always pray, or to pray frequently and often.

Prayer is the means by which believers communicate with God.  Jesus, The Christ, said that man ought to always pray. (Luke 18:1)  King David was a man after God's heart not because he was perfect, but because he prayed frequently and often.  We have not because we ask not. (James 4:2)  Christ said that whatever we ask for in His name we would receive. (Matthew 21:22)  That is, if what we ask for will give God glory.  We are encouraged to be faithful in prayer (Romans 12:12), and to pray for one another. (James 5:16)  Our prayers should be sincere. (Ephesians 6:18)  We should pray for those that we love, and for our enemies. (Matthew 5:44)  We should not pray just to be seen and heard by men or to get attention. (Matthew 6:5-6)  The more often that we sincerely pray, the less often we are likely to enter into temptation to sin. (Matthew 26:41 and Mark 14:38)  Jesus prayed for His disciples and He also prayed for us. (John 17:20)  So pray, and pray sincerely, and pray often.  The more often we pray, the better off we will be.  

Enthusiastic Joyful Patient And Faithful

"Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving The Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."  Romans 12:11-12 (NIV)

After urging the believers in Rome to be living sacrifices unto God, the Apostle Paul told them to love one another, and to never lose their zeal for serving God.  They should praise Him in good times and bad times; the should never lose hope; they should be patient during the trials, the tribulations, and the storms of life; and they should faithfully and regularly pray.

The entirety of chapter twelve of the book of Romans could be entitled, "Guidelines For Christian Living."  These two verses encourage us to love and serve The Lord with gusto, no matter what comes our way.  We ought to communicate with Him regularly and often.  The more that we pray, the better off we will be. (James 5:16)  We need to learn to be patient, and to wait on The Lord.  He does thing in His own time-frame. (Isaiah 40:31)   We should be "on fire" for The Lord, we should be very enthusiastic about our service to Him.  Jesus said that He did not want any "lukewarm" followers. (Revelation 3:15-16)   We should also be joyful as we approach and deal with everything. (James 1:2)  We have already been assured of the victory. (1 Corinthians 15:57 and   1 John 5:4)  With Him, we win; without Him, we lose. (Romans 8:37)

Find A Place Of Prayer

"On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer.  We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there."  Acts 16:13 (NIV)

Luke, the physician and companion of the Apostle Paul, recorded that Paul and Silas went outside of the city gate and headed to the river looking for a common gathering place which was known as a place of  prayer.  When they arrived there they found that a group of women had already gathered there.

The early Christians were a praying people.  Even when there wasn't a church building for them to gather in, they gathered and prayed by the riverside and in each others homes. (Acts 12:12)  The Bible says that we ought to always pray.  (Luke 18:1)  We should pray in private at times. (Matthew 6:6)  However, we are encouraged to come together and pray, even if there are only two or three of us.  (Matthew 18:20)  There is power in prayer.  Prayer is an effective tool which we ought to use more often.  (James 5:16)  "Little prayer, little power; much prayer, much power; no prayer, no power."  (Unknown)  We can pray anywhere, and anytime.  We cannot pray too much.  So, go to prayer meetings.  If your church does not have one, consider starting one.  Make your home a place of prayer.

Pray And Pray More Often

"Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to You all day long.  Bring joy to Your servant, for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.  You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to You.  Hear my prayer, O LORD; listen to my cry for mercy."  Psalms 86:3-6 (NIV)

King David was a praying man, and this is another one of his prayers.  He ask The Lord to have mercy on him, and to restore his joy.  David recognized his sinfulness, although no specific sin is mentioned here.  It may just be the sinful nature of man because he says that he calls on The Lord all day long.  Whatever it is, he is appealing to the loving kindness of God to have mercy on him.

We can learn a lot from David.  He prayed to God often, and we should do the same.  He frequently asks for God's mercy because he knows that he has sinned.  We ought to admit that we sin frequently throughout each day, if you consider our thoughts, words, and actions.  Therefore we ought to call on The Lord all day long and ask for forgiveness and mercy.  Most Christians begin and end their day with prayer.  The questions is, how many times during each day do we stop and pray?  I'm just saying that we ought to pray much more that we do.  Think about how bad things would be for us if we only got His mercy when we asked for it, and did not get it when we didn't pray for it.  We should always pray. (Luke 18:1)  The Apostle Paul said that we should "pray without ceasing." (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18)