THE SOUL OF PRAYER - 6

INTRODUCTION

Ever felt lost and far from God?

Ever felt this way because of something you did or thought or are thinking about doing?

Sometimes it is this and these feelings that make prayer difficult.

This is. It a sin issue- per se; instead it is an identity issue.

This is what the enemy did in the garden to trick and deceive Adam and Eve.

Amazing how what we think about ourselves impact how we relate to God. And yet; there is nothing about me- even the extraordinary good that we do for him that impacts what he thinks or feels for us.

The only event that is the decisive one that determines Gods though of us is the cross.

The cross is more than just a symbol. It is more than simply a message. The cross and where we stand in relation to it, serves as the foundationof our identity before the Lord.

For those of us who have been born again because we HAVE and ARE trusting Christ - our IDENTITY has been changed: it is no longer I, but CHRIST.

Paul put it this way- Gal 2:20

Galatians 2:20 ESV

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Part of the challenge for many people is that they are waiting to be something in order to pray. But prayer is not the activity of those seeking to become it is the activity of the affections of those who know who they are in Christ. Because I know who I am in Christ I pray in that authority.

This is important because it is from this identity that I - we MUST approach this holy, righteous God who cannot look upon sin.

A FIGHT TO REMEMBER YOUR IDENTITY

I. PRAYER IS A FIGHT TO REMIND YOUR SOUL THAT YOU HAVE DIVINE BENEFITS (1-5)

PRAYER IS THE CALLING UP OF THE SOUL, DOWN AND IN DESPAIR BECAUSE OF LIFE - TO REMEMBER THE BENEFITS THAT COME WITH BEING A CHRISTIAN - A CHILD OF GOD

Psalm 103:1 ESV

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!

Psalm 103:2 ESV

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,

Benefit 1: The Lord REMOVES Our GUILT: So PRAY!

Psalm 103:3 (ESV)

who forgives all your iniquity,

INIQUITY: GUILT CAUSED BY OUR SIN

Benefit 2: The Lord CURES Our SOUL’S SICKNESS: So PRAY!

Psalm 103:3 (ESV)

“...who heals all your diseases,

Sin wounds our soul; it corrupted us such that God was angry with us because sin separates us from the Lord. And according to David in PSALM 51:5-

Psalm 51:5 ESV

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

ISAIAH TELLS US PLAINLY TOO:

Isaiah 59:1 ESV

Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;

Isaiah 59:2 ESV

but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

BUT DAVID IS TELLING US THAT GOD HAS COME FOR US AND PROVIDED THE HEAVENLY ANTIBODY: THE GOSPEL OF GRACE AND, AS SUCH, HEALED US SO THAT WE CAN STAND BEFORE THE LORD WHOLE

the enemy CHALLENGES THIS BY POINTING TO YOUR GUILT - BUT THE GOSPEL TELL US THAT JESUS TOOK OUR GUILD AND HEALED US

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume Psalm 103:1–5

The corruption of nature is the sickness of the soul

Benefit 3: The Lord RESCUES Us from the HELL Pit We DUG: So PRAY!

Psalm 103:4 (ESV)

who redeems your life from the pit,

LITERALLY “ HE DOES NOT LET ME DIE”

SPIRITUAL DEATH

ALSO PHYSICAL DEATH: THINK ABOUT IT, YOU ARE HERE ON THIS DAY, ATY THIS HOUR IN THIS BUILDING TO HEAR THIS WORD: GOD DID NOT LET YOU DIE ION THE PIT OF SIN YOU AND I WERE DIGGING SO THAT, BY CHRIST, HE COULD RESCUE US FROM OURSELVES

Benefit 4: The Lord ASSURES Us of Our New POSITION: So PRAY!

Psalm 103:4 (ESV)

who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

Benefit 5: The Lord SATISFIES Us With A HAPPY and FRUITFUL Life: So PRAY!

Psalm 103:5 ESV

who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

II. PRAYER IS A FIGHT TO REMIND YOUR SOUL THAT THE LORD IS WORKING FOR YOUR GOOD

THIS IS WHY WE PRAY: GOD WORKS FOR US

Isaiah 64:4 ESV

From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.

PRAYER IS WAITING FOR HIM

A. The Lord Will LIFT the OPPRESSION

Psalm 103:6 ESV

The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.

B. The Lord Will Make KNOWN to You His WAYS

Psalm 103:7 ESV

He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.

III. PRAYER IS A FIGHT TO REMIND YOUR SOUL WHAT THE LOVE OF GOD REALLY IS (10-14)

A. God’s LOVE Is Expressed In His MERCY and GRACE

Psalm 103:8 ESV

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Psalm 103:9 ESV

He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever.

B. The Lord’s Love NEVER Circles BACK In JUDGEMENT (10-11)

Psalm 103:10 ESV

He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.

Psalm 103:11 ESV

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

Psalm 103:12 ESV

as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

C. The Lord KNOWS My HEART and STILL LOVES Me (13-14)

Psalm 103:13 ESV

As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

Psalm 103:14 ESV

For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.

Our IDENTITY in Christ is our RIGHT to go before the Lord to pray.

THE LORD SAYS IN HEBREWS 10 THESE POWERFUL WORDS

Hebrews 10:19 (ESV)

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,

Hebrews 10:20 (ESV)

by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,

Hebrews 10:21 ESV

and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

Hebrews 10:22 (ESV)

let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Hebrews 10:23 ESV

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

1. Because our identity in Christ is our right to go before the Lord to pray:

a. We can come CONFIDENTLY before the throne to pray

b. We have UNRESTRICTED ACCESS to God through Jesus

c. We must hold on to our CONFESSION