Sermon Psalm 86 Listen to My Prayer

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

New Covenant Presbyterian Church

Sermon Psalm 86 Listen to My Prayer

July 23, 2017

After a wonderful VBS worship last week, let us return to our look at the Psalms of Summer.   God created us to praise him.  And by praising God we become jubilant.  The reason we praise God is because he is faithful forever.  And God is faithful to the most vulnerable in our society.   But even though God is faithful and deserves our praise, sometimes we are not jubilant.  Sometimes we experience great need in our lives.   And when we get into trouble of some sort the one thing we can do is pray.  Today we look at prayers of supplication where we humbly ask God to help us.  We will get to this, but first let’s start with prayer.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

A humble psalmist approached God in prayer.

Psalm 86:1 Hear me, Lord, and answer me,
   for I am poor and needy.
2 Guard my life, for I am faithful to you;
   save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; 3 have mercy on me, Lord,
   for I call to you all day long.
4 Bring joy to your servant, Lord,
   for I put my trust in you.

The relationship between the psalmist and God is like the relationship between a servant and his lord.   This language sounds odd to modern American ears.   We usually do not think of lords and servants.  We believe in equality.   But the ancient relationship of lord and servant is very much like the relationship between a business owner and employee today.   A business owner has obligation to pay the agreed upon wage on a regular basis.  An employee has the obligation of do the work assigned to him by his boss.  In this way the objectives of the business are met and the needs of the employee and his family are satisfied.

This is the same as the ancient lord/servant relationship.  The servant had no way to support himself and his family.   For some reason he did not own a farm which would satisfy his needs.  So without a farm for support a person had to become a servant and work for someone else.   The lord would be someone with the resources and the need to hire someone.   By covenant or contract the lord would pay the servant a wage so that he could support himself and family.  The servant promised to work for the lord, doing what he wanted, in exchange for a wage.   You can see from this that a lord/servant relationship in ancient time is actually very similar to an employer/employee relationship today.

This is the same as the relationship we have with God when we pray.   We accept an obligation to do what God wants us to do, to obey his commands.  And God has the responsibility of caring for us and providing what we need.   God has provided us with a beautiful land to live in.   He has given us food and air and water.   We have received abundant life.   And our obligation is to do what God wants us to do.   God is faithful.  We are to be obedient.   Let’s listen as the psalmist continues her prayer.

5 You, Lord, are forgiving and good,
   abounding in love to all who call to you.
6 Hear my prayer, Lord;
   listen to my cry for mercy.

Confident in the abiding love of a good God the psalmist lifts up her voice in prayer to her faithful God.  We can have this same confidence.   As we approach God in prayer we can be confident that the God we pray to is forgiving and good and abounding in love.   This also gives us the confidence to ask this loving God for help.  Let’s go back the psalmist and hear her prayer.

7 When I am in distress, I call to you,
   because you answer me.
8 Among the gods there is none like you, Lord;
   no deeds can compare with yours.

The psalmist lives in a pluralistic culture.  There are many different religions to choose from.  And they all claim that their god answers prayer.  But through her long experience she knows that the only “god” that answers prayer is the God of Heaven.   All other “gods” do nothing.  Their prayers go unanswered.  But her God, the one she worships, does answer prayer.  And this is the source of her hope:  that one day everyone will realize that our God answers prayers and will turn to Him.

So too with us.     We live in a culture with many religions.   Some people worship the gods of the world religions Buddhism, Islam, or something else.   Other people worship western materialism, money, power, sex.   But none these have any ability to answer prayer.  Prayers can only be answered by the loving, forgiving and good God that we worship.  Let’s go back to the psalmist’s prayer

9 All the nations you have made
   will come and worship before you, Lord;
   they will bring glory to your name.
10 For you are great and do marvelous deeds;
   you alone are God.

Here the Psalmist has expressed her hope.   She hopes that one day everyone on earth will realize that only prayers to the good God of Heaven are answered.  And when this happen people will give up their worthless idols and come to the living God.

This is our hope as well.   We believe in God.  And we know from experience that our prayers are heard and God does answer them.   And so we hope that the people we love will also discover this.   Certainly we pray for the needs of our loved ones.   Wouldn’t it wonderful if they learn the benefits of praying to and worshiping our God?  You can help them by inviting them to come to church.  Let’s go back to the psalmist.

11 Teach me your way, Lord,
   that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
   that I may fear your name.

The first thing the psalmist prays for is for God to give her the gift of faith so that she can believe in God.  The psalmist has confessed that she something thinks about the pagan gods.   Sometimes she is tempted to worship things that cannot answer prayer.  So she wants the gift of faith that will allow her to only trust the true, faithful God.  

The same thing is true for us.   We know that we should only put our trust in God.   But sometimes we hedge our bets and pray to the things of the world.   Most of us offer praises and thanksgiving to our retirement account statements with the net asset values goes up.    Surely, we think, we can count on our diversified investments.   But you can’t count on material things.  They will not save you.    Markets crash.  Bubbles burst.   And then you turn to the only God who listens to your prayers.  The psalmist puts it this way.

12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;
   I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your love toward me;
   you have delivered me from the depths,
   from the realm of the dead.

Filled with faith, an answer to prayer, the psalmist praises God for her new life.   She thought her life was over when the things she counted on the most failed her.   And now she realizes that whatever it was that she had been counting on was worthless, and the only thing of true value was her faith in God.

This is open to us too.  Pray to God for faith.   And when God answers this prayer your eyes will be opened to what God is doing in this world.  When you see God at work you can’t help but sing his praise.

But we do live in a world of sin.   And with sin in the world even the faithful suffer.   Those without faith suffer alone with no hope.  Those with faith suffer in the presence of God with the hope that God will answer prayer and come to their rescue.  Let’s listen as the psalmist asks God for help.

14 Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God;
   ruthless people are trying to kill me—
   they have no regard for you.
15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
   slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

The psalmist is under attack.  Maybe she fears for her life.   Maybe she fears for her reputation through gossip.   Whatever it is she needs help.  And with the gift of faith she prays to the only God who answers prayer.

This gift is available to us too.   Whatever problem we may face, we can turn them over to our faithful God.  God listens to our prayers.   God is our only hope in times of trouble.  Let’s go back to the psalmist and see what she asks for.

16 Turn to me and have mercy on me;
   show your strength in behalf of your servant;
save me, because I serve you
   just as my mother did.

The psalmist asks for help and reminds God of two things.  First, she asks God to remember her own obedience.   As a faithful person she knows what God wants her to do and tries to always do it.  She also reminds God of the faithfulness of her mother who probably has prayed for her for her entire life and brought her to worship.

These are things we can do for our own children too.  We can pray for them everyday.   And when they are young we can bring them to church.   This gives them a basic level of faith.  With this faith they know about God.   Like the psalmist our children might drift away to worship other gods.   But one day their gods will fail.   And when this happens your children will turn back to your God, the one you pray to and the one you taught them to worship.    Let’s go back to the psalmist.

17 Give me a sign of your goodness,
   that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,
   for you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Other people must be ridiculing the psalmist for her faith.   They don’t understand when she doesn’t go with them to the Baal temple on the top of the mountain anymore.   They see the change that faith has brought upon her and it concerns them.   So the psalmist wants a sign from God that will demonstrate His faithfulness to her to all her family and friends.  Her hope is that through this sign others will come to faith.  She wants this because she has experienced a God who listens to her prayers and answers them.

It’s tough living in a pluralistic world.   Our friends and families will be concerned when we give up our faith in materialism and pledge our obedience to the God of the Bible.   We will be tempted to worship the god of materialism and god of hard work, and the god of wealth and retirement accounts, and the god of a big house and expensive car.   Our friends and families worship all these gods and expect us to do the same.    But if we pray to God for undivided hearts and the gift of faith then we can withstand these temptations and worship only the true God who answers prayer.

All of this gives us hope that God will not only listen to our prayers, but will also listen to the prayers of the ones we love.   And so we pray for a sign that will convince our loved ones that our faith is true.    And when God answers this prayer we will be jubilant because our loved one are coming to faith.  Let’s pray.

Father in Heaven,   We thank your for your faithfulness and steadfast love.  We know that you provide for us abundant lives.  And you listen to our prayers.  We pray today for those we love.  And we ask that you bring them to faith.   Bless them with your love and forgiveness.  And listen to their prayers.   In your Son’s name we pray.   Amen.