A Saints Prayer Part Two

Ask God, not Man

We are currently going through David’s prayer as depicted in Psalm 25. Last time we went through this.

"To you, O LORD, I lift my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous."

We talked about recognizing God as God and being in total control. We talked about praying for Truth and discernment of Truth. Today, we will pick up on Verse 4. Let us pray

Father, we come before you with thanksgiving and praise for all you have given us. We know that you are still in charge even though the world grows darker. Our faith is in you. As we re-enter your Word, we pray for eyes to see, ears to hear, and a spirit to receive what you want us to know. We ask and thank you for all in Jesus’ name, Amen.

OK, so we are in Psalm 25, start at verse 4

“Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.”

King David began his prayer, and you will see a trend, if you will, by recognizing God and His authority over all. He recognized that God's truth is far greater than man’s, and he prayed for discernment. Now he is asking god, as we just did, not in the same words, but for eyes to see. He prayed,

“Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.”

This is not a new prayer. Turn to Exodus 33:13

"Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me your ways, that I may know you to find favor in your sight. Consider, too, that this nation is your people."

Moses prayed this. King David prayed this. Look how King Solomon prayed this.

“And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day.”

Which is Solomon.

“And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of your people, whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude.”

King David has died, and Solomon is now in his place. He is very intimidated by this great responsibility and wants to do the best he can, so he asked God.

“Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

If you know the story, God was impressed by this and made Solomon the wisest, richest, most powerful King in history. Now we can have a better understanding when we read Proverbs, like this one.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, 

and do not lean on your own understanding.

 In all your ways acknowledge him,

 and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

This is exactly what God did for Solomon, because Solomon did this.

God explained to Isaiah, and to us, this fact.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.: Isaiah 55:8-9

There is little to no way, no possibility, no capability, for our little human brain to even fully comprehend God, Truth, reality, or even ourselves. Why are we even here? What is God, and where did He come from? What truly awaits after? Forget about after, what about tomorrow? Later today?

What plans does God have for us? How should we go? Some have this false sense of entitlement to a nice, enriched, problem-free life because we accepted Jesus. Not only is this naive, but completely oppositeite of reality.

This is why Jesus told us this.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:33-34

We have no idea what tomorrow will bring.

“Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’-- yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.“ James 4:13-17

Again, we do not know what tomorrow will bring, how it will come, or how we should even respond to it. God does. Jesus does. God is already there waiting on you. But what if what comes is bad? “Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

What if I lose my job, house, or a loved one? What happens if I find out bad news from a Doctor? What happens if???

STOP!

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

 Not everything in life is rosy. Not everything in life is easy. There is a storm coming. A storm just passed. Perhaps you are in a storm right now.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

Remember this.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

That is a hard lesson for some. It truly is. With us alone, of course, we will not stand. We will buckle and bow to the trial or tribulation. We will be lost and confused. Not with God.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” James 1:2-5”

God knows what is ahead. God knows what we will face. God knows how we may better serve someone else. We go through our days at the speed of life, without slowing down to even take a look around. That does not serve God well. It does not benefit us well either. We miss so very many things.

So let's recap. So far, the Prayer Goes like this.

“To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.”

Next time, we will continue with this.

PART 3

Asking Forgiveness

“Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they [have been] ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O LORD.”

Along with the fact that we are forgiven, and our sins are forgotten through grace

“Good and upright [is] the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way. The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.”

Won’t you join us? Remember, if you miss anything or want to learn more, there is a VAST archive right here at TAG.

Remember, you should always ask God, not man. Oh, it is ok to ask an elder or Pastor something in the Word. It is ok to research and look up information. However, to be the most accurate and to cut down on misinformation, pray first. Let God give you the answers He wants you to know.

Then and only then, will you learn and fully understand that God has always been, is now, and will always be, in charge of, well, everything! Everything. Nothing catches God off guard. Nothing is too big for God. Ultimately, it is God you will answer to. Not a man. Not anything in creation. Not the devil. God alone.

The email, if you wish to contact me, is truthbygod1@gmail.com

May the comfort of the Holy Spirit and the peace of our Lord Jesus be with you all. May God bless and be with you always.

Until next time, be blessed, be a blessing, and Jesus is Lord!