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A Call To Prayer - Part 2

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• Psalm 5, and notice if you would beginning there with verse 1. We'll go ahead and read the entire psalm. David says, "Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King and my God: for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee."

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• "The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that speak lying: the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man. But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple. Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face. For there is no faithfulness in their mouth."

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• "Their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue. Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee. But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee. For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield."

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• The title of this message is simply "A Call to Prayer." A call to prayer. Remember, if you would, I began this message last week, so this is the second part. I pointed out last week that this is an absolute necessity, especially in light not only of what is happening in America, but what is happening globally as well. And I also indicated that it is a time to pray and not necessarily a time just simply to say prayers. And I think Psalm 5 is going to indicate this truth very clearly as well. Last week I also dealt with the problems that we are facing with the Great Reset. I talked about the digital dollar that they're actually coming out with—it's called FedNow—and how it will be absolute control, how the 15-minute cities were to work, also the very fact that you would no longer have a car,

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• you would not need a vehicle if you've got everything within 15 minutes. I read this week, and it's kind of humorous in one sense of the word, where Klaus Schwab and some of the others are saying now that you only need to take a bath once every seven days in order to help save the environment. And of course, he's really pushing that in Europe, and I sent it to my friend in Germany. And he laughed and he said he takes a bath every day and he'll wash his work clothes every day if he wants to. So I mean, these people are absolutely insane, and yet they are driving as hard as they can to destroy everything that's ever been worked for by confiscating the farmlands

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• and stopping the nitrogen-based fertilizer and all that kind of stuff. So I'm just simply pointing out that, yeah, we better be praying because we are going to be facing, I think in this year, we're going to be facing something extremely grievous. Now when you look at Psalm 5, David is in great distress, deep distress. This is why he wrote this psalm. I do not know why exactly, or what, I should say, the distress was. There are probably plenty of things that gave David very deep distress.

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• You must remember the fact that he was persecuted by King Saul. He was also persecuted by Doeg the Edomite, but he was also persecuted by his own son Absalom and by his own counselor Ahithophel, besides the Philistines and the Amorites and the Moabites and all the others that he had to fight with as well. But this psalm indicates that he is indeed in great trouble and in great distress.

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• Now, let me just give you a quick overview of this psalm. The psalm is actually beseeching God very earnestly in prayer. So, in verses 1 through 3, he assures himself of God's justice against his enemies in the fact that he's crying to God. In verses 4 through 6, of course, he is indeed professing his faith in God. And then, of course, in verse 7, he prays for God to guide his goings. Verse 8, he exclaims against his enemies' cruelty. Verse 9, he prays for God to destroy them—and that's in verse 10 as well. And then in verses 11 and 12, he prays for God to preserve the godly.

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• Now, what I want to do today is this: I want to give you five things that are absolutely necessary in prayer. Although this is not a message about prayer, it is indeed a message about praying. So first of all, let me point out in verses 1 through 3, there must be determination in prayer. There must be determination. David said, "Give ear to my words, O Lord. Consider my meditation."

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• "Hearken to the voice of my cry, my King and my God. Unto thee will I pray." And then he says, "My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord. In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee and will look up."

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• Now, David does not come to God in a flippant attitude. David does not come to God in an attitude of just lackadaisical, "Well, I'm going to say my prayers." No, no, no. He really comes to hear and wants God to hear what he has to say. He comes to give God praise and honor and glory. But at the same time, David is not going to be wasting words. He's not going to be wasting his energy. He is actually going to be praying. Now, he said, "Give ear unto my words."

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• So first of all, let's look at this. He said, "Give ear to my words." So he's asking God to pay close and particular attention to his request. Now let me give you an illustration, because he said, "Hearken unto the voice of my cry," "give ear" in verse 1, "unto my words." Now what in the world does it mean when he says, "Give ear to my words"?

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• Well, most of you know—in fact, all of you know—that I'm hard of hearing. Thankfully, God is not. But if you have a low voice or if you have a soft voice or if there's background noise and you're trying to talk with me, then I have to get close and I have to turn my ear to you if I want to hear what you're going to say. So, if I give ear to your words, that means I'm interested in what you're saying, I want to hear what you have to say, and I'm willing to do whatever I can to make sure that I hear your request.

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• Now, the opposite is also true. You're talking and I'm not interested and I turn my ears away from you. That means I don't want to hear what you have to say; I'm not concerned with your request. You see what I'm saying? So David is saying to God, "Give ear to my words," in the words of, "Listen very intently, listen very closely. I need you to hear this request." So it means very clearly that he is wanting his prayers to be answered. Secondly, he says in verse 1, not only "Give ear to my words, O Lord," he said, "Consider my meditation." Now the word "consider" means to understand, to discern, and perceive. Now he said, "Consider, understand, perceive, and discern my meditation." And the word "meditation" actually means that which is and has been thought, that which is being mused upon and over, and that which is to be considered. So here's what David is doing. David is saying, "Give ear to my words," that is those words that I am speaking, those words that I'm enunciating.

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• But when he says, "Consider my meditation," it's more than that. He's saying, "Lord, You know my thoughts. You know my intent, you know my desires, you know what's been going on in my life. You know what's been going through my mind." And so he's asking God to consider his meditation. In other words, what I cannot express, what I cannot put in words, you know, and you understand. Now that brings me to the passage in Romans 8 and verse 26, where the Bible says, "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." So there are indeed times when you and I cannot properly express ourselves, especially in relationship to the Lord. There are other times when we cannot really voice our words, so to speak, and all we can do is simply groan. I have prayed many times over things that were so grievous that I would just simply say, "Oh Lord," I could not express the words. And so this is why the Bible says that the Holy Spirit helpeth our infirmities.

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• This is why David is saying, "Give ear unto my words and consider my meditation." Thirdly, if you look in verse 2, he says, "Hearken to the voice of my cry, my King and my God: unto thee will I pray." So now this is the third time that David has besought God to hear him. He said, "Give ear to my words. Consider my meditation." Now he says, "Hearken unto the voice of my cry." Now the interesting thing is that there's an indication here that David is indeed in great grief and distress, and so there is urgency in his voice. And so his mind, his mouth, his spirit, and his speech

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• are all involved in this prayer. Let me point something out. One of the great problems that we have in prayer is a lack of urgency. And there's probably a good reason for the lack of urgency in our prayers. We're not in the lion's den yet. We're not in the fiery furnace yet. We're not like Peter sinking beneath the waves when all he could do is holler, "Lord!" and that was it. And he understood if our Lord did not help him, he was a goner. So I'm just simply pointing out the fact that it may indeed take what we're going to be facing this year to make us urgently cry unto the Lord. And when we become urgent, we will indeed cry.

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• Now, I want you to look, if you would please, at these two verses. He says, "Give ear to my words." So he's talking about words. "Hearken to the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for unto Thee will I pray." So he's talking about my cry, the voice of my prayer. "Give ear," "consider," and "hearken." All of these evidence urgency because he is indeed in distress.

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• Now, so there's another thing here. There is a threefold form of prayer given. So prayer can be number one, words; number two, meditation; number three, crying. So here is what the Word of God is teaching us. When we express prayer in words, there must be a heart longing, there must be a heartfelt spirit, or else our words are useless. The second truth being taught here is this: even when we cannot use words, but there is a heartfelt longing and crying, those prayers are acceptable unto God. Now fourth, I want you to look at verse 3. He says, "My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up." So David isn't only determined to pray. His voice is going to be heard in the morning. His prayer is going to be directed to the correct object, that is the one true and the living God who's revealed Himself in Jesus Christ, because he said, "My voice shalt thou hear in the morning."

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• "O Lord, in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee," and notice the latter part of verse 3, "and will look up." And will look up. What in the world does that express? When David said, "I will look up," it means that he's going to be expecting an answer to his prayer. "And will look up. I will lift up my head and look to you." You know, it's—I'm going to give you some scriptures, but it's humorous in one sense of the word with the dogs that we have. We can take one little treat and give to one dog. When the other dogs hear the crunch, they immediately look up. They know that if we give to one, then we're going to give to the rest of them as well. You know, David understood this because he said in Psalm 121, verses 1 and 2, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth." And then he said in Psalm 123 and verse 2, "Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters,

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• and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us." So when David said, "I will look up," he is saying, "I'm going to expect God to answer." So here's a good question: How often do we look up in prayer? How often do we really genuinely expect God to answer our prayers?

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• The very fact that we disbelieve is evidenced by our lack of faith, our lack of expectation, and our lack of looking up. I want to give you a quote from Dr. Robert Leighton, one of the old writers. He said it like this, listen carefully: "It is certain that the greater part of men, as they babble out vain, languid, and inefficacious prayers, most unworthy of the ear of the blessed God, so they seem in some degree to set a just estimate upon them, neither hoping for any success from them, nor indeed seeming to be at all solicitous about it, but committing them to the wind as vain words, which in truth they are.

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• But far be it from a wise and pious man that he should so foolishly and coldly trifle in a so serious affair. His prayer has a certain tendency and scope at which he aims with the sinuous and repeated desires. Doth not only pray that he may pray, but that he may obtain an answer, as he firmly believes that it may be obtained. So he firmly and constantly and eagerly urges his petitions that he may not flatter himself with an empty hope." Did you even hear what he said? He would pray that he may pray. What's the last time you prayed that you could really genuinely pray?

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• Oh, it's an interesting thing. There must be a determination in prayer. So when we go to the Lord in prayer, we are going to be determined that yes, we're going to cry unto Him. We're going to give our words. We're going to give our heart and we want Him to hear. Now, listen, there must not only be a determination in prayer, but secondly, there must be doctrine in prayer.

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• Look at verses 4 through 6. David says, "For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that speak lying: the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man." Now I want you to think about this. I said, and the Scripture's teaching, there must be doctrine in prayer. And doctrine is based upon the Word of God. The Word of God reveals to us the will of God. So if we're going to be praying according to God's will, if we're going to be praying according to God's Word, we must be praying in relationship to doctrine. And doctrine is the foundation of our prayer. It doesn't matter how simple it is. We could be praying for divine assistance. We could be praying for daily bread, but even our Lord taught us, "Give us this day our daily bread." Our Lord taught us that He supplies our every need. I mean, but that's still doctrine. Brother Chrisman was telling me that he was preaching one time and when he finished preaching,

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• an adult lady came up to him and asked him, "Well, pastor, can't you just preach the gospel without all that doctrine?" He looked at her and said, "Absolutely not." Now I want you to stop and think about what I would exclaim to be a very stupid question. When you think about the gospel, you're thinking about the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord Jesus Christ—there's the doctrine of God. There's the doctrine of the Incarnation. There's the doctrine of Redemption. There's the doctrine of Reconciliation. There's the doctrine of Repentance. There's the doctrine of Faith. There's the doctrine of Regeneration. There's the doctrine of Conversion. You can't preach the Gospel without doctrine. Now, you may preach with either good doctrine or bad doctrine, but you're going to be preaching with doctrine of some sort. And so when you pray, there must be doctrine. May I remind you of 1 John chapter 5, verses 14 and 15. The Bible says, "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if

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• we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him." Did you hear that? "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will"—where is His will revealed? In the Word. That's doctrine. "If we ask any thing according to his will," anything according to His Word, anything according to Bible doctrine, "we know that he hears us. And if we know that he hears us, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him."

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• So David happens to be praying in this instance against his enemies, which in turn are indeed the Lord's enemies as well. Now I pointed out last week, we have to be careful when we're praying against enemies to make sure that they are God's enemies. We're to pray for our enemies, but we are to pray against His.

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• Now, when I say you can't pray without doctrine, I want you to look, if you would please, in verses 4 through 6. He said, "The foolish"—verse 4—"For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee." Wow, that's the doctrine of holiness right there. God is infinitely holy. "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity." Look in verse 5: "The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity." There again is the righteousness of God. And then, of course, he says in verse 6, "Thou shalt destroy them that speak lying."

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• "The Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man." There's the doctrine of justice. In other words, David is praying with doctrine.

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• Now, let me give you a quote from old Joseph Caryl. Joseph Caryl preached on the book of Job for 40 years. Here's what he said on this psalm. He said, "Here the Lord's alienation from the wicked is set forth gradually, and it seems to rise in six steps. First, he had no pleasure in them.

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• Secondly, they shall not dwell with him. Thirdly, he casteth them forth, they shall not stand in his sight.

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• Fourthly, his heart turns from them, 'thou hatest all workers of iniquity.' Fifthly, his hand is turned upon them, 'thou shalt destroy them that speak lying.' Sixthly, his spirit rises against them and is alienated from them, 'the Lord will abhor the bloody man.'"

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• Now listen to what he says: "This estrangement is indeed a strange yet a certain punishment to the workers of iniquity." These words, "the workers of iniquity," may be considered two ways. First, as intending not all degrees of sinners, or sinners of every degree, but the highest degree of sinners, great and gross sinners, resolved and willful sinners, such as sin industriously and as it were artificially, with skill to care and to get themselves a name as if they had an ambition to be accounted workmen that need not to be ashamed of doing that which they ought to be ashamed. These in strictness of scripture sense are workers of iniquity. Hence note, notorious sinners made sin their business and trade. Though every sin be a work of iniquity, yet only some sinners are workers of iniquity. And they who are so called make their calling to sin. We read of some who love and make a lie, Revelation 22:15. A lie may be told by those who neither love nor make it, but there are lie makers, and they, sure enough, are lovers of a lie.

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• Such craftsmen in sinning are described in Psalm 58, in verse 2: 'Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth.' The psalmist doth not say that they had wickedness in their heart, but they work it there. The heart is a shop within, an underground shop. And there they did closely contrive, forge, and hammer out their wicked purposes and fit them into actions." Wow. Since we're talking about that, if you will turn in your Bibles to Psalm 52, I will show you a good example of a worker of iniquity. In fact, Psalm 52 is written against Doeg. You remember Doeg was an Edomite, and Doeg was one of the chief herdsmen for King Saul. And it was Doeg who lied about David when David fled from Saul when Saul was trying to kill him. It was Doeg who lied and said that Ahimelech the priest had not only fed David and given him the sword of Goliath, but gave him directions, which was a lie because David did not even tell Ahimelech

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• that he was fleeing from Saul. And so, Saul then called for all the priests. He commanded the soldiers to fall upon them. They refused. And so, Doeg then murdered 85 of the Lord's priests, who were totally innocent. And that's not all. Then he went to their city, the city of Nob, and slew all their wives and all their children. So if you'll look in Psalm 52, David is praying against Doeg.

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• "Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually." Now, here's a good worker of iniquity. "Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue. God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living." You can read the rest of the psalm, but this is indeed a worker of iniquity.

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• Now, David was a man after God's own heart, and he prayed against God's enemies based upon doctrine. God is infinitely holy. He's infinitely just and right. He hates sin. He hates all sin. He hates every sin. That's why in Jeremiah chapter 44 and verse 4, God said, "Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate." And yet you get to the next verse, "But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods." They wouldn't listen. And God is saying, "Do not this abominable thing which I hate." So we have to understand clearly and distinctly, there has to be doctrine. May I remind you of this: whenever or whatever our prayer requests are, and whatever we desire when we pray, there has to be an absolute necessity for Bible doctrine. Bible doctrine is based upon His Word, and His Word is based upon His will. Now, when we pray according to His will, when we pray according to His Word, when we pray according to Bible doctrine,

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• here's what we're doing: we're asking God to remember. Let me challenge you to do something. I believe it would be a wise study if you just went through the Bible and looked up and then considered in the context every time the word "remember" is used, especially in relationship to prayer. Let me give you some illustrations. Exodus chapter 32 and verse 13, Moses is praying and here's what he says: "Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever." Notice what he said: "Remember, Lord, you said this, you promised this." And how about this one in Leviticus chapter 26 and verse 42? And God is speaking then to Israel. He said, "Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land." God said, "This is my word." When you get to 2 Chronicles chapter 6 and verse 42, Solomon is praying and he says, "O Lord God, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember

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• the mercies of David thy servant." So just asking God, "Remember." And how about this one? I love this one in Nehemiah chapter 1, verses 8 through 10. Nehemiah is praying, and he says to God, "Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand." But notice what he said: "Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst." So actually, when you and I pray with doctrine, we're praying with God's Word, and we know God's Word is His will. And if we pray according to His will, we know that He hears us. And if He hear us, and if we know that He hears us, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.

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• So there must be determination in prayer. There must be doctrine in prayer. And here's the third thing: there must be devotion in prayer. If you look back to Psalm 5 at verses 7 and 8, David said, "But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple. Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face." Now I need to explain the word "devotion," because usually we use this word in a different manner.

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• We would ask something like this, "Have you had your devotions this morning?" All that means when we ask is, "Did you pray? Did you read your Bible?" That's basically it. Most parents ask their children that, most Christian parents: "Have you had your devotions?" Well, the interesting thing is this: the word "devotions" only occurs twice in the New Testament. One time it is translated as "devotions," one time it is translated as "worship."

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• It is the same Greek word, sebasma. If you would, hold your place in Psalm 5, but turn in your Bibles to Acts chapter 17. Acts 17, and notice if you would please verse 23. The Apostle Paul is on Mars Hill, and here's what he said: "For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you." So the word "devotions" in this passage means worship. "For I passed by, and beheld your devotions," or your worship, "to the altar of the unknown God, whom therefore ye ignorantly worship." Now the second time it occurs, it's found in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 4. If you will turn there, 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 4, and here the same Greek word is translated as "worship." 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 4, talking about the wicked man "who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped"—it's the same word, "devotions"—"so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." So here is someone that wants to be worshipped as God while he is denying the one true and the living God. Now, I want you to go back, if you would,

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• to Psalm 5 and look, if you would please, at verses 7 and 8, because I'm pointing out that there must be devotion in prayer, because it is worship. Notice if you would, he said in verse 7, "But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple." And so David is admitting, and David is confessing, that the only reason he is able to worship the one true and the living God is because of His mercy that has been shown to him. And therefore, since God has been merciful to him, he will worship Him. Secondly, if you look in verse 8, he prays, "Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face." So notice David is asking to be led in the way of righteousness because of his enemies. He wants to be obedient regardless of persecution. He desires that God's righteous, just, and holy way be made plain and straight before him, and he's willing to walk accordingly. Now, let me point something out that we need to understand. He said in verse 7, "But as for me,

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• I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple." And then in verse 8, in the same breath, he says, "Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness and make thy way straight before my face." So here is why I'm saying there must be devotion in prayer, which is worship. It simply means this: in prayer, there must be a submissiveness to the will and the Word of God. Worship and rebellion are antithetical; they are opposite. There is no worship as long as you are in rebellion. There is no worship as long as you're unsubmissive. There's no worship as long as you are renegade and you hate everything that God says. In other words, if you're really going to worship, you must be submissive. You must be willing to be taught. You must be willing to obey. That's why I said, "Lead me, O Lord, make thy way straight before me." I'm teachable. I want to be taught. I want to learn.

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• I want to be obedient. I want to be submissive. And in this spirit, there is worship, because there is a desire to glorify God by obedience. So there must be determination in prayer. There must be doctrine in prayer. There must be devotion in prayer. And here's the fourth thing: there must be defensibility in prayer. I'll explain that. Look, if you would, at verses 9 and 10: "For there is no faithfulness in their mouth.

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• Their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue. Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee." So whatever the circumstances, whoever is involved, whatever has been done or is being done, we must defend the person and the character of our Heavenly Father, especially as it relates to justice. Now, here is a very good reason why there must be defensibility in prayer.

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• Now, let me show you. He says in describing these wicked men in verse 9, "For there is no faithfulness in their mouth. Their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue." And now he says in verse 10, "Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels." In other words, he's saying, "Lord, when you destroy them, you will be absolutely right.

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• You will be absolutely just." Now here's something I've probably said this before, but if you've forgotten it, you need to put it down in your mind again. The Hebrew word for "justice" and the Hebrew word for "righteousness" are the same word. So if something is righteous, it is just. If something is just, it is righteous. And so David is saying these wicked men have rebelled against God, and God will be righteous and just in destroying them and letting them fall by their own counsels and be ensnared in their own transgressions. It is God's righteousness, God's justice, and David is defending God when God destroys the wicked. Now, let me go a step further. We must not only defend God in His person and in His character when He judges the wicked; we must also defend God in His person and in His character when He chastises the righteous.

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• It doesn't matter who's involved. It doesn't matter if it's me. It doesn't matter if it's my wife. It doesn't matter if it's my children. You know, it seems to me like everybody wants God to do what's right except when it comes to their own lives and their own families. No. Remember Eli. Eli had two sons who were reprobates. And when God called Samuel, God told Samuel, "I'm going to do something in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. I'm going to take care of Eli and I'm going to take care of his sons. I'm going to kill those two boys in one day." And when old Eli awoke the next morning, he called Samuel. He knew God had spoken to him. He said, "Son, you tell me everything that God told you.

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• Don't you hold anything back." And Samuel told him everything. You know what Eli said? "It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good." He just found out that he was going to be kicked out of the priesthood. He was going to die. His sons were going to die. "It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good." Let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles very quickly, holding Psalm 5, to the book of Daniel. Look in Daniel chapter 9, right after the book of Ezekiel. You have the book of Daniel. Look in Daniel chapter 9. Look, if you would, at the prayer of Daniel. Daniel 9, and let's begin reading there with verse 7. Daniel 9 and verse 7. Now you remember Daniel is one of the ones in the captivity into Babylon, and here he's making a confession and he says this: "O Lord,

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• righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee." What did he say? "Lord, righteousness belongs to you. Confusion of face belongs to us.

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• We're the ones that have sinned. You've done that which is right. You've done that which is just. You've done that which is according to your word." If you would turn back in your Bibles to the book of Ezra. First and Second Chronicles, and then you have the book of Ezra. Look in the book of Ezra chapter 9 and verse 13. Ezra 9 and verse 13. Look at his prayer. Look what he says: "And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance." Did you hear that? He's saying, "Lord, you've chastened us. You've whipped us. But Lord, you've given us less than our iniquities deserve." You know, David said exactly the same thing in Psalm 103 and verse 10, when he said this: "He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities." I don't know about you, but I'm thankful that God has not dealt with me according to my sins. I'm thankful

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• I've not gotten what I actually deserve. No, God has not dealt with us like that. And the truth of the matter is, we must defend Him in the sense that even in our own lives, that whatever He does is right and righteous and holy and just. You remember in the New Testament, it was and still is wicked Pharisees that would justify themselves instead of God. But we must always defend His justice and His righteousness, even in our lives. Do you understand when God gives a man that which he does deserve, that's justice? When God gives a man what he does not deserve, that's grace and that's mercy. Let me just give you some scriptures. I want you to think about this, because whatever God does is right. In Psalm 11 and verse 7, "For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright." The righteous Lord loveth righteousness. In Psalm 19 and verse 9, "The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether." Then of course in Psalm 119, verse 160, "Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous

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• judgments endureth for ever." And then Psalm 119, verse 164, "Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments." Hmm. When you get to the New Testament, Revelation 16 and verse 5, "And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus." In Revelation 16 and verse 7, "And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments." Hmm. Do you understand that the Bible says in Revelation 19 and verse 2, "For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand." And may I remind you in Revelation chapter 19, when our Lord comes back on that great white horse, the Bible said, "He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war." So whatever God does is right.

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• I want you to go back to Psalm 5. Look at it, if you would, in verse 9. David is describing their wickedness: "For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue." And now David prays, "Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee." In other words, "Lord, You judge them, because Your judgment is true and righteous altogether." So there must be determination in prayer. There must be doctrine in prayer. And there must be devotion in prayer. There must be defensibility in prayer. And here's the last thing: there must be delight in prayer. Look in verse 11 and 12. He says, "But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee. For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield." So David then includes rejoicing, delight, thankfulness, gratitude, appreciation, and trust in prayer. In other words, when

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• we're worshiping the Lord, there must be delight. When we're communing with Him, how can there not be delight? Let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Philippians chapter 4. I can quote it, but I want you to see this. Look in Philippians chapter 4, and let's begin reading there with verse 6. Look at this. Philippians chapter 4, look if you would please at verse 6. The Bible says, "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Now look at it. First of all, "Be careful for nothing." We don't get excited and anxious about anything. "Be careful for nothing." But "in every thing by prayer and supplication"—in other words, careful for nothing, prayerful about everything. Then he said, "with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God"—that is thankful for anything. So careful for nothing, prayerful about everything, thankful

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• for anything. And then he said, "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." So when we reach that point, we can be delighted in anything that God brings our way. And I have friends that do not like certain foods. And it's seemingly those foods are the ones that are best for them. I mean, they don't care anything about broccoli and cauliflower and collard greens and peas. And, you know, they don't like the vegetables.

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• And I always tease them. I say, "You know, I'm praying. I'm praying for hard times for you. Because the Bible says, 'To the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.' I said, 'There may be coming a day that you'll appreciate some broccoli and some cauliflower and some collard greens.'" And that's true, you know. But if you can be thankful for anything, you know the peace of God will probably be ruling in your heart, that is for sure. Now, I want you to look in your Bibles, if you would, to Psalm 103, because in this passage, which is so absolutely wonderful to me, there is so much to be thankful for and so much to delight in in prayer. Look what he says in Psalm 103, beginning there with verse 1: "Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name." Now why are we going to be blessing Him? Look at it: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." What are some of those benefits?

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• "Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's." Wow! I don't know about you, but I can rejoice and be thankful in each one of those. "Who forgiveth all thine iniquities? Who healeth all thy diseases?"

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• Someone has asked me, "Have you ever prayed for folks who are sick?" And the answer is yes. I've prayed for folks who were sick and they got well. I prayed for other folks who were sick and they died. I usually tell people this: all healing is divine. Whether God heals immediately or mediately—that is, directly or through the use of means. But the truth of the matter is this: it is God's will to heal most of the time, because each of us have been sick and gotten well. But it's not God's will to heal all the time, because if He did, no one would ever die.

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• So the point I'm trying to make is this: we can be thankful for anything and everything. I'm thankful for health. I'm thankful for life. I'm thankful for the ability to do what I can do. I'm just simply saying here are reasons to delight in prayer. Now, let me give you a word of caution. I want you to think about this. We must be thankful for each and every one of God's gifts. But we should rejoice in the Giver of the gifts more than the gifts. So here's a good question: Have you ever in prayer just simply said, "Father, thank You just for being God"? Think about that. You know what?

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• The Bible says in James 1, verses 16 and 17, "Do not err, my beloved brethren." In other words, don't make a mistake on this. "Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." Everything that we have, everything that we are, and everything that we ever will have and ever will be is because of the goodness and graciousness and kindness of God. While we must be thankful for His gifts, we must be more thankful that He is God. And while we can delight in His gifts, we must delight in Him as well. So when we're talking about praying, in light of the danger that we're in and in light of the things that are facing us, there must be determination in prayer. Our flesh by nature hates prayer; we must determine that we are going to pray. And there must be doctrine in prayer. We must pray biblically. We must pray scripturally. We must pray according to the will and Word of God.

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• There must be devotion in prayer. We must worship Him as we pray, for He alone is worthy of all worship, honor, praise, and glory. There must be defensibility in prayer. We must always defend our Father in His righteous judgments, in His righteous chastisement. Even if it's our lives, our wives, our husbands, our children, we must defend Him. He is right. He is right. And then there must be delight. We must delight in worshiping Him and coming to Him in prayer. Now, let

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• me point something out. Each of these points, each of these truths, are interconnected. They stand or fall together. There has to be determination. With no determination, there will not be any doctrine. Without doctrine, there will be no devotion. Without devotion, there will be no defensibility. Without defensibility, there will be no delight. David is teaching us how to pray against God's enemies. By the way, if you will look one more time to Psalm 5 and look, if you would please, at verse 11 again. Look at what is said: "But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for

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• joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee." If God defends us, and if we want Him to defend us, should we not defend Him? Whatever God does is right. And one thing we can be assured of, God has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. Let's learn to pray, not to say prayers, but to pray. Father, please help us. Lord, help us to pray that we can pray. That we will pray acceptably. That we would pray in faith, believing. That we would pray according to Your will, according to Your Word, for Your honor and Your glory, and for the good of Thy people. And we pray, Father, that Thy kingdom would come and Thy will would be done on earth as it is in heaven.

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• Give us an urgency in prayer. May we learn to cry, speak, meditate, and ask Thee, Father, to hear not only our words, but our thoughts and our musings. Give us Your grace and Your mercy. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen. Amen.

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• ♪

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T21:12:21Z