Eight Forms of Experiencing God in Prayer
Part 1—Public & Private Prayer
Call Unto Me Sunday
By Pastor Matt Black
03 February 2008
Lord's Day morning
Genesis
32:24-30
Introduction: Open your Bibles to Genesis 32:24-30. This morning and this evening, we are going to be looking at the various forms of prayer. Prayer is simply talking and communing with God by His Spirit. But the Bible reveals various ways that we pray to God as we are going to see in our text.
This morning we’ll look at:
Ø Public prayer,
Ø and Private prayer,
Tonight and in the days to come we’ll look at:
Ø The Pardoning prayer of repentance and confession of sin.
Then as we are able in the days to come we will dive into:
Ø Prevailing prayer—the kind of prayer that asks God for daily needs—Prayer of petition.
Ø Passionate prayer (Supplication)—we’ll see that supplication is prayer that is agonizing, fervent and urgent—that is supplication
Ø Pleading prayer of Intercession-how can we intercede for others?
Ø Praising prayer
Ø And Protecting (or imprecatory) prayer
Let’s begin by looking at an ordinary man that wrestled with God. He wrestled with Him all night long, and by his own testimony, he saw the face of God. As a result of that wrestling match, Jacob walked with a limp for the rest of his life. It marked him. He was a changed man.
Look at Genesis 32:24-30, “And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. 26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. 29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. 30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face…” Jacob says: “I have seen God face to face…”
Jacob experienced God. Prayer is more than a one way conversation; it is an actual encounter with the Living God. You cannot leave God’s presence unchanged. Jacob was a schemer and a smooth talker. He had it together. But God changed Jacob’s name and changed his nature. Jacob went from defiance to dependence. His dependence was physically illustrated by the limp he had for the rest of his life. Jacob experienced God in prayer! Is that what you want this morning? Have you ever met an apathetic wrestler—or a bored, passionless wrestler?
The Christian life is one of wrestling with God. It’s not simply knowing about God, but interacting with God. It is something that marks every Christian.
And this morning we are going to learn that wrestling with God in prayer takes more than one form of expression. There are at least eight different Biblical manifestations of prayer given in the Bible. We’re going to see eight sides of our one prayer life and communion with God.
So let’s get started. We need to experience and encounter God in prayer.
I. The most visible form of prayer is Public prayer, and it is vitally important for the life of the Spirit in the Body. We can quench the Spirit before the service ever gets started if we approach God in a careless manner.
Public prayer is a time to yield together to God as a Body. In corporate prayer, we approach the throne of Grace TOGETHER. But you can’t just come any way that you want to. We are approaching God. He is a consuming fire. He is the awesome and all powerful Living God. So we must be careful how we approach him, especially in public prayer. Turn over to 1 Corinthians 14:33 if you would. We see in this verse that…
A. Public Prayer should be Disciplined. As we go to the throne of Grace we don’t want a free for all.
1 Corinthians 14:33 says it clearly: “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” Verse 40, tells us that we should “Let all things be done decently and in order.”
Public prayer is part of public worship and is always designed to build up the Body of Christ that is present. Chaos and a lack of preparation will cause confusion and hinder the Spirit’s working.
Application: Let me say tenderly but firmly, that our time of public prayer is not a time to get up and move to a different location. It is clearly a time to be orderly and to keep yourself in check and your mind disciplined upon the things of God. It is not time to finish an unfinished conversation. It is not a rest time or a down time in the service. It is not a time to whisper something to your child or to your friend, or to your spouse. You ought to be completely engaged. It We as the called out people of God need to do everything in our power to refrain from any kind of disorderly distraction.
Now I know that during prayer, there are many distractions. Parents, do you realize how cute your children are. Many times we are tempted to keep an eye open during prayer and see what all the cute babies are doing! Brethren, there are other times for that!
Illustration: Imagine you are at a wedding. The Groom is looking at the Bride. The Preacher says, now, do you Bride take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? The preacher is making a petition and the whole room is silent. All eyes and ears are on the Bride. Out of deep respect for the Bride, people are silent. It is a special moment. No one wants to ruin that moment because of the seriousness of it, because of their love and respect for the Bride.
Do we have that kind of deep love and respect for God? Do you see the seriousness of prayer? We are going into the throne room of the Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. All the angels are assembled. Jesus stands at the right hand of the Father. It is during this time of prayer and worship that you and I must do all within our power not to bring disorder in the church. “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace… Let all things be done decently and in order.” (1 Corinthians 14:33, 40).
Application: Parents that means you need to be sure your child uses the facilities before the service or between services. You need to be aware that many times when children are excused from the service, there is no real emergency. Many times children simply want a break or they want to PLAY. I was a child once. Parents, you need to teach your children to sit in church and to listen to the preacher. If your child has legitimate ongoing needs, then you need to sit close to the door, or sit in the overflow room. If you must leave, please be as discreet as you possibly can be with great respect for the services.
1. One thing that can facilitate this order is a clear leader. The Bible teaches us that there needs to be a clear leader.
That is why we are told in this chapter that prayer in public worship is to be “one by one” (verse 31). You may have “two or three” or more pray or preach, but verse 27 says that it must be “by course” which means ‘by turn’ or ‘one at a time’.
Application: It is one thing to divide up on Wednesday nights and pray in groups. But if two people were to come up to the platform and begin praying at the same time, we’d have problems.
It is not that God can't hear a million people pray at once and understand every word. But corporate worship is expressly for the building up of those assembled, and confusion edifies no one.
Illustration: It is common in some places, for instance in some of the Pentecostal or Charismatic churches, for everyone to pray out loud at once with a pretty high volume. Perhaps some here have visited a place like this. Such a practice is forbidden in the New Testament. Public prayer is to be orderly and edifying. This is accomplished by having one clear leader guide the congregation in prayer.
2. Then, the person leading in prayer needs to be a serious-minded leader. We are given a clear command about how the leader should approach God in Ecclesiastes 5:2. Turn there if you would. You see, you can have a clear leader in charge, and there can still be confusion if that leader is not the right kind of leader. He must be serious minded when he leads the congregation to God’s throne. Ecclesiastes 5:2 gives us clear instruction for the leader to be serious-minded: “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.” A leader who comes unprepared to pray, or is apathetic or casual can cause confusion in the Body. If you come to pray a rote prayer for the congregation, you will bring a spirit of apathy to the Body as a whole. If there is sin in your life that is not repented of, you will hurt the congregation. The leader must be extremely careful and concerned and directed by the Holy Spirit of God. He must have a careful walk and be a clean vessel. He must have a fervent spirit, have the “mind of Christ”, and be a “man after God’s own heart”.
3. The person praying also must be a leader that reflects God’s created order. In other words, only a man can lead in corporate prayer. We learn in 1 Corinthians 11:3, “that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.” He goes on to say in verses 8 and 9, “For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. 9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.” That is God’s created order. Man’s authority is God, and the protective authority over the woman is the man.
How is this reflected in corporate prayer and preaching? Turn over to 1 Timothy 2:11. We have clear instruction in the pastoral epistles. In a moment we’re also going to look at 1 Corinthians 14, but look now at 1 Timothy 2.
· Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:11-12, “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. 12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.” In corporate worship, we must reflect the fact that the man is the head of the woman. In corporate prayer we are led to the throne of Grace. It is a shame for a woman to lead the church Body in prayer because it brings confusion to God’s created order. Only men are to teach the Word of God and only men are to lead in corporate prayer.
· Again, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:34, “Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.” This is speaking of a leadership role in the congregation.
Application: Let me say that this does not mean that women cannot share in testimony times. Is our church inconsistent? No it is not—because in testimony time, there is no instruction involved. And we purposely have the pastor or another godly man leading in the testimony time, so that we are careful to avoid confusion.
So though the hearts of our women are just as fervent and perhaps at times more so than the men, we will not have a lady leading in corporate prayer because we want to honor God’s created order.
Transition: So public prayer is to be disciplined and orderly, there is to be a clear leader, a serious minded leader, and a leader that reflects God’s created order. All of this helps public prayer to be disciplined and orderly. But then we see…
B. Public Prayer should not only be Disciplined, but also Discernable. It is important that every one hear and understand the person praying so that every member of Christ’s Body can be built up, encouraged, and comforted in Christ. We need to work on this, but it is vitally important that the person praying be clearly heard. Look back again at 1 Corinthians 14, all the way back to verse 1.
This passage of Scripture is talking about two main things: speaking with the gift of tongues—a previously unlearned foreign language and secondly, prophesying which we would understand today with the word preaching.
So as I read this passage, I’m going to read it with those words inserted for clarity.
1 Corinthians 14:1-19, “Follow after charity [LOVE], and desire spiritual gifts [MANIFESTATIONS OF THE SPIRIT], but rather that ye may prophesy [PREACH]. 2 For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue [MIRACULOUSLY LEARNED FOREIGN LANGUAGE] speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the Spirit he speaketh mysteries. 3 But he that prophesieth [PREACHES] speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. 4 He that speaketh in an unknown tongue [MIRACULOUSLY LEARNED FOREIGN LANGUAGE] edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth [PREACHES] edifieth the church. 5 I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied [PREACHED]: for greater is he that prophesieth [PREACHES] than he that speaketh with tongues [FOREIGN LANGUAGES], except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.
6 ¶ Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues [FOREIGN LANGUAGES], what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying [PREACHING], or by doctrine? 7 And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped? 8 For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? 9 So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air…” Now skip to verse 15.
15 ¶ What is it then? I will pray with the Spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the Spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.”
Skip now to verse 18, Paul says, “I thank my God, I speak with tongues [THE GIFT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES] more than ye all: 19 Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue [A FOREIGN LANGUAGE THAT NO ONE UNDERSTANDS].”
So public prayer must be discernable and understandable. This is the point.
· This is why I often ask men to come all the way up to the front to pray at the end of the service. We need everyone to hear.
· This is also why during Testimony time we have at times used a microphone. We want everyone to hear you.
· When leading in public prayer the person praying ought to stand up if possible and speak up so that everyone present can clearly hear and understand what is being said.
· Sometimes we men pray on our knees at our men’s prayer meeting. It is important that even if you are on your knees that you lift your head up and speak loud and clear so that all can be edified.
Remember, in our corporate prayer, the Spirit of God is manifesting Himself and His will to the congregation. We are corporately yielding to the will of God.[1] Whether it be preaching, or testimonies, or prayer, if it is done publicly, it must be understandable and clear!
Transition: So public prayer must be disciplined, it must be discernable, and thirdly…
C. Public Prayer should be Dependent on God’s Spirit. We must be conscious of the Spirit’s presence as we lead the congregation in prayer. Look over at Romans 8. It tells us that we cannot pray to God on our own, but we need the assistance of the Holy Spirit. God is the great focus of our prayers as a church. We want God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. In corporate prayer we as Christ’s Body yield to God’s will by His Spirit. This kind of prayer energizes the service! It is the breath of God to the Body. The Spirit, or Pneuma (breath or wind) of God breathes life into our service through prayer. We see this in Romans 8. As our physical bodies are refreshed at each breath, so the Body of Christ is given renewed life and strength through corporate prayer. Romans 8:26 tells us that “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
Our corporate prayers are to be focused on God, and filled with praise and passion and petitions for God. We need His assistance as we lead the Bride that Christ died for to the throne of Grace!!
II. The second form of prayer Private prayer. Turn over Matthew 6 if you would.
Public prayer is shared and entered into by the entire Body of Christ present. By contrast, private prayer is a private communication with God that is between you and God alone. You are praying for your own edification, and you are interceding for others. You are repenting of sin and praising God and asking for your needs to be met. The most important passage that speaks to private prayer, or what we have come to know as our quiet time or time of devotions is Matthew 6. We see here that those try to hide prayerlessness or greed often do so by being religious show offs. Jesus is talking to the Pharisees in this passage.
We read beginning with verse 1, “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.” None of us wants to be a shallow Pharisee, a show off. How can we avoid spiritual hypocrisy? There is only one thing that will keep a person sincere and honest and away from a shallow, performance based, false imitation of Christianity. What is that one thing? Private prayer!!
A. Private prayer is the best Treatment for hypocrisy. Private prayer will keep you honest! You can’t We see this now in verse 5.
Matthew 6:5, “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”
Prayer is never to be a display even when offered in public. The surest cure for public hypocrisy is private communion with God. I want you to see this in Luke 18 and verse 10.
Why did the Pharisees made such ostentatious public performances? Because they had no spiritual life within. They had no concept of the depravity of their own human heart or the holiness of God. This is well illustrated in the story told by our Lord in this passage.
Luke 18:10-14, “Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
The Pharisee justified himself by announcing to anyone who happened to be listening that he was righteous. The publican was justified by God as he humbled his heart and acknowledged his great need. So it is a vibrant private prayer life will humble the heart, and bring your spirit and my spirit into fellowship with the Holy Spirit. This produces a genuine spirituality that does not need a platform upon which to perform.
B. Private prayer is the Trademark of the true Child of God. It is in private prayer that “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16).
And Matthew 6 takes for granted that all Christians have regular times of private prayer. Look at Matthew 6:6, “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”
Notice that Jesus does not say “if” you pray, but “when” you pray. Prayer is normal to the Christian life. People who never pray aren't saved. While none of us have the prayer life we ought to have, every saved person prays. It is normal for a child of God to shut himself up in the prayer closet with God. The closet is not so much a particular place as it is a retreat within the heart for communion with God.
C. Private prayer is the Tie that binds us to Heaven. Matthew 6:7, “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.”
The Christian is different from the heathen, in that he has an actual relationship with the King of heaven. In a relationship, there are deep and moving conversations that are lucid, coherent, and rational.
In other words, what this verse is saying is, if in your private prayer time, you are not aware of what you are saying, then you are not praying.
· The repetition of meaningless clichés is not prayer.
· Prayers offered to God, which do not engage the mind much less the heart, are not prayers at all.
If you talk to God, it is because you intend to do so. If you have been in the presence of God you will have no doubt that you have been there. God is not nearly so interested in the quantity of your prayers as He is interested in the intensity of your prayers.
You cannot be a functioning Christian without an effective prayer life. It takes discipline. Mindless prayer is not prayer at all. It takes a disciplined conscious effort.
Part 2—Pardoning Prayer
03 February 2008
Lord's Day evening
Psalm 51
Transition: So we’ve looked at Public prayer and Private prayer.
III. The third form of prayer is Purifying or Pardoning prayer (Psalm 51).
God desires our obedience, not our sacrifice. A broken, repentant, contrite heart is a wonderful sacrifice to give to God, but God would much rather have your heartfelt obedience and your sacrifices of righteous living! 1 Samuel 15:22, “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” It is sweet and refreshing to know that God will pardon our sins. Psalm 130:3 asks ‘If God should “mark iniquities… who shall stand?”’
Purifying prayer is the prayer of a broken and a contrite heart. It is coming to see God as awesome in His holiness, and seeing as good and beautiful what God sees as good and beautiful, and despising what God despises—a turning away from sin—repentance.
In an age that has little concern for sin, it is no wonder that there is little emphasis upon repentance. A Christian is given the illumination by the Spirit of holiness to recognize the horror of sin which compels us as believers to constant repentance.
A. The Scriptures confirm that this is the Consistent Experience of a true child of God.
Repentance is not a single experience that begins and ends at conversion. Repentance is a continuing necessity in the life of every believer.
James 5:16, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
1 John 1:8, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
1 John 1:9-2:2, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
Neglect of this aspect of prayer is sufficient in itself to render all other forms of prayer useless. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psalm 66:18).
B. We have a Convicting Example of that broken heart for sin in Psalm 51 in the life of David. Turn there if you would.
This great prayer of repentance was offered by David after his sins of adultery, deceit, and murder. He had taken Uriah's wife and attempted to cover his sin by bringing Uriah back to be stay overnight with his wife. When Uriah because of his loyalty to the war being waged Uriah refused the comforts of his wife, David sent Uriah back to battle with his own death warrant in his hand. Then David took Uriah's wife to be his own wife. When confronted by Nathan the prophet David's heart was broken. This Psalm is the outpouring of his repentant heart.
What do we see in this purifying, pardoning prayer?
1. In repentant prayer, there is a Receiving of God’s mercy.
Psalm 51:1, “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.”
The believer with a broken heart over sin makes no claims on God’s fairness or justice. If we got what we deserved we’d all get the Lake of Fire. No child of God ever talks about fairness. We plead for mercy. You know that God alone is the source of mercy. We have nothing to offer God. God does not love us because of anything in us. None of us is impressive to God.
2. In repentant prayer, there is a also Renewal of conscience. David says in verse 2, “Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” What he’s talking about is the defilement of his conscience. When we sin, our integrity is compromised. God alone is able to give us the assurance that He himself has done what is necessary to meet the requirement that is under the law so that we can get relief from our defiled conscience.
God Himself has done what was necessary to meet the requirement of justice. It is not easy to remove your sin. It takes God dying in your place. We see this with the reference to hyssop in verses 6-7:
Psalm 51:6-7, “Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”
What is hyssop? “David’s mind goes to the original Passover, when the firstborn of Egypt were stricken dead and the houses of Israel that had blood on the door frames, were passed over. What does that have to do with David’s request? Here it is: God directed the Israelites to take a branch of hyssop and dip it in blood and paint the door frames with it.”[2]
Hebrews 9:22, “without shedding of blood is no remission.”
David never sang this great old hymn, but I believe we may sing it with him in heaven:
What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Refrain
Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Only God through the blood sacrifice of Christ can cleanse the heart of sin. Good deeds cannot atone for bad deeds. Church membership and attendance will never satisfy the wrath of a provoked and incensed God. No man can remove the stain of sin from the conscience. No man can remove the fact of sin from the record book of God. Sin can indeed be cleansed, but only by God.
And as 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” God Himself must cleanse us as we look in faith to our Substitute.
3. Thirdly, in repentant prayer, there is a Responsibility for guilt.
Psalm 51:3, “For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.”
There can be no repentance apart from honestly facing personal guilt. It is not that we simply feel guilty.
We may feel guilty, but guilt is a fact more than it is a feeling.
We have committed crimes of sin against the God of heaven. You may not think your sin is that bad. A person who lies and gets away with it can feel pretty good about himself. But the person caught in a lie feels awful.
A person who is truly repentant has been caught in his sin by God. So then, one who is truly repentant takes full responsibility to own his sin. Mark my words, a person who makes excuses for his sin or excuses himself because of the sins of others knows nothing of repentance.
The most important words a believer can utter are the words, ‘I HAVE SINNED!’
4. Fourthly, in repentant prayer, there is always a great Regard for God’s awesome holiness.
Psalm 51:4, “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest”.
Sin is an offense to the holiness of God and therefore ALL sin is ultimately against God. David could have listed any number of people against whom he had sinned in this situation. Those people should receive at the very least a sincere asking of forgiveness, but repentance offered to men without repentance before God are hollow and hypocritical.
The primary reason for the lax attitude toward sin in this generation is a general lack of appreciation for the holiness of God. This generation of professing Christians would say, “if any man be in Christ…” he is kind of, sort of a new creation, and the old is passing away at least for those who are not carnal Christians. What a sad state we are in. We have a generation of professing Christians who have no idea of the crimes they’ve committed against God’s great holiness. In contrast, every genuine Christian sees the horror of his sin against God and is guaranteed to be made holy in a progressive way. This occurs because every true Christian is arrested by the Holy Spirit of God that all sin is against a holy God.
Ø Every genuine believer therefore rejects sin and pursues “holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).
Ø God has “chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love” (Ephesians 1:4). How is this possible? How can a human being live a holy life? Not on his own that’s for sure. Self righteousness is filthy rags!
Ø We must look “unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 1:24).
Ø We must be “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).
A true understanding of God’s awesome holiness breeds the horrific realization that all my sin is against God and God alone.
5. Fifthly, in repentant prayer, there is a Recognition of our sin nature.
David says in verse 5, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me”.
The depth of sin in our life is so great that it goes back prior to our birth. You have to recognize your own propensity to sin. We are born sinners with a fallen nature. We sin because it is our nature to do so.
From our birth we are born as “enemies of God” (Romans 5:10) and are “by nature children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3).
Understanding this fact does not become an excuse for sin. It is an incentive for repentance. What are we so proud about? If we could but see ourselves as the wretched, wicked, fallen creatures that we are, we would not have so much trouble humbling our hearts before God in repentance.
6. Sixth, in repentant prayer, there is a Responsiveness to God’s chastening.
Psalm 51:8-9, “Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.”
God is never arbitrary in anything He does. The difficulties of life have rhyme and reason. God loves you! And “whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth” (Hebrews 12:6).
Ø Some problems are tests of faith.
Ø Some burdens serve to build character.
Ø Some difficulties are for the purpose of testimony.
Ø But you know most of our problems are the results of our sin! God loves His children too much to allow them to stray indefinitely from the fold. Jesus said He would never leave us nor forsake us. When we sin and refuse the continued working of the Holy Spirit as He calls attention to our sin, we place ourselves in the position of chastisement.
The chastening is as severe as necessary to bring us to repentance. David is not being melodramatic when he calls attention to broken bones! There is deep pain that he has been undergoing for this year of rebellion. Repentance acknowledges that God is just in His chastening of us, and that our sin has occasioned our sufferings. We wonder at the love of God that will not let us go our own way!
7. Seventh, in repentant prayer, there is a Renewal of attitude.
Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” He says in verse 12, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.”
When a man is out of sorts with God, he is out of sorts with everyone; his attitude becomes as polluted as his heart. People with a sour disposition have a sin problem. Repentance will correct their heart problem and "renew a right spirit within."
8. Eighth, in repentant prayer, there is a Recognition of disqualification.
Psalm 51:11-13, “Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. 13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.”
Sin effectively negates all Christian service. The time lived in sin is a total waste. It can never be brought back. A repentant person understands that you cannot serve God with a dirty heart. You lose your joy. Your lips of witness are sealed by a condemned heart. You lose your ability to offer honest praise to God. A truly repentant person will not attempt to justify himself or his position before God or man. Until sin is dealt with and made right, all positions of leadership are forfeited. Even if you continue in service to God, your service is abhorrent to Him.
9. Ninth, in repentant prayer, there is a deep Remorse for sin.
Psalm 51:16-17, “For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”
There is no pride in repentance. Here is a humble appeal to grace. Here are the tears of genuine remorse. Here is a brokenness of spirit. Anything short of this kind of surrender to God is short of genuine repentance.
If God doesn’t have our heart, then our service to Him makes Him sick. What good are the sacrifice of Sundays and Wednesday nights if God doesn’t have your heart? Do we bring Him maimed offerings?
Look at Isaiah 1:11-15, “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. 12 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? 13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. 14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. 15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.”
10. In purifying repentant prayer there is a Restoration of service.
Only after restoration can service be restored. Look at verses 14-15, “Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise”, and then Psalm 51:18-19, “Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.”
Now the sacrifices to God we give are sacrifices of RIGHTEOUSNESS! They are not for sin, but because we have peace with God.
Some people come to God in repentance and then grovel in the mud of their failure. That is spiritual nonsense. The purpose of repentance is to gain forgiveness and restoration in service.
Maybe you’ve come tonight as a believer and you don’t think God can forgive you. That’s nonsense.
The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses you from all unrighteousness! To accept the forgiveness of God while refusing to forgive oneself is foolishness and not spiritual in any wise.
Conclusion: Let me close with challenging you to be restored to service and to give God the spiritual sacrifice of your life.
Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God”
Prayer is a means of grace. God Himself will work His will in your and through you if you will yield yourself to him. Are you experiencing God? If you are a Christian, you wrestle with God. Like Jacob, you’ve had your name and your nature changed. Do you want a deeper walk with Christ? Are you all that God wants you to be? You want to have the power to be the person God wants you to be? To be the employee God wants you to be? To be the functioning member of Christ’s Body that God wants you to be?
You’ve got to wrestle with God. Experience Him. Know Him: publicly, privately, and in a purifying, transforming way.
[1] Just a side note—Paul says in verse 15, “I will sing with the Spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also”. Our song service also is a time for the Spirit of God to speak to our heart.
[2] Paul Tripp, from his blog article “What in the World is Hyssop?” Accessed 3 February 2008. http://paultrippministries.blogspot.com/2007/05/psalm-51-what-in-world-is-hyssop.html.