Is this the cry of your heart?

May 17, 2019 by Erin Stringer

From this week's eNote...

Maybe you’ve experienced the same frustration.

You’re sitting in a small group setting and someone asks about prayer needs. Someone asks for prayer for a “friend of an aunt in California who is having gall bladder surgery.” Another shares about a “second cousin in Texas who has a chemistry test today.” (I exaggerate only a little!) ;-)
Now it’s not that some of the needs expressed aren’t important to someone. But is this the “cry of your heart?” Are these the real needs that you want Christian friends to lift up to the Lord for you? Do you see these kinds of needs expressed in the Bible or early church?
One time, Paul’s closest co-worker and “son in the faith,” shared that he was having regular stomach problems. (Please note that this was NOT some distant relative from a distant land. This was his “son.”) Paul simply says, “take some medicine for your illnesses” and then he changed the subject. He never says, “i’ll put you on the prayer list."

However, Jesus prayed all night right before he chose the 12 Apostles. The early church had a late-night prayer meeting when their leader, Simon Peter, was imprisoned and about to be beheaded.

In Psalm 28 we get an inside look at someone who knows how to cry out to God and who also knows how to thank and praise Him. I think we can all learn a lot from David’s heart and his prayer. And that is our study this weekend.

THIS WEEKEND
We continue our series on the JOY IN THE PSALMS as we see David cry out to the Lord for help and then we see him return to say thanks and to worship. This is not a Psalm that I have personally known before, but it has taught me so much about prayer and I’m anxious to share it with you.

- Pastor Denny

Psalm 28

Psa. 28:1 To you, LORD, I call; you are my Rock, do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you remain silent, I will be like those who go down to the pit. 2 Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place. 3 Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who do evil, who speak cordially with their neighbors but harbor malice in their hearts. 4 Repay them for their deeds and for their evil work; repay them for what their hands have done and bring back on them what they deserve. 5 Because they have no regard for the deeds of the LORD and what his hands have done, he will tear them down and never build them up again. 6 Praise be to the LORD, for he has heard my cry for mercy. 7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. 8 The LORD is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one. 9 Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever.

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Posted in: General