Some Things to Pray For - Part 2 of 2

The Baptist Bible Hour now comes to you under the direction of Elder LeSaire Bradley, Jr. O for a thousand tongues to sing, my great Redeemer's praise! The glories of my God and King, the triumphs of His grace! This is LeSaire Bradley, Jr. inviting you to stay tuned for another message of God's sovereign grace. What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear! O because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer! Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged, take it to the Lord in prayer! Then we find a friend so faithful, Blue will all our sorrows share!

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The text is Psalm 143, verse 1. Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications. In Thy faithfulness answer me, and in Thy righteousness. We first looked at some of the things that we're to pray for in the model prayer as Jesus was teaching his disciples to pray, but looking specifically at this psalm that David wrote, we see a number of things that are important for us to include in our prayers.

And so we continue there today enumerating the various issues brought before us by the inspired writer. And then next in verse 7, he asked God to hear him speedily. Hear me speedily, O Lord, my spirit faileth. Hide not Thy face from me, lest I be like those that go down into the pit. Now it might at first sound a little presumptuous, hear me speedily, you're coming before the almighty God of heaven through the intercessor Jesus Christ and you're going to say, hear me speedily? But this request doesn't indicate a lack of respect.

It's not a presumptuous attitude. It's an expression of the depth of the burden the man feels. Lord, my need is so great.

I can't wait. I got to have help now. Hear me speedily. And that's not the only time that expression is used. Back in Psalm 69, verse 17, the psalmist says, and hide not thy face from thy servant, for I'm in trouble. Hear me speedily.

If I'm in trouble, I need to be heard now. Makes me think when I was a young boy, I was down at the Kentucky River with our family and several other friends that were there in swimming. And one man let out this horrible shriek, help, help, I'm drowning. Well, he was the kind of guy that was kind of a cut up and some of them thought, oh, he's just pretending.

He's just a cut up. Well, I was standing there close enough to get a good view of him and I could tell by the look on his face, he wasn't having fun. And as a small child, I'll tell you the pain of watching that situation was tremendous. And I began to holler at some people too. He was a much larger man than I and I couldn't have helped him.

There was no way I could get in. And finally they realized that his cry was genuine. He was about to drown and somebody was able to extend a pole out to him that he was able to grab onto it and they pulled him in. But I tell you, when a man's drowning, help me speedily. There's no time for discussion about whether this is genuine or not.

No time to decide whether I feel comfortable with it. You either save him there or he's gone. And basically that's what the psalmist is saying. Lord, I'm in trouble. So it wasn't presumption.

It was an acknowledgement. God is ready to hear. Lord, I'm pleading with you to hear me speedily. Psalm 46 verse 1 says, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Not one at a distance. He's a present help. So you need help now? You need help today? You call on him.

Hear me speedily. Now obviously there can be some times when it's a matter of presumption instead of it being an indication of need and total dependence upon the Lord that I want what I want when I want it. And God's not going to hear that kind of request. But to acknowledge him as being a very present help in time of trouble is appropriate. See an example in scripture.

Not only of the woman that went to the unjust judge, but the man who came to his neighbor at midnight and said, lend me three loaves. The man inside the house says, can't do it. I've already gone to bed. The door's bolted and closed.

The children are all in bed. Can't do it. But I got to have help.

I got to have it now. I'm not looking for help in the morning. I've got a friend that's come in from a distance. I don't have anything to feed him and I need help now. So finally the answer is that he arose and gave him what he requested once again because of his importunity. Because he wouldn't give up.

Too many times we give up. In the passage we read earlier about the parable, Jesus said the purpose of it is that men are always to pray and not to faint. Not to faint. It was a cry of desperation.

I need help and I need it now. In the book of Matthew chapter 8 verse 24 it says, and there arose a great tempest in the sea insomuch that the ship was covered with waves, but he, that is Jesus, was asleep. And his disciples came to him and awoke saying, Lord, save us or we perish. Lord, we're in deep trouble. The waves are already lashing overboard. We're about to go down. Lord, save us or we perish. This is one of crucial need.

We need help and we need it now. And then at a later time in Matthew 14 verse 30, Peter had seen Jesus walking on the water. And he said, Lord, let me come to you. And he steps out of the boat and don't know how far he got to step to perhaps and he looks down and sees those angry waves lashing about him and he starts to sink. So Matthew 14, 30 says, but when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid and began to sink and he cried saying, Lord, save me.

Peter didn't have time for a lot of the fancy introductions that people sometimes try to interject into prayers. He had one need, one request and he needed it now. Lord, save me. I'm about to drown.

I need help and I need it now. Then verse 8, cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning, for in thee do I trust. Sometimes the Lord does hide his face. And when that occurs, we lose that sense of his loving kindness. But that which can bring the greatest peace and the greatest joy is once again to regain a sense of his love.

We read of it in his word. We have assurances of it in his providence. Oh, surely then we would say, Lord, cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning. The brightness of a new day can be so uplifting and it is a bright morning, a happy day.

When we hear of his loving kindness, he speaks to us in many ways to convey that to us. The psalmist says weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Cause me, Lord, to hear thy loving kindness in the morning. Sometimes troubles can seem to be particularly difficult at night. It's dark.

There's just a lot of uncertainties about darkness in nighttime. But when the morning comes, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, it's a new bright day. Surely that depicts what we're talking about, what the psalmist has in view here when he says, I want to hear thy loving kindness in the morning. Then also verse 8, we see that it's a prayer for divine guidance. Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk. And verse 10, closely connected with it, teach me to do thy will for thou art my God. He's not asking for the easiest path, the most pleasant way, but just to know the right way.

Lord, what way would you have me to go? Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk. And just as he brings us comforts and brings us a sense of his loving kindness in the morning through his word and through his providences, he brings us with an understanding of how we should go. First of all, through his word. That's given us by divine authority under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and sometimes through providence that we had hoped to move in a certain direction and that door is closed and it becomes evident that another way must be taken. We have to be careful in making those judgments that we're not just jumping on to some conclusion because it's our personal preference, but make it always a sincere prayer, Lord, cause me to know the way wherein I should walk. But notice too that he doesn't just say that I want to know something, but teach me to do thy will for thou art my God.

It's a humble prayer. Lord, teach me, teach me to do your will, not mine, not what may be popularly accepted today, not what other people want me to do. Teach me to do your will.

Is that your desire? Is that your prayer when you come before the Lord? Do you lay out the path that you prefer to travel and say, Lord, will you not let me walk this path? Will you not bless me in it? But may it be our prayer, teach me to do your will. It's a prayer of sincere desire because it says teach me to do your will, not just to know it. You might know a lot about the Bible. You might have a lot of information, but if it's never applied, it's meaningless.

It's empty. Teach me to do your will. I want to apply it. We know that it's God who worketh in you both the will and to do of his good pleasure. So if you're looking to him, you're praying for him to give you not only wisdom and guidance, but give you strength and grace and courage and the blessing of the Holy Spirit in order to do his will. The inclination of human nature is I want to have my way. I want to do what pleases me. That will is seen early on in little children. They're born with it.

And they never totally outgrow it because even when we get up in years, there's that part of our human nature that's resistant to being submissive. We want to do our own thing. But the psalmist is praying, Lord, I want to know your will, and I pray that you will teach me to do your will. God's will should be done completely, not just in partial increments, not just selecting those parts that we feel are not burdensome and not in conflict with what we want to do, but to be done completely and to be done without delay. Sometimes you ask somebody about their plans in serving God. Well, I've got a few things to clear up first. Got some other things to get in order.

Plan on doing that later on. Well, Jesus never gave people that option. When he said, take up your cross and follow me, he intended for them to follow him now. You remember there were those that began to make the excuse, and one man says, well, let me go back and bury my father first.

I guess he'd have to go back and wait until he died and then participate in the burial later on, but Jesus says no. If you're going to be my disciple, you've got to leave everything else behind and follow me. And this is true concerning the gospel. No doubt there are a lot of people that know the basic truth of the gospel. They know a man ought to repent of his sin. That's a biblical teaching. They know that they ought to believe in Jesus Christ, and they will admit.

That's the gospel message. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. But they haven't done it.

They haven't done it. Not only are you to believe in the doctrine of repentance, you're to repent. To repent starts with a change of mind.

Change of mind about God, seeing that he's absolutely holy and he is just and he is right in demanding perfection because of his holy character. Change your mind about yourself to see that you're a sinner. You violated his law. You're unworthy of anything.

You can't plead any merit on your part. Change your mind about how this salvation is going to be accomplished. It's not going to be by reformation. It's going to be not by human works and effort, but by the grace of God.

Not just the knowledge then, not even just acknowledging the facts of the gospel, but repenting and believing. And verse 10, it reveals his trust in God. Thou art my God. Thy spirit is good.

Lead me into the land of uprightness. Thou art my God. That's wonderful to be able to say.

Can you say that today? How comforting to be able to say, I believe the God who created heaven and earth, the God who sustains it today, the God who gives you the very breath that you breathe is your God. Without him there is terrible emptiness and hopelessness for the future. If a person doesn't know God, death is a dreadful thing. The coming of Jesus Christ, his second coming is a dreadful thing because he's coming with flaming fire, taking vengeance on those that know not God and obey not the gospel. But for those who know him, for those who can say, thou art my God, it's going to be the most glorious event that could ever be imagined.

And then we see a desire for God's glory in verse 11. Quicken me, O Lord, for thy name's sake, for thy righteousness' sake, bring my soul out of trouble. Quicken me, that is enliven my soul. My soul has been in trouble.

I've been sinking in the mire. Lord, awaken me to greater zeal. We sang this song a while ago, revive us again. And is that not what the psalmist is saying? And should that not be a continuous prayer? Lord, quicken me, enliven me, wake me up.

I don't want to just be going through a routine of pretending to serve. I want to be zealously serving you. And he says then the basis of this plea is for thy name's sake.

We have nothing else on which to base our request. This is a desire for God's name to be honored, for thy name's sake. Lord, awaken me, not just so I can impress somebody else about the degree of my zeal, but for thy name's sake, that I being awakened, that I being filled with holy zeal, may serve to your honor and glory, to the praise of your name. That should be our desire in every prayer that we pray for thy name's sake. Lord, bless me to be more diligent in following me, serving thee. Bless me to know thy will and to do thy will, and may it be for thy name's sake. Bless this church to move forward in a positive way. May it be for thy name's sake that his name may be praised and honored. And so we see some things to pray about.

Just going through the psalm, you can't help but be impressed with the number of things that the psalmist brings before the Lord and in the depth of sincerity and praying, Lord, hear me speedily. Make it happen and may your name be glorified. I am weak, but thou art strong. Jesus, keep me from the wrong.

I'll be satisfied at all. As I fall, let me walk close to thee. Through this world of toil and snares, if I fall to the Lord who cares.

Who in thee my world shares? None but thee, dear Lord, none but thee. Well, I hope the things that we have considered in Psalm 143 about prayer will stir all of our minds and hearts to be more diligent in seeking the Lord.

Oh, how desperately we need him. If we're aware of our weakness and our unworthiness, we know that prayer is vital in our lives every day. Pray without ceasing, the apostle writes. And so our text says, hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications. In thy faithfulness, answer me and in thy righteousness. I hope you'll take time to write us this week. Until next week, at the same time, may the Lord richly bless you all. When my people life is o'er, time for me will be no more.

I'll be gently, safely o'er, Till I kneel down strong, Till I soar. The Baptist Bible Hour has come to you under the direction of Elder LeSaire Bradley Jr. Address all mail to The Baptist Bible Hour, Cincinnati, Ohio 45217. That's The Baptist Bible Hour, Cincinnati, Ohio 45217. Just a closer walk with Thee, Grand in Jesus is my King, Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, Lord, let it be.