Praying to Your Father

A Praying Life Praying to Your Father - Psalm 23 November 16, 2025 We're continuing in our sermon series on "A Praying Life" this morning with a well-known Psalm, but maybe not a well-known connection of this psalm to prayer. Yes, we're looking at Psalm 23 this morning in a sermon I'm calling "Praying to Your Father." While I didn't exactly plan on this, it seemed to me that as I studied this Psalm, it was somehow a continuation of what we looked at last week. If you were not here, we opened the series looking on how we should approach God the Father in prayer. We determined - by looking at several passages from the Gospels - that we must approach God the Father as a child would approach his or her father. That is to say, we are to be childlike in our trust, in our vulnerability, and learn to speak to the Father with simplicity. This morning, the continuation of that idea comes in the form of maturing in our prayers, and maybe more specifically, how He relates to us in prayer. Author and retired pastor Lon Solomon said it this way, "The 23rd Psalm focuses on the exquisite love of God , individually and personally, for His people." Later, he simplifies this by saying, "the 23rd Psalm is an overview of how God takes care of His sheep." I think, understanding this, will help us to answer the question of how to pray to the Father. Let's read the familiar words of Psalm 23, I'll be reading from the ESV this morning. 1 THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD; I SHALL NOT WANT. 2 HE MAKES ME LIE DOWN IN GREEN PASTURES. HE LEADS ME BESIDE STILL WATERS. 3 HE RESTORES MY SOUL. HE LEADS ME IN PATHS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR HIS NAME'S SAKE. 4 EVEN THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH, I WILL FEAR NO EVIL, FOR YOU ARE WITH ME; YOUR ROD AND YOUR STAFF, THEY COMFORT ME. 5 YOU PREPARE A TABLE BEFORE ME IN THE PRESENCE OF MY ENEMIES; YOU ANOINT MY HEAD WITH OIL; MY CUP OVERFLOWS. 6 SURELY GOODNESS AND MERCY SHALL FOLLOW ME ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE, AND I SHALL DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD FOREVER. One can easily go phrase by phrase and analyze this psalm, as many before me have. In fact, I read two books on this Psalm that week that did that very thing. But, for our purposes today, I simply want to focus on how this psalm helps to pray. More specifically, how can this psalm teach us to have a praying life? Let's begin to answer this with our main idea, which tells us that: A praying life requires relationship, worship, and trust. I would argue that these are foundational aspects of a prayer life. Last week, we looked at the relationship of a child and father, so this week, we see another typology of our relationship, that of a sheep and his shepherd. One of the unique aspects of this Psalm is that fact that David was a shepherd. However, he wrote this - not as a shepherd, but as a sheep. Because of his unique position of knowing what it was like to be a shepherd, he was able to use this as an illustration to describe the relationship between God and His people. I want to make this simple this morning, and look at each of these three elements from our main idea, and spend our time looking at these ... FOUNDATIONS OF PRAYER: First, * A prayer life begins with our relationship with the Father. o Within this text, we see this immediately with David's opening statement: THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD. o Let's first look at our side of this relationship. o In these six verses, we find 16 personal references. * These come in the form of "I" or "me" or "mine" or "my" o This, in it and of itself, illustrates the personal connection that the sheep have with their shepherd. o Lon Solomon, who I mentioned earlier, said that there is a very unique relationship between the sheep and their shepherd, almost family-like. o How personal is this relationship? * Well, when Jesus used this same analogy, He made it very clear that as the Good Shepherd, He would lay down His life for His sheep (see John 10:11). * Later in verse 14, Jesus said that the sheep know Him, and He knows the sheep. o What else can we learn about this relationship from this Psalm? o When we look at the rest of this psalm, we see some of the ways that the shepherd shows his love for the sheep. o For example: * Verse 2, when the shepherd leads the sheep to lie down, he is providing them with safety, comfort and peace. * In verse 4, the picture of the rod and the staff is used to illustrate how the shepherd will guide and protect the sheep * In verse 5, when read of this "table" being set, it may not mean what some think it means. * Some have assumed that David has shifted the analogy from shepherd to host, but this doesn't seem to be the case. * Apparently, the shepherd - in the Spring - picks a location, a pasture - to bring the Sheep to in the summer. * The shepherd will go ahead of the flock, and will prepare for them, getting rid of any hazards and getting to know the area. * So, he goes ahead and ensures that where they will be eating and sleeping is safe. * Sort of how a father would set up the nursery before his newborn child arrives. * In the next line in verse 5, we see that the head is anointed with oil. This is a preventative and medicinal application of oil, used to protect the sheep from bugs and flies that get into their eyes and nose that causes, not only irritation, but also possible infections. o These are just a few of the examples that we see here o David, as a shepherd, once again, understands what it means to be a shepherd. o So, we see this incredible picture of a personal and close relationship, which helps us to focus our prayers intentionally. o Here's what else we see from this psalm: * Our prayers must be rooted in worship. o This psalm also helps us to understand why we worship. o Just as we did moments ago, let's look within this psalm to helps us see why we worship. o First, we return to verse 1. Following David's declaration that the Lord is his shepherd, he follows with, "I SHALL NOT WANT" o This is a beautiful statement. o It means that because He is our shepherd, we don't have any true needs that He would not meet. o We see that in verses 2-3 when God - who is in complete control - causes things to happen in our lives. * But, we also see God's motivation. HIS NAME'S SAKE. * Did you catch that? He does it so that He can be glorified - through us. o We also see this in verses 4-5 when God, not only protects us from evil, but will guide us through evil. * This is to say, God will not always keep us from evil or bad, but He will be with us through it. * Both authors I read this week made note on how dependent the sheep were on their shepherd. * Apparently, for example, their eyesight is so bad, so without the guidance of the shepherd, they would surely be in constant danger. * They apparently have no survivor skills, so they are unable to protect themselves from danger. * Their security was found when the shepherd was near. * Danger will be there. Solomon (the author) said this: "True security for sheep is not found in the absence of danger but in the presence of the shepherd." o Finally, we see it in verse 6 where we read that GOODNESS AND MERCY SHALL FOLLOW ME ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE, AND I SHALL DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD FOREVER. o This declaration says, because God is in control, I will worship Him. o Because God is a personal God who is in complete control, we learn the following: * Our prayers must be driven by trust. o I'll admit, there's some overlap here from the last point, but I think it is very important to emphasize the trust portion of our prayers. o Let's run through all of the reasons this Psalm tells us to trust: * He is a personal God who cares for us * He leads us * He restores us * He protects us from evil, danger, and even from the irritants * He provides us comfort and peace here on earth * He promises us eternity with Himself. o But probably the best verse in this Psalm to illustrate trust is in verse 4. o First, he mentions the valley of the shadow of death. * We're all likely familiar with the picture of the highs and lows, or the peaks and valleys of life. * David, obviously, is speaking of the literal terrain that he was familiar with, but also likely pointing to the same ideas. * We've all experienced "lows" in our lives, and what David is reminding us here is that the Lord will get us through them. * This is why David talks about fearing no evil. We cannot live in a perpetual state of fear. * Imagine if my family lived in fear over the unknowns with caring for Gabrielle. We wouldn't be able to function. * Thus, we trust in our Lord, our Father, who we know is with her and protecting her. o The ESV adds a footnote on the phrase "SHADOW OF DEATH" to indicate a "deep darkness." * This seems to indicate that there is danger and fear all around, lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce. * Without a doubt, we do this daily in our lives. * We know that there are certain areas we should go to or drive through. * In our lives, however, we can trust our Father, who is with us, and thus not fear. o Finally, the last section of verse 4 that speaks of God's rod and staff are the tools that He uses to comfort us. * Maybe you're familiar with these pictures already. * The rod was not only a tool used for protection, but also for correction, and for care. * The rod, for example, was used by the shepherd to inspect the sheep, using it to move the wool aside to check the skin for infection or disease. * The staff was used to guide the sheep. * Often it was used to pull the sheep closer to himself * Both are a symbol of the Lord's strength and protection. o At the risk of stretching this analogy too much, one can make the connection that the Word of God provides strength and protection, just as the rod and staff do. o With that, it is comforting, as David points out. Earlier, we said, a praying life requires relationship, worship, and trust. These three elements are foundational to our prayer life. Today, our relationship with the Father - God - is only possible through Jesus Christ. When He died the death on the cross - the penalty of sin that we deserved, the vail was torn, symbolically granting us access to the Father to those who believe. When we experience the Lord in relationship, we begin to know Him better, and the only response is worship. Finally, when we worship, we are surrendering all to Him. Acknowledging the work that He has done, will do, and has promised to do in eternity. Thus, knowing that we can trust Him in our lives today. The Bible tells us to cast all our fears, anxieties and worries on Him. Why? Because He cares for us. Are your living a life close to your Father? Are you living a worship filled life? Are you trusting in the One who made it all and controls it all? Let's pray. 2