The Desire of Your Heart?

The Audio file is available at 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tfdj9z1oh4e3ajk/Church%20Service-2012-08-26-01.mp3

Key thought: knowing God shapes our prayers such that we pray for the right things.

At the beginning of a service I always wonder how people are doing.  Usually I have a fair understanding of the issues and problems people are facing. I have the privilege to be invited into many of those situations. Yesterday we had a wedding, last week a funeral, some weeks before a killer hail storm.  In a week school starts again. Some people are moving soon.  The list goes on. And in every case there are questions and worries.

I’ll confess that it can be overwhelming. Someone asked me recently, how do I manage when there are always so many problems?

I turn that question back to you. How do you manage? In the reality of life, with all its joys that are so easily overshadowed by worries, how do you manage?

Psalm 37 gives us some direction.

Psalm 37

Of David.

¹      Do not fret because of evil men

or be envious of those who do wrong;

²     for like the grass they will soon wither,

like green plants they will soon die away.

³     Trust in the Lord and do good;

dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

⁴     Delight yourself in the Lord

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵     Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him and he will do this:

⁶     He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,

the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

⁷     Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;

do not fret when men succeed in their ways,

when they carry out their wicked schemes.

⁸     Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;

do not fret—it leads only to evil.

The psalm is of course a prayer. And the first three words set the tone. Do not fret. It means to worry or be overly anxious. And it goes on to say that in prayer God will give the desires of our hearts

A couple of weeks ago I gave the opportunity to fill out a survey on prayer and bible reading habits. I found the results encouraging and interesting. Just about everyone who filled it out prays at meals, but only half have a regular habit of praying each day as the day begins or in times of need.  That suggests to me that we pray thanking God for what He provides – and that’s good – but I wonder, do we pray over the daily schedule. After all don’t we have times of need every morning in deciding what to do and how to do it? Isn’t it just possible to be so used to things that we can go a whole day without really thinking about what we’re doing? Sort of swept away in business so that at the end of the day or week you wonder now what did I do today? I know I did stuff but I think I missed out on something.

I want to draw your attention to a single verse, verse 4 where it says: “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. “ Does that sound good to you? Does that sound like a good thing? The psalm tells us how to make it happen.

In the whole psalm there are three simple suggestions for personal prayer.

The first is to ask God, where am I going? Our Lord makes some strong claims about life here and all over the Bible. There are two ways to walk in life. With God in contentment (v 3), sure hope (v 9), peace (v 11), generosity (v 21) and wisdom, (v 30), which define a successful life. Or walk without God and copy what the world does. It’s tempting because as verse 1 says it seems to lead to wealth and security, but a road littered with victims of anger and worry (v 8), envy and greed (v 12 & 21), violence, (v 15), and lying (v 30).

In prayer God can and will show the truth of which road a person is on and what the end of that road will look like. All anyone has to do is ask. God is faithful to lift us from where we are to a better way of being.

In prayer a person can ask, am I an angry person, do I worry too much, am I violent in how I go about my day and what is that doing to the people I love. Sin is a serious problem and often believing people are blind to their own sin. Believers need to meet God in prayer to know the truth about their lives. The values we hold are given as an example to our children and are our witness about Jesus to the world.

At some point in the day – every day – meet with God and ask, “Where am I going”?

The second suggestion in the psalm is to look up and see the truth. The fact is that everything I just said in suggestion number one depends on suggestion number two. The only way people change for the better is if they hear God’s voice in prayer. Learn to trust him, commit to him and delight in him.

Our Father invites our trust. It’s in prayer that we put our worries before God and reassured of his love and power leave them there. So that we can go and do what we can with what we have. It’s in prayer that we learn that prayer isn’t magic. There is a real and personal God who loves; not some power force that can be controlled or forced into doing what we want. How else can we cope with reality? War, death, hail storms and the like?

I remember many times praying something like: O Lord if only you would do this or that, everyone would see how amazing you are. I’ve learned that a far better prayer is O Lord, I’d really like this or that and it seems to me that’s how everyone would see how amazing you are, but your will be done.

This can be hard but as a loving God, God may not give what we ask for because it would do more harm than good. It may not happen because something bigger is going on that can’t be seen. It’s only in prayer and with faith that anyone can accept with courage and joy the result of prayer and God’s answer.

At some point in the day – every day – meet with God and ask, “Give me faith to trust you more.”

Third and last suggestion is this, be constructive with your life. Verse 7 explains the heart of the Psalm and of prayer. Be still before the Lord. Wait for God to speak. Isn’t it true that most of our prayers are just going in one direction? We talk God listens: hello, good stuff, good stuff, blah, blah, good stuff, Amen. Would you ever have a conversation with someone who always did that? Who never let you speak? It’s a good thing God is patient.

Prayer, is a conversation and like with anyone else it takes time and attention to have a good one. I have a very busy mind. It goes from one thing to the next easily. I am also a capable intelligent person. I read a lot and learn on the job. I’m pretty sure I can find solutions and make things happen in the moment. Slowing down is hard for me. But It’s the difference between life and death for me.

Unless I slow down and breathe deeply. Quiet my mind and thoughts, unless I wait for God in prayer. I become overwhelmed, ineffective and depressed. The work is endless and joy is replaced by busyness. I’ll admit to you it’s hard and takes time. First thing in the morning I’m itching to go and get things done. That’s fine is you run the 100 meters but in the race of life, the marathon – it won’t work.

At some point in the day – every day – meet with God and ask, “help me to be still, I want to hear your voice.”