Psalms 63 - A prayer

A Prayer

Question of the day:  What famous person, other than God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit, would you love to sit and have a conversation with? 

This morning class we are going to do something a little different. We are going to look at prayer. When talking about prayer we often hear things like....Plug into the power of prayer,  Prayers that break through, Release the power of Prayer.  That sounds amazing right.  Let's discover the power of prayer?  We seek out books and seminars and sermons that will tell us what we can do to make our prayers more powerful.  People love to hear how they can pray scripture, or journal their prayers, or how to have order to their prayers, why? Ultimately we all hope that if we do it right then "plug into the power of prayer," or "release the power of prayer."

I am going to let you know right off the bat - I don't agree with the statement that our prayers are powerful!  

Now before you start a riot lets take a closer look.  

How many of you have a cell phone on you?  

I would like to suggest that prayer is similar to your charging cable. 

How many of you have a charging cable with you? 

Would you say your charging cable is important to you?

Would you say it is powerful?

It in and of itself is NOT powerful at all!  It is just a cable. 

If your cable is not plugged into the source of power then it is powerless.

What are some other reasons your cable can be powerless?

So in our home Chris has an Android phone and I have an Apple.  Our power cords are useless to each other.  For my power cord or charging cable to be effective it has to fit in the phone and only mine fits my phone. 

So if prayer isn't powerful what is it?

We are going to be look at several prayers in scripture. We will start with a prayer of David. After all he was a man after God's own heart. So let's study his prayer. It is Psalm 63. A beautiful prayer. It is poetic, it is heart felt and one I believe we can learn from.

READ: Psalm 63

Psalm 63

A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.

1 You, God, are my God,
    earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
    my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
    where there is no water.

2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
    and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life,
    my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
    and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

6 On my bed I remember you;
    I think of you through the watches of the night.
7 Because you are my help,
    I sing in the shadow of your wings.
8 I cling to you;
    your right hand upholds me.

9 Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;
    they will go down to the depths of the earth.
10 They will be given over to the sword
    and become food for jackals.

11 But the king will rejoice in God;
    all who swear by God will glory in him,
    while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

Beautiful right!

Here is another prayer. From another Psalm.

READ: Psalm 51: 1-12

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned  and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.

Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Another beautiful prayer.

What do you find in both of these prayers?


The disciples asked the question, how they were to pray.  They asked Jesus, and his response was what?

Matthew 6:5-13

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9 “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]
    but deliver us from the evil one.[b]’

 In Luke 11 after the same prayer and another parable Jesus says,

"9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for[f] a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Where is the power?  In the asking or in the giving?  Or let me ask it this way, who has the power the one who asks or the one who gives?

I have three of my favorite Ellen White quotes about prayer. 

" Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend. Not that it is necessary in order to make known to God what we are, but in order to enable us to receive Him. Prayer does not bring God down to us, but brings us up to Him." Steps to Christ

"Unceasing prayer is the unbroken union of the soul with God, so that life from God flows into our life; and from our life, purity and holiness flow back to God.... "

"The soul that turns to God for its help, its support, its power, by daily, earnest prayer, will have noble aspirations, clear perceptions of truth and duty, lofty purposes of action, and a continual hungering and thirsting after righteousness. By maintaining a connection with God, we shall be enabled to diffuse to others, through our association with them, the light, the peace, the serenity, that rule in our hearts. The strength acquired in prayer to God, united with persevering effort in training the mind in thoughtfulness and care-taking, prepares one for daily duties and keeps the spirit in peace under all circumstances.—(Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, 85.)"

"Our life is to be bound up with the life of Christ; we are to draw constantly from Him, partaking of Him, the living Bread that came down from heaven, drawing from a fountain ever fresh, ever giving forth its abundant treasures. If we keep the Lord ever before us, allowing our hearts to go out in thanksgiving and praise to Him, we shall have a continual freshness in our religious life. Our prayers will take the form of a conversation with God as we would talk with a friend. He will speak His mysteries to us personally. Often there will come to us a sweet joyful sense of the presence of Jesus. Often our hearts will burn within us as He draws nigh to commune with us as He did with Enoch. When this is in truth the experience of the Christian, there is seen in his life a simplicity, a humility, meekness, and lowliness of heart, that show to all with whom he associates that he has been with Jesus and learned of Him. (Christ Object Lessons 129)"

Prayer is the opening of our heart, an unbroken union of the soul with God, our connection with God, a conversation with God.  In all those descriptions the power is still with and coming from God.

Why does it matter?

If we make the act of praying the powerful component then we are taking on the power and the responsibility for outcomes.

We make it all about us, and then we can often become crippled or consumed with praying "right" instead of just praying.

When Jesus said to pray in the closet, what was He saying?

This is a personal, relational act.  This is about my relationship with Christ.  This is all about me having a conversation with God, and what others think or how others do it is not important! Why the closet, because this is just between us!  This is not about everyone else.

Praying is a vital component of our relationship with Christ.  We NEED to be doing it.  But no mistake it isn't the prayer that transforms you, it is Christ!  It isn't prayer that brings victory, it is the relationship with Christ!

Pray, pray, pray!  Pray without ceasing!  Pray in all kinds of ways in every situation.  Pray!  But let's not make the mistake of thinking that our prayers are what is going to transform our churches or our children's lives, or our own lives!  That is only a God thing.  We ask, but the power comes from the giver, and that comes from God!