Supplication

Does God really answer our prayers? How many people have earnestly prayed only to be terribly disappointed with the outcome? What then is the point of asking God for anything? If God is totally in control of the future and all powerful why should I pray about anything? We as Christians need to be careful not to equate determinism with fatalism. Determinism states that God determines the future while fatalism states that our actions have no impact on the future. James 5:16 clearly states that prayer is effective. “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” We do not understand the how or even always why prayer works but God has told us that it does. God has determined in His sovereignty that prayers impact the outcome of His workings. You see God not only ordains the outcome but also the means to that end. Prayer is an act of faith.

Emotional State

There are six basic emotional states each with their own many and varied subcategories.

Happiness - joy, excitement, contentment, hope (things that are positive feelings)

Sadness - gloomy, hopelessness, disappointment

Fear - scared, worried, discouraged

Anger - frustration, irritation, rage

Disgust- repulsed, sickened, aversion

Surprise - shock, astonished, stunned

Our emotions are varied and complex. We can easily feel more than one emotion at a time. For instance a combination of sadness and disgust could be called guilt. Fear and surprise is panic.

Our culture has taught us to deal with our emotions badly.

Some have been taught to bury their emotions.

Expressing emotion is showing weakness.

This inherently makes us uncomfortable with emotions.

It does not make us useful to God’s purposes. Telling someone who is emotionally struggling to “buck up”, “get over it” or to “put their big boy pants on” doesn’t help anyone.

Burying emotions will creates barriers between you and godly relationships and effective evangelism.

By the way. David was a pretty manly guy and he wrote the Psalms.

Some have been taught to embrace their emotions in a wholly unhealthy and unbiblical way.

Emotions are real and should not be ignored but neither are they the arbiters of truth.

As I have said so many times “the easiest person in the world to lie to is yourself.”

Just because you feel something doesn’t make it true.

When we embrace our emotions we will often “burn the future for the pleasures of today.”

Examples

Transgenderism

Feminism - article about woman who regrets not having children

David attempts to express himself in this Psalm

Fear v. 2,3, 19

Sadness

Hopelessness v. 4, 5

Guilt v. 6, 7, 11, 18

Loneliness v. 16

You know that feeling when you have that much needed conversation with a friend or family member?

That thing you needed to get off your chest.

I feel better now that we have talked about it.

What if you got that same sense of relief from prayer?

Supplicate

David makes around 20 petitions in this Psalm. He wasn’t shy about asking God for things.

His petitions

“Let me not be put to shame...”

“Let not my enemies exult over me.”

“Make me to know your ways”

“Teach me your paths”

“Lead me in your truth”

“Teach me”

“Remember your mercy and steadfast love”

“Remember not the sins of my youth or transgressions”

“Remember me for the sake of your goodness”

“Pardon my guilt”

“Turn to me and be gracious to me”

“Bring me out of my distress”

“Consider my affliction and trouble”

“Forgive all my sins”

“Consider how many are my foes and with what violent hatred they hate me.

“Guard my soul, and deliver me”

“Preserve me”

“Redeem Israel”

Things to note about his petitions

He does ask for relief, victory or success

It is not wrong to ask God to bring your suffering to an end.

It is not wrong to ask God to bring you success as long as the point of that success is His glory.

One of the key phrases in the OT is “that they may know that I am the Lord.”

Exodus 7:14–18 “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water. Stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent. And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But so far, you have not obeyed. Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood. The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.” ’ ””

When David prays for victory is it for God’s glory.

So pray for success and victory but be motivated by God’s glory.

He knows that many of his problems are self inflicted

Make me

Teach me

Forgive me

He reminds himself in the midst of his request of who God is

Psalm 25:8–10 “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.”

One of the most important ingredients to emotional stability is to consistently rehearse the truth to yourself.

Answers

How does God answer prayer?

First Example from David

Make Me, Teach Me, Lead Me - a prayer for guidance

How would God answer this prayer? When you are faced with a choice and there is no clear direction from Scripture what do you do? We should pray for guidance.

Our experience teaches us that God does not usually just drop answers in our laps. He usually makes us work for it.

A prayer for guidance should begin with a quest for holiness.

What kind of person can expect God to answer their prayer? - v. 8 “He instructs sinners in the way.”

The humble - v. 9 “He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble His way.”

God answers the prayer for guidance of the humbled sinner who seeks God’s holiness in the everyday means of life.

God may answer your prayer with the miraculous, He is certainly capable, but thee is no doubt that his ordinary means of answering prayer is through providence and His word.

How often when we pray for guidance is the answer look at the book! or talk your friends.

Second Example from David

Pardon / Forgiveness

When we ask for forgiveness is God faithful to extend it? Yes, absolutely.

Does that then give us permission to do whatever we want? After all it is better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

Concluding thoughts

Don’t pray with an agenda

Don’t try to dictate the outcome

Don’t allow ritual to high jack your prayers