Psalm 63:3–4 — 3 Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise thee. 4 Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.
Does anyone have a prayer or praise? If you’ve been to church for any length of time, you will have heard this question asked. I say, why not have both? How about praise and prayer. The better our prayer life becomes, the better our praise will be.
David wrote this psalm while he was in the wilderness of Judah. Saul had chased him from the hustle and bustle of town, and he couldn’t go to worship at the tabernacle. David wasn’t able to enjoy the interaction of sporting or the marketplace. Instead, he had to find shelter in caves and dens. Not much of a life for the anointed king of Israel! It was in this wilderness that David’s thirst for God intensified. When life has been ripped from you and turned on its head, what truly matters will become apparent.
Notice what David said, “Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee” (See Ps. 63:3)
This morning, I prayed for our teenagers. We have some that are in their senior year, some juniors, and some in middle school. Sports, show choir, graduation, comradery, social events, all canceled. Life has been turned on its head. But is it life?
The answer is yes, and no. Yes, in the sense that it is a part of life here in America, and in the sense that it is something all teenagers look forward too. Yes, in the sense that it is real and physical and tangible. But is it eternal? David said, “Thy lovingkindness is better than life.” I hope we can see that. We can realize that it is in the wilderness that God is better than all of that combined. I’m praying that God will help them see that He wants us all to put Him first in all things. And, that they would realize He IS BETTER than life.
Are these things sin? No, but they can be. God wants us to learn to keep Him first. Anything that can take our hearts from God becomes sin to us. Keep God first.
David went on to say, “Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.” This was a common form in prayer. To crouch on the knees and to kneel forward with your face to the ground was considered prostrating yourself. Then, sitting back up while still on the knees and lifting your hands to heaven was praising. Both are acts of worship, and both are acts of prayer. Raising your hands in God’s name in prayer…
Let’s talk about prayer and praise for a moment. How’s your prayer life? Here are a few characteristics that ought to be included in all of our prayers. Robert Murray McCheyne said,
“I ought not to omit any of the parts of prayer—confession, adoration, thanksgiving, petition, and intercession. There is a fearful tendency to omit confession proceeding from low views of God and His law, slight views of my heart, and the sin of my past life. This must be resisted. There is a constant tendency to omit adoration when I forget to Whom I am speaking when I rush heedlessly into the presence of Jehovah without thought of His awful name and character. When I have little eyesight for his glory and little admiration of His wonders, I have the native tendency of the heart to omit giving thanks, and yet it is especially commanded. Often when the heart is dead to the salvation of others, I omit intercession, and yet it especially is the spirit of the great Advocate Who has the name of Israel on His heart. 1
If we learn to include these characteristics in our prayers, we’ll find God moving to meet us and to answer us. Without a doubt, we’ll have reasons to praise Him. David said, “My lips shall praise thee.”
35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
The midday prayer is to get us back on track. The evening prayer is for reflection and confession. Keep a short account.
J. I. Packer had this advice,
Be wholly committed to Christ’s service each day. Don’t touch sin with a barge-pole. Keep short accounts with God. Think of each hour as God’s gift to you to make the most and best of. ...Live in the present; gratefully enjoy its pleasures and work through its pain with God, knowing that both the pleasures and the pains are steps on the journey home. Open all your life to the Lord Jesus and spend time consciously in his company, basking in and responding to his love. ....get on with what you know to be God’s task for you here and now.1
Prayer or Praise?
04/03/2020
Day 94: Prayer or Praise?
Psalm 63:3–4 — 3 Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise thee. 4 Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.
Does anyone have a prayer or praise? If you’ve been to church for any length of time, you will have heard this question asked. I say, why not have both? How about praise and prayer. The better our prayer life becomes, the better our praise will be.
David wrote this psalm while he was in the wilderness of Judah. Saul had chased him from the hustle and bustle of town, and he couldn’t go to worship at the tabernacle. David wasn’t able to enjoy the interaction of sporting or the marketplace. Instead, he had to find shelter in caves and dens. Not much of a life for the anointed king of Israel! It was in this wilderness that David’s thirst for God intensified. When life has been ripped from you and turned on its head, what truly matters will become apparent.
Notice what David said, “Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee” (See Ps. 63:3)
This morning, I prayed for our teenagers. We have some that are in their senior year, some juniors, and some in middle school. Sports, show choir, graduation, comradery, social events, all canceled. Life has been turned on its head. But is it life?
The answer is yes, and no. Yes, in the sense that it is a part of life here in America, and in the sense that it is something all teenagers look forward too. Yes, in the sense that it is real and physical and tangible. But is it eternal? David said, “Thy lovingkindness is better than life.” I hope we can see that. We can realize that it is in the wilderness that God is better than all of that combined. I’m praying that God will help them see that He wants us all to put Him first in all things. And, that they would realize He IS BETTER than life.
Are these things sin? No, but they can be. God wants us to learn to keep Him first. Anything that can take our hearts from God becomes sin to us. Keep God first.
David went on to say, “Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.” This was a common form in prayer. To crouch on the knees and to kneel forward with your face to the ground was considered prostrating yourself. Then, sitting back up while still on the knees and lifting your hands to heaven was praising. Both are acts of worship, and both are acts of prayer. Raising your hands in God’s name in prayer…
Let’s talk about prayer and praise for a moment. How’s your prayer life? Here are a few characteristics that ought to be included in all of our prayers. Robert Murray McCheyne said,
“I ought not to omit any of the parts of prayer—confession, adoration, thanksgiving, petition, and intercession. There is a fearful tendency to omit confession proceeding from low views of God and His law, slight views of my heart, and the sin of my past life. This must be resisted. There is a constant tendency to omit adoration when I forget to Whom I am speaking when I rush heedlessly into the presence of Jehovah without thought of His awful name and character. When I have little eyesight for his glory and little admiration of His wonders, I have the native tendency of the heart to omit giving thanks, and yet it is especially commanded. Often when the heart is dead to the salvation of others, I omit intercession, and yet it especially is the spirit of the great Advocate Who has the name of Israel on His heart. 1
1 Bounds, Edward M. The Purpose in Prayer. Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2004. Print.
If we learn to include these characteristics in our prayers, we’ll find God moving to meet us and to answer us. Without a doubt, we’ll have reasons to praise Him. David said, “My lips shall praise thee.”
When should we pray?
Psalm 63:1
1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee...
Psalm 5:3
3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
Psalm 55:17
17 Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: And he shall hear my voice.
The saints of old all concur that the morning is the best time to start. Even the Lord Jesus set the example for us,
Mark 1:35
35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
The midday prayer is to get us back on track. The evening prayer is for reflection and confession. Keep a short account.
J. I. Packer had this advice,
Be wholly committed to Christ’s service each day. Don’t touch sin with a barge-pole. Keep short accounts with God. Think of each hour as God’s gift to you to make the most and best of. ...Live in the present; gratefully enjoy its pleasures and work through its pain with God, knowing that both the pleasures and the pains are steps on the journey home. Open all your life to the Lord Jesus and spend time consciously in his company, basking in and responding to his love. ....get on with what you know to be God’s task for you here and now.1
1 Galaxie Software. 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press, 2002. Print.