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Okay, what I want you to do now is to take your Bible or Pew Bible if you didn't bring one, but each individual should have a Bible and I want you to find a psalm to pray through. I'm gonna give you just a few minutes to try this on your own in a moment.
If you want to take one of the psalms of the day. It's gonna be 25 55 85 1 15 145. This is one of the best groups of five. In terms of almost all of them are fairly easy to pray through. Like Psalm 23 is such an easy one to pray through the imprecatory Psalms aren't as easy if you take any group of five.
Sometimes only two or three are easy. Sometimes all five of them are pretty easy. Today is one of those days. But it doesn't have to be one of the Psalms of the day. It can be just a favorite. But don't take more than a few seconds here to find one to pray through and in a moment I'm going to when I say go if you want to move around, you know.
You want to go to the back of the room somewhere else, please feel free to do that. I may leave the room. But when I say go. It's just like for us to not have any whispering or talking because we're only gonna have just a precious few minutes.
Anyway, we don't want to distract Others by whispering. So if you want to move go to a corner of the room, whatever feel free to do that. But if you would just immediately get into prayer, we'll have so little time and then a few minutes I'll call us back to prayer and Guys in the back when I when I come up and stand here at the front you can turn the microphone back on.
Then at that point so any questions about that? All right. I'll come back and call us back in just a few minutes. Let's pray. Let's hate to interrupt people when they're praying. How did it go why was it easier.
Okay said he kept bringing fresh things to mind to pray about good someone else. So it's a flow meaning. Okay, you didn't fits and starts weren't bogged down, okay great. It's a more God-centered way of praying isn't it?
It's not just Lord. Here's my list again. But it's the things that God wants us to talk about things on his heart. Someone else how to go. Focus is your thoughts, right? Yeah, your mind doesn't wonder when it does.
Got something to come back to the next verse, right? It's not okay, what can I think of now to pray about you don't have to think of it. Let's come back to the next verse. Someone else how to go. Yes said springs you into Spring boards into praying other scriptures as well others come to mind to pray that you have that experience as well good.
Which is going to happen more than just saying the same old things about the same old things, right? Okay, so when you get distracted you pray about the distraction all right. Someone else. Yes, okay, so it brings together those different aspects of prayer.
You've taught that I'm sure as I have you know those that outline that acrostic for prayer a CTS. You know begin with adoration confession Thanksgiving supplication, but you know after a while that can become the same old thing if it's up to you.
Okay, I'm gonna start with that orational. How am I going to door the Lord today? Well. Say it's what I said yesterday, you know, I'll adore the Lord like I did yesterday. And it becomes the same thing.
Whereas you pray this way you will find that most of those elements are in all those Psalms. Maybe not maybe not in that order. Psalm 51 starts with a confession. Is that okay? How do we know it's okay?
God wrote he can mess up our outline if he wants to. Right and some 150 summer. Nothing, but praise that's okay, too. But I believe you'll pray through the scripture. You'll find most of those elements in most of the Psalms at least prompted by them from not there on the text.
They're prompted by that. Good someone else. Sorry. Meaning yeah, it's more God-centered way more Doctrinally sound more focused on the right things. Good someone else. Yes. Yeah, well you only had about seven or eight minutes.
But most of you appear to be pretty well in the prayer. When I came back you could have continued on. Couldn't you a lot? Easier. And you know what if this will work late on Friday night the tiredness time of the week.
This will work anytime. All right over here some hands you Were told pray in the spirit. There's a greater sense of that right the more confidence that that's the case when we're praying through scripture.
He said like an immediate almost like an immediate audience with the Lord. It's more like a real conversation with a real person, isn't it? And isn't that the way prayer ought to be? Because we are having a real conversation with a real person right, but the difference is.
We're not having to imagine God saying things to us away with that. This is God speaking isn't it? This is God's Word it is God speaking to me and to us and So like a real conversation with a real person he speaks and Then I respond to what he says.
And when I've said everything I want to say then what do you do in a real conversation with a real person? You let the other person speak you go the next verse and he speaks and you simply respond to that.
You said all you want to say you let him speak again. See how easy that is. You are freed from the burden of thinking you have to come up with everything that's going to be said in this conversation. Somehow we've gotten into our heads if we have this conversation with God, whatever's gonna be said we've got to say it all and guys.
Like they're. Okay, come on. I've got a universe to run here. What is it? Didn't you say that yesterday and thousand times before? Think I've forgotten. But it's not like that. You're free from the burden of thinking everything's gonna be said you've got to say it and what tends to happen.
Well, since we don't have the time or the creative energy to talk about the same things every day. We default into saying pretty much the same things about the same old things and we're bored by that when it's boring.
It's hard to pray. You are freed from that. Bird don't you hate it when you you are in a situation you feel like you're having to carry the whole burden of the conversation. Husbands protect your ribs from.
That sort of thing but husbands have been there too. Husbands have been there too. I when I was pastoring people would visit our church and I would. Talk to some of these guys and say well. Understand you visited a church Sunday.
Yeah, well good. Glad you were with us. Do you enjoy time with us in our church Sunday? Well good. Glad you did. We're glad to have you. I'm here to talk to you about that answer any questions. You have you have any questions about about our church?
Come on, man. Help me out, you know. Carry your end of this conversation. We hate to be in that conversation. Especially and if it's all the time and somehow we've got into believing that that's the way it is with God.
We come to God. He's up there waiting. Yeah. And we've got to come up with everything's gonna be said and since we hope we're gonna talk about the same things pretty much because our Lives consist pretty much of the same things, right?
Thank the Lord those six things we talked about. Thank the Lord. They don't change dramatically very often. Our family doesn't change dramatically very often. You know, our finances don't change dramatically very often.
Our work doesn't change dramatically very often. Thank the Lord. So if we're gonna pray about the same things. You know, that's pretty normal. Who's got the time or the creative energy to come up with brand new ways to talk about the same things every day no one.
But we don't have to let God come up. With new ways to talk about them. Let him initiate the conversation and you simply respond. Anybody can do that. So today you may want to talk about being your shepherd the next day.
He wants to talk about his glory. The next day he wants to talk about his will for your future, so I'm 25, you know seeking his will so forth. You just respond. That's easy. Anybody can do that. Someone else how to go.
Yeah, just open the Word of God and talk about where whatever it is on whatever page. That's why I said once you've done this you can open any part of the Bible and You won't need notes to remember have to do how to do it again next time.
Will you? Once you've done it, it's just so simple. Which brings me to this point if you ever teach this to anybody else and they're so transferable. You may not have a couple of hours as I've had to do it.
You may not have but 30 minutes. But there's two things you must do. You must do if you ever teach this to anybody else first and most importantly give them a chance to try it right then. Otherwise, they'll walk out saying that's a good idea.
I'll have to try that Someday and they never will but now that you've done it even just seven minutes. Some of you are hooked. You'll never again Pray the same way you'll never again say the same old things about the same old things because of that seven minutes.
And you'll never forget how it's like riding a bicycle you never forget and you'll never need notes. To remember how to do it. So give them a chance to try it right then. Second have some opportunity for feedback.
The testimonial benefit that comes from that is often very powerful as well as giving an opportunity to To teach from that. I always get the same sort of comments. It's a more God-centered way. You know my mind didn't wander.
Time seemed to pass so quickly. It's it spun off so many other ideas and things especially from scripture to pray about. But there's a there's a great benefit of hearing you say that rather than me say that sometimes.
Especially when everyone can affirm. Yeah, that was my experience too. Just like yours. Give them a chance to try it right then give an opportunity for some for some feedback. And one of the questions often get about this is what about a prayer list?
Well, I've done this a couple of ways. Back and forth the last 25 years or so. I tend to just let the scripture suggest my prayer list for that day. But if you find yourself failing to pray about some things you want to more consistently pray about you can use a prayer List you can incorporate a prayer list.
It might look something like this. You read the Lord is my shepherd who my prayer list needs shepherding. Shall not want who over here needs is in want and so forth. So you can you can't accommodate a prayer list or you can just let the scriptures give you the prayer list.
Spontaneously as you go through them. That day. Yeah. Well, we're gonna come just briefly in a moment to how to do this with with a group but both of you guys have mentioned something here that. That's very important is that you'll by praying this way.
You'll find yourself praying about some things that you know are on God's heart and things. You normally wouldn't think to pray about at least in that way. I'm not gonna call on anybody so don't be afraid to raise your hand.
But how many of you did find yourself praying about some things you normally wouldn't think to pray about can I see your hand? It's just about everybody now. But how many of you also found yourself praying about the things you normally do want to pray about.
I see your hand. Yeah, it's just about everybody. Isn't it amazing by going through the Psalms like this. You'll pray as you've pointed out here. You'll things will come to mind that normally wouldn't think to come to mind.
They're not on your list. If your prayer list were as big as the Boston phone directory. You wouldn't think to put these things on a prayer list. But you pray for them and they ought to because they're on God's heart but you'll also find yourself praying about the the big six things in your life that Comprise your life.
But you'll pray about them differently. At the seminary just about you know several times every day. The beginning of class I actually use this. But if I didn't it'd be it's the same prayer every day.
You know bless the class several times a day how many ways can you think of to say bless the class? But If we pray through Psalm 23, it's Lord shepherd us in this class today. If it's Psalm 51. It's Lord forgive us for not always applying our minds as we ought to our studies if it's Psalm 139 Lord.
We sense and acknowledge your presence here in room 103. Today, it's the same prayer bless the class and yet it's different every time. It's the same prayer but coming through a different the filter of a different Psalm.
It's different and. So though you pray about the same things every time or you pray about the same things through a different Psalm Lord shepherd my family today. There's just something different about that shepherding imagery that energizes your prayer life.
These are inspired words. And the next day, it's you pray for the same family, but you pray about different things. It's the same prayer, you know bless my family, but it's different every day. And it's not just different though that alone is worth it.
It's not just different the words we're using are inspired words. There's a supernatural quality to them. Well, let's see what we've learned here tonight. What we've said is that this prayer request whether it's let's just call it praying for your family one way or another.
What we usually do is come at it the same old gray colorless way if we could have that the same old things. About the same old things. That's what we usually do. But now what we've learned is that we come at the same things though the same old way we have a Different way to pray.
Let's say today you pray about your children your family from Psalm 23 and there it's Lord Please shepherd my family today make them your sheep and so forth and just the freshness of The of the new imagery energizes your prayer, but it's not just that it's different.
These are inspired words the next day you may pray from first Corinthians 13 asking that God would cause your children to manifest first Corinthians 13 kind of love the next day it may be from Psalm 1.
You ask the Lord to make your children meditators on the Word of God. Isn't that a wonderful thing to pray for your children or grandchildren. But would you ever think? To pray that if you didn't pray through Psalm 1 the next day.
It may be that you'd pray that they would manifest the fruit of the Spirit the next day you may pray that they would sense The presence of God wherever they go. It's the same prayer Bless my family, but it's different every day.
But it's not just Fresh and novel we should pray these kinds of things. But these are things that are these are inspired words that we're using. Furthermore the Bible says we must pray in accordance with his will first.
John says for our prayers to be answered, right? Can you have any greater assurance that you're praying in accordance with the will of God than the pray the Word of God? So there's so many reasons so many benefits to pray this way.
Now sometimes I'm asked what about praying through scripture with a group go ahead and run all three of those bullet points up there. I'm not going to spend much time on this because It just takes a little bit of time.
We we may have a handout for you before this is over that you can get this on my website. I can tell you more about where to get that later. But the most important thing you brought this up About doing this together you don't want to try to pray through scripture with a group.
Unless the people have done it individually if we had tried to do this as a group 30 minutes ago It would have been a disaster. You have a better idea about how to do that now because each of you have done it individually you have an idea of what.
It's like people need to have experienced it individually before they try corporately. I mean corporate prayer is always more difficult almost always than individual prayer anyway. So people need to have some experience in this.
Now if you do if you take this down or later if you have it I just want you to remember that we've got good better and best here. First one's good. It can work. You just assign each person if this is my class if this is my family.
So you take the first verse you take the second verse you take third verse you take the fourth verse and we pray we get Started okay. Doing fine second verse third verse, but his verse is Oh Lord dash your children's heads against the rock smash your teeth.
And he doesn't know what to say. Or he's embarrassed. You know, it's. So it can work it can backfire to read the psalm aloud dad and this this group may be family. One of the things I'm very big on right now is family worship.
The latest book I've written a CD where I basically preach the book is on family worship. Maybe a Sunday school class maybe a whole churchwide prayer meeting. Second way may be to read the psalm aloud dad or group leader or have each person read it silently.
Sometimes I've done it this way to say okay everyone listen. I'm gonna read this psalm or I may say look here the five psalms of the day you pick one and read it silently. I'm gonna give everybody a few minutes and.
Then after that I would say now we're going to pray and I want you to pray as many of you as are willing. I want you to pray aloud. Starting with the verse that impressed you in the reading of this song if more than one person chooses the same verse fine.
That can work very well. Unless people Get off of that verse. As long as that verse is sort of the springboard into prayer, that's fine. But once they get off of that it can begin sounding like the same old things about the same old things.
Perhaps best is to read the psalm aloud then you as the leader call out one at a time as needed the phrases. Are the the verses that are the most conducive to prayer? That with it that are the common denominator in terms of ease so if I'm the prayer leader I might call out verses like the Lord is my shepherd and I'm gonna skip verses like dash to the children's heads against the rock.
Okay, I'm gonna pick and choose. I'm just gonna the psalm that I've read. I'm just gonna call out Phrases and as many will respond to that if I call out the Lord as my shepherd and several people pray about the Lord's shepherding in various ways.
Then when it's quiet I call out the next phrase and so I just throw out the ones out there that are easy. For people to pray from all right. Let's let's move on here. I have my students read the biography of George Mueller effect.
We discussed this in class Just yesterday and had a slide presentation on the life of George Mueller considered by many the greatest man of prayer and faith in the history of the church. He lived almost all the 1800s in Bristol, England.
He had four very significant ministries, but he's known almost exclusively for his orphanage. He Would in a time in Dickensian England when otherwise they would have been beggars on the street, you know Oliver twist like like situations Mueller fed clothed housed and educated as many as 2 ,000 orphans at a time over 10 ,000 in his lifetime.
Without asking for money just praying for God to provide of course at the end of every year He would produce these annual reports in which he would talk about how God had Provided how they'd use the money in in those reports by implication let people know that he would gladly receive gifts to the ministry but he never made the needs known or asked for money and He had in those annual reports over 50 ,000 specific recorded answers to prayer 30 ,000 of which he said were answered the same day or the same hour.
That he prayed them. Now there are some people he prayed for for their salvation for 60 years. Before some of them were saved but God funneled over half a billion dollars in today's money through Mueller's hand that's just one of the most remarkable stories you'll ever read in your life.
Well, George Mueller said that for ten years into his life of faith. Not when he's a nobody, but he's already known around the world as the great man of prayer and faith. He's been known like this for several years now.
He said for ten years into that life his habit was after getting dressed in the morning, he would pray until breakfast and sometimes it took him half an hour to an hour he said before he really got into the spirit of prayer and Only then did he really begin to pray.
So he would try to pray 30 minutes an hour like trying to start an old lawnmower, you know, that's his heart. All right. He tried to get his heart going finally after a half an hour an hour. Okay. All right.
Now I feel like pray. I feel like praying that now I really am pray. What do we do five minutes? Seven minutes cranking on our cold heart. We just kind of grind that out. It's just Judy prayer. Just obligatory prayer we do it because we know we're supposed to do it.
Mueller would keep going until he felt like pray. But that often took half an hour to an hour until he said he made one slight alteration in his prayer life. What do you think it was? He began to pray through scripture.
And he said after that I scarcely ever suffered this way anymore. We think of Mueller's a man who could spend hours on his knees and I suppose he could do that. What he typically did he had these five big orphaned houses on Dozens and dozens of acres.
His quarters were an orphan house number three and they had this brick wall around the perimeter of the property and he would walk behind that Brick wall take his Bible. He would pray through a passage of Scripture.
Then got to people be that people would come out to watch the great man of prayer pray. Well, I gave him the willies just like it would you so he had him build a brick wall real high and he walked behind.
This wall he prayed said after he started praying like that. He scarcely ever suffered. Anymore and I can say that since the 1st of March 1985. Praying this way. There is nothing that more quickly kindles my cold heart Than praying through Scripture.
I almost never go to prayer feeling like praying and then Charles Spurgeon a great British Baptist preacher of the 1800s. He wrote of your pastor and myself and so many. Said somewhere we ought to pray When we feel like it.
Well, I began by saying we don't pray because we don't feel like it, but he said we ought to pray when we feel like it because it would be a Shame to miss such an opportunity. But he also said we should pray when we don't feel like it because it would be shame to remain in such a condition.
And why can't I think of things like that? Well, indeed we don't pray because we don't feel like it. You get up at 6 30 or 7 in the morning to pray. You don't feel like praying. Cheer up. You're normal.
You know why you don't feel like it. You're sleepy. And you haven't been thinking of God and the things of God for the last six or seven hours. You've been dead to the world. So we don't normally wake up with our hearts just instantly on fire for the things of God.
I Don't wake up like praying but God said to Jeremiah is not my word like a hammer and a Fire. It's like a hammer that breaks hard hearts. My word is like a fire that melts cold hearts. You wake up in the morning.
Your heart is cold. You're normal. But the good news is we're not subject to those feelings. We can take the fire of God's Word and plunge it into our cold hearts. So that by 635. Just like by 835 tonight.
You begin to feel like praying if this will work. Late on Friday night the tiredest time of the week. This will work in the mornings and any other time. Well in closing we ask you to turn to Acts chapter 4.
We're gonna put these three texts up there on the overhead. Let me tell you about the first day. Well, you look at Acts chapter 4. On the cross. Jesus as you know said Only seven brief things. Brief because he had been nearly whipped to death.
He was in agony. He was dehydrated and as you know as he was hanging on the cross to get enough breath to speak he had to push up. Which would just bring agony on his feet that were spiked to the cross.
But you have to push up on that spike get enough air to breathe. In fact, as you know, that's how they when they wanted to Finally kill them. They would break their legs and they couldn't push up anymore and they would die of asphyxiation.
So everything he said was very brief, but the longest of the seven things that Jesus said was this my God. My God why have you forsaken me. Which is the first verse of Psalm 22 and Psalm 22 is prophetic about what?
The crucifixion there are more details about the physical aspects of crucifixion in Psalm 22. Then all the rest of the Bible. Put together all the Gospels two of the four Gospels simply say they took him and crucified him and he goes on.
We learn more about the physical details of crucifixion in Psalm 22. My my tongue cleaves to my jaws. They can count all my bones. They pierced me and all these other things two things lengthy. Statements said at the foot of the cross.
Were prophesied verbatim in Psalm 22. That's the passage in the Bible. Prophesying what Jesus was going through on the cross. I'm confident. That's what Jesus that Jesus was praying through that song.
That was the passage. About what he was undergoing. Now to some degree that speculation. But we know this we know he prayed the first verse. And because he could only speak so briefly I'm confident he's telling us there he was praying through the whole song.
By telling us that first verse and then continue to pray through that song and then at the end it's all Luke 23. Into your hands I commit my spirit from Psalm 31. Jesus prayed the song. Back chapter 4 Peter John had been threatened when they've been released verse 23 says.
They went to their own companions. They went back to the church and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them and When they heard this they lifted their voice to God with one accord and said Oh Lord It is you who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them in your Bible.
It may be in small capital letters of quotation marks. Many believe this was from Psalm 146. Verse 25 who by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of our father David your servant said why did the Gentiles rage and the people's devised futile things.
Second half of verse 25. All of verse 26 is from where Psalm 2 the early church Prayed the Psalms. Jesus prayed the Psalms. The early church prayed the Psalms. Go thou and Do likewise. Now I began by saying that there's this common almost universal problem in prayer.
See. You've got personal spiritual disciplines and interpersonal spiritualism those that we practice alone. Those that we practice with other people. We're to pray alone. The Bible says We're also to pray with the church.
We're to worship God privately. We're to worship God with the church. The two most important personal spiritual disciplines are the intake of the Word of God and Prayer with both of them. There's an almost universal Problem with prayer.
The problem is that we tend to say what? Same old things but the same old things and that's Boring when it's boring. We don't pray. We don't feel like praying but there's a simple solution. It's got to be simple because God expects all of his people to pray, right?
He gives all of some privilege of prayer and So he it has to be simple and the simple answer is to pray through a passage of Scripture particularly a song. With the other of the most important personal spiritual disciplines the intake of the Word of God.
There's another similar almost universal problem and here it is. It's it's true for our most committed daily Bible readers. Who by the grace of God they intend to read their Bible every day of their life, but they read a chapter.
They read three chapters. However much it is. They close their Bible and on most days if pressed they would have to admit what. I Don't remember a thing. I read it's not your age. It's not your IQ. It's not your educational level.
It's your Method and there's a simple solution. It's got to be simple. Because God intends all of his people to profit satisfyingly from the Word of God, right. People all over the world. High low IQs and high everything else.
Tomorrow we talk about the solution to that problem. Let's pray together. The psalmist said Oh you who hears prayer. We thank you Lord. 6 .7 billion people in the world. And us here in this corner of it.
You hear our prayers and at the throne of heaven. You hear what we say at this point at this moment. Like the Apostles who came to Jesus and said Lord teach us to pray. That's our prayer. Teach us to pray as Jesus pray as the early church prayer.
It's George Muller pray. Teach us to pray. Cause there to be much lasting fruit from this evening together. And we ask your blessing on tomorrow in Jesus name for your glory. Amen.