Hear My Prayer

WORSHIP ARTICLE
Sean P. Cavender | Bald Knob, Arkansas

Prayer can be a challenging aspect of our worship to God. It requires concentration and focus. All our mental energy must be focused upon coming reverently before God’s throne, communicating our praises, fears, needs, and thanksgiving to the Creator of the universe. Praying to God is a blessing we have as Christians and it is an expression of adoration to God. Prayer is a time when we come face to face with our struggles, realizing our genuine need for God’s strength.

The Psalms give us insight into the heart of one who is attuned to spiritual activities, like worship, especially prayer. The psalmist said,

Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my groanings. Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, for to You I pray. In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; in the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch (Psalm 5:1-3).

Christians need to spend time praying with one another, just as the early saints did in the book of Acts (Acts 2:42-47). We also must learn to pray alone. This is easily one of the great struggles for many Christians. Churches often prepare and teach men how to lead prayer in congregational worship. Yet, many churches neglect teaching all Christians how to enrich their worship and private prayers. If we study the book of Psalms, we will learn how to pray, making our worship much better.

Have You Stopped Praying?

While we could spend time studying the importance of prayer within congregational worship, I believe if we want to have an active commitment to prayer as a congregation, then we must have a commitment to prayer as individuals.

There may be many things that stand in the way of a diligent life of prayer. However, I want to think about one thing in particular: fear. We should not be afraid to approach God in communication. yet, many people are timid in their view of God and prayers. There seems to be a fear of saying things in the wrong way. Don’t let a fear of the mechanical aspects of prayer hinder you from praying. We may read the book of Psalms, for instance, and realize we are not poets and we will never be that eloquent in our words. That’s okay; we may not have the ability to pen words like David. However, we should not let that stop us from engaging in prayer. A child may look up to a sports star and think they cannot do that, but it is with that childlike innocence, they want to become like their hero. So, they practice and try to become like their favorite athlete. Do not stop praying; use the Scriptures to motivate you to pray and draw closer to God.

Personal & Private

One aspect of prayer that should be viewed as a positive is the personal and private nature of prayer. Notice the use of personal pronouns in Psalm 5:1-2, “Give ear to my words … consider my groanings. Heed the sound of my cry…” Prayer is a deeply personal and private activity when we engage in it. Collectively, as a body of believers in the public assembly, it also gives us an identity based in unity. Prayer unifies us as a church. Prayer strengthens our personal fellowship with God.

The psalmist says in Psalm 4:1, “Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.” Speaking in such a way with the One who is worshiped and praised is a remarkable and humbling experience. Prayer is not intended to be a show or parade before God; it is a time to examine our life and be brought into the presence of God. David said, “Give ear to my prayer, which is not from deceitful lips,” (Psalm 17:1). David knew the status of his life and how he stood before God. Prayer is uniquely able to open our eyes to our own life and our own standing before God. The personal and private nature of prayer is a blessing we should not forget.

Timely & Often

The Psalms pull back the curtain on the authors’ personal commitment and faith in Jehovah. At times they reveal things such as when they prayed and took time to think on spiritual things. In Psalm 4:4, David encouraged readers to meditate, “upon your bed.” That indicates either at night before falling asleep, or before arising in the morning. When do you pray? We teach young children to say their prayers at night before bedtime. David said, “In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; in the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch,” (Psalm 5:3). Staples of our daily routine, sleeping and awaking, are especially appropriate times to commune with God through prayer.

Not only should we establish a routine time for prayer, we should also pray as often as we can. The New Testament teaches, “pray without ceasing,” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). David prayed at an acceptable time (Psalm 69:13); he knew there was never a time when prayer would be a burden to God. While there may be never a time our requests will be a burden to God, there will be a time when He cannot be found. We must seek Him while we have time and opportunity. Do not let a lack of prayer be something that causes your soul to stand in jeopardy before God.

“Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found…” (Psalm 32:6)

Reverence & Humility

One of the things that stands out about the Psalms is the openness and honesty of the psalmist. He writes in such a way that he does not beat around the bush or hide how he feels. There is a sense of raw emotion which is important to prayer. Vulnerability could easily be perceived as a weakness, yet in prayer it shows the degree of trust we place in God, not in ourselves. Pride causes us to hide our troubles; humility trusts in God to take care of our problems!

David writes about “fools” (Psalm 14:1) and his “enemies” who seek to destroy him (Psalm 22:6-8). In Psalms 32 and 51, David describes the terrible realities of sin and now it destroys and corrupts us. Asaph, another psalmist, wonders why the ungodly fare well in life, while the righteous suffer. These fears and doubts reveal the discouraging moments believers may face. Prayer and meditation help reorient believers to the truth; praying turns people towards God.

God is the object of our prayers. He is the Creator and sovereign of the universe. He is able to judge the wicked and destroy our enemies. Jehovah blesses us and has the right to command us. Notice the reverence for God found in the Psalms, “O LORD God of hosts…” (Psalm 80:4) or “O LORD, the God of my salvation…” (Psalm 88:1). These titles and descriptions recognize God as the commander of all creatures and the One who is able to secure ultimate eternal blessing. For this, God is to be worshiped – “Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights!” (Psalm 148:1).

Conclusion

We worship God in a variety of ways, but one that is repeated throughout Scripture is worship through prayer. We should spend much time in prayer. Fear of failing in the mechanics of prayer and how we say things should not hold us back. Learning to spend quality time in prayer is critical because through prayer we have a unique outlet to express thanksgiving to God. When we pray, God hears us. Knowing we have a God who loves us and wants us to speak to Him should humble us and motivate us to be devoted to prayer.

For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; nor has He hidden His face from him; but when he cried to Him for help, He heard. (Psalm 22:24)

18.04.03 | GROW magazine