merciful

Open my mouth for greater prayer

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My gateway to prayer seems to be the expression I have learned from the Psalms – Lord, have mercy on me.

Be merciful to me, O God,
    because I am under attack;
    my enemies persecute me all the time. – Psalm 56:1 GNT

In my distress, I have only one to turn to – God. I would say that no one else has interest in giving mercy, so I ask for mercy many times a day. I even find myself on occasion asking for mercy for those who are denying me mercy. How amazing is it that a person could make themselves so powerful in our eyes and yet they are simply, just a mere person. So when they rage against me, I open my mouth in prayer. Though these individuals may fight with me every day, and I ask God for justice every day, I ask God to first forgive me of my wrongs. It is what my prayer means when I say – Lord, have mercy on me. The more violent the attack, the stronger is my plea for mercy.

What a promise from Isaiah to help me understand Jesus’ relationship with me.

A child is born to us!
    A son is given to us!
    And he will be our ruler.
He will be called, “Wonderful[g] Counselor,”
    “Mighty God,” “Eternal Father,”
    “Prince of Peace.”
His royal power will continue to grow;
    his kingdom will always be at peace.
He will rule as King David’s successor,
    basing his power on right and justice,
    from now until the end of time.
The Lord Almighty is determined to do all this – Isaiah 9:6-7 GNT

Jesus is my Wonderful Counsellor – He gives me instruction and guidance in my life and offers many of those in His Word. He is the Mighty God – for all power is given to Him which means I can trust Him to accomplish amazing things in and through me. He is the Eternal Father – so I can take comfort in the stability of knowing what the reign of Jesus brings. He is the Prince of Peace – I may rest in Him knowing that because of Jesus everything is well between myself and God. This is what gives me and I am called to – greater prayer, confidence and service.

But it is needful that we should know that we have no sufficiency in ourselves, and in order to know it, we must feel it; and therefore the Lord sometimes withdraws his sensible influence, and then the buzzing of a fly will be an overmatch for our patience. At other times he will show us what he can do in us and for us; then we can adopt the Apostle’s words, and say—I can do and suffer all things, through Christ strengthening me. He has said, My grace is sufficient for you. – John Newton

 

 

Invoking God in prayer for help even when feeling prayers are not being answered

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Oil – never bluntly stated in the Old Testament but we know from the New Testament that it is symbolic of the Holy Spirit.

Then Moses took the anointing oil and put it on the Tent of the Lord‘s presence and everything that was in it, and in this way he dedicated it all to the Lord.He took some of the oil and sprinkled it seven times on the altar and its equipment and on the basin and its base, in order to dedicate them to the Lord.He ordained Aaron by pouring some of the anointing oil on his head. – Leviticus 8:10-12 GNT

The idea I get is that “without God, I can’t.” If I put my trust in rituals, and God is not in the picture, it is a waste of time. More importantly, maybe more specifically, if the Holy Spirit is not working in the background “lubricating the machinery,” it is a waste of time.

How can I help someone without invoking God in prayer for help? How could I teach God’s Word without asking God for help? There is a danger in relying on my own strength.

Being dedicated places everything in God’s hands. The tabernacle is no longer just a building – it is a building whose sole purpose is to help people intercede to God. Aaron is no longer an ordinary person, but “ordained” as one fully committed to dedicating his life to interceding for people to God.

I am ordained to help others too. I have been “anointed” for the purpose of helping other Christians.

I use the Psalms as they turn into a prayer for help and relief in the middle of trouble.

Be merciful to me, O Lord!
    See the sufferings my enemies cause me!
Rescue me from death, O Lord,
     that I may stand before the people of Jerusalem
    and tell them all the things for which I praise you.
I will rejoice because you saved me. – Psalm 9:13-14 GNT

I want to be one who seeks to live a godly life even to the very gates of death. The good news is that God is the One who lifts me up from those very gates. I can pray for help and receive it so that I might praise God for His deliverance and salvation. My deepen joy and praise to God are the end results of my prayer for help. As God increases my joy in Him so do my praises to Him increase.

God’s help is not given just because He favours one over the other. It comes because His people have a relationship with Him. They know Him. They trust Him. They come to Him.

Those who know you, Lord, will trust you;
    you do not abandon anyone who comes to you. – Psalm 9:10 GNT

It must be a serious trial for anyone to feel abandoned by God. I know that I feel that way sometimes when I have sinned, face more trouble than I can handle, have a job to do that is weighed with responsibility or when I feel my prayers are not being answered.

I come back to God, seeking Him, because I know Him.

“We never trust a man till we know him, and bad men are better known than trusted. Not so the Lord, for where his name is poured out as an ointment, there the virgins love him, fear him, rejoice in him, repose upon him.” – Trapp

“Men complain of their little faith: the remedy is in their own hands; let them set themselves to know God. . . .  But for all this, you must make time. You cannot know a friend from hurried interviews, much less God. So you must steep yourself in deep, long thoughts of his nearness and his love.” Meyer

“O Almighty God, in your unmerited goodness to us and through the merit and mediation of your only beloved Son, Jesus Christ, you have permitted and even commanded and taught us to regard you and call upon you as one Father of us all.” – Martin Luther