EXEMPLARY ANSWER TO PRAYER

“Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications! In Your faithfulness answer me, and in Your righteousness!" (Psalm 143:1 NKJV).

In his distress the Psalmist turns immediately to the Lord. Yet, he does not plead any merit of his own, but based his plea upon the character of God. Thus, he asks that his prayer be answered with earnestness, faithfulness, and righteousness. It is a noble way to introduce our prayer.

Answer with earnestness – “Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications.” The phrases “Hear my prayer” and “give ear” says the Psalmist wants God to be earnest in answering his prayer. Most of us want God to give earnest attention to our prayers, but too many of us do not pray earnestly. If we want God to be earnest in answering our prayers, we need to be earnest in our praying. The Psalmist prayed with great earnestness and expected God to reciprocate by giving earnest attention to his prayer.

Answer with faithfulness – “In Your faithfulness answer me.” Here the Psalmist is pleading for God to answer his prayer in faithfulness to His promises. The request means that the Psalmist wants God to answer his prayers according to His Word. This means that he wants his life to be in accordance with the Word. If we want our prayers to be answered by God in faithfulness to His promises, then we need to pray our prayers according to the Word of God. Make sure you pray according to God’s Word.

Answer with righteousness – “Answer me . . . in Your righteousness.” Every prayer that we pray need to wrap with this request. So many of our requests are not righteous requests but are prayed according to the lusts of the flesh and for selfish gain. This request for righteousness in answering our prayers will help stop sinful praying. It will make our prayers holy prayers. Our prayers need to honor God’s righteousness, so pray that they will.

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Prayer is not a device for getting our wills done through heaven, but a desire that God’s will may be done on earth through us!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Dominion

In 1 Peter 5:11 we read, “To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen” (NKJV).

Dominion is the Greek word kratos (κράτος = krat'-os). It means strength, power, might, dominion, authority. In Classical Greek kratos refers to strength or power. It can be used in describing the physical strength of a man, the material strength of a substance such as iron, or more abstractly to refer to military strength. In the sense of power it often is used for the authority granted to certain men by the gods, thus political power, rule, sovereignty.

In the Septuagint, kratos can refer to the strength of men or other created things. However, it is most often used of the authority and power of God. In the New Testament kratos refers to authority above that of humans. God exercises kratos, the might and power in action, marking Him as the sovereign Ruler over all. Thus He is worthy of dominion over our lives, the church, the world, and the entire universe.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – Messiah’s anguish of soul before crucifixion (Psalm 69:14-20)

New Testament Fulfillment – Matt. 26:36-45

Did You Know…

In Matt. 26: 65, the high priest tore his robes in protest of Jesus proclaiming Himself to be the Son of God. In Matt. 27:51, following the murder of Jesus, God tore the curtain of the temple in two, from top to bottom.

Bible Quiz

According to Romans 3, the feet of the unrighteous are swift to do what?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: According to James, what will the man who endures temptation receive from the Lord? “The crown of life” (James 1:12)

Everyday Expressions Alluded to in the Bible

"Drive you to your knees”

“Terrors frighten him on every side, and drive him to his feet” (Job 18:11 NKJV).

“Drive you to your knees” - The expression “drive you to your knees” carries the idea of making someone suffer. In context, Bildad concludes that Job is wicked which is why he has been so greatly afflicted with many troubles. A sinful lifestyle leads to stress, strain, and sorrow. It is ironic that people who live wild lives claim it is fun and makes them happy. Yet, the consequences of this kind of lifestyle result in fear. Yes, the wicked person is like a trapped animal because he has left God out of his life.

Did You Know – Christian History

Emma Whittemore had it all - money, servants, dinners, parties, balls. Her wealth allowed her to admire herself in dresses that glittered with diamond dust. She and her businessman husband, Sidney Whittemore, moved among the elite of New York, unaware of anything missing in themselves.

One afternoon, Emma was persuaded by a friend to visit Water Street where Jerry McAuley, an ex-convict and reformed drunkard, had opened a mission. Sidney agreed to escort her through the rough area of New York City. As the meeting progressed, God got such possession of the Whittemores that both sat in painful silence as they were convicted of their useless lives. “We arose with a holy determination, born of God himself, to henceforth live for his glory and praise.”

One evening as Emma was spending some time alone with God, earnestly inquiring of Him what she was to do, suddenly the girls on the street came to her mind. The thought of working with these wayward women horrified her. “Oh, anything but that!” she pleaded. Then a deep hush of shame came upon her heart and she yielded to what the Lord was asking.

If girls were to be rescued, homes were needed. On October 25th, 1890, Emma Whittemore’s first Door of Hope opened in a house belonging to A. B. Simpson. Emma vowed that she would never go through normal channels to raise funds, but rather tell every need directly to God. She did not even mention her home’s needs to her own husband, Sidney. Yet unsolicited donations came at just the right moment, time after time, to meet the needs of Door of Hope, confirming to her that God was at work.

Within four years, Door of Hope had helped 325 girls. Emma’s goal was not only to enable them to know the power of Christ in their lives as she had experienced it, but to see them active in efforts to convert others. Door of Hope soon went international. By the time of Emma’s death in 1931, there were 97 homes in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Africa, Japan and China. Emma showed what a woman can accomplish when her devotion switches from balls and diamond dust to Christ.

A Little Humor

After a lecture about the flow of blood in the body, a 7th grade biology teacher asked the class the following: “Why is it that if I turn upside down, my face would turn red since the blood would flow to my head, but when I stand upright my feet don’t turn red?” I was taken aback when a boy blurted out, “that’s cuz your feet aint empty!”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Law condemns the best man; grace saves the worst man!”