Text: “Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto
Thee, when I lift up my hands towards Thy Holy oracle.”
Psalm 28:2.
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he/she that cometh to
God must believe that He is (that He exists!), and that He is a rewarder of
them that diligently seek Him.”
Hebrews 11:6.
Good morning, believing prayer-warrior! It would
be a vain exercise indeed for us to spend our time crying out to a Heaven that
did not hear us; or to a Being that we did not fully believe exists! No.
We are not like the atheist, or the agnostic. We have been blessed with
God’s gift of true Christian faith, and we shall, by His grace, continue to use
that gift of trust to call out to Him in worship, praise, and sincere
petitions. Praise God, He is ALWAYS more than ready to receive our
prayers. Hallelujah!
“For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous
(those whom He has made righteous, in Christ Jesus!), and His ears are open
unto their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against them that do
evil.” (1 Peter 3:12)
But what if the Heavens were as brass, and the Lord
refusing to hear us? What a woeful situation that would be! This
was David’s worst nightmare - and it should be ours too - that for some reason
the Lord was not listening to his prayers.
“Behold (look and understand seriously!), the Lord’s
hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither is His ear heavy, that it
cannot hear; BUT your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and
your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear. For your
hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have
spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. None calleth for
justice, nor any pleadeth for truth; they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they
conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.” (Isaiah 59:1-4)
These are the people whose
prayers are NOT heard by the Lord God. Take heed!
“His (God’s) silence is equally full of awe to an
eager supplicant. What a dreadful case should we be in if the Lord should
become forever silent to our prayers!” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David,
page 139)
King Herod, by beheading God’s faithful messenger,
John the Baptist, incurred such a Divine silence - and was forever
doomed. “Then he (Herod) questioned with Him (Jesus) in many words; but
He answered him NOTHING.” What a Divine silence!
“What do we desire God to say? We want Him to let us
know that He hears us; we want to hear Him speak as distinctly to us as we feel
that we have spoken to Him. ’It is said‘, said Rutherford, speaking of
the Saviour’s delay in responding to the request of the Syrophoenician woman,
’He answered not a word’, but it is not said, ‘He heard not a
word.’ Christ often heareth when He doth not answer - His NOT answering is
an answer, and speaks thus - ’Pray on, go on and cry, for the Lord holdeth His
door fast bolted,’ not to keep you out, but that you may know, and knock, and
it shall be opened.” (Philip Bennett Power, 1862)
Verse 1. “…Be not silent
to me. His silence is
equally full of awe to an eager suppliant. What a dreadful case should we
be in if the Lord should become forever silent to our prayers!” (Charles
Haddon Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 139)
Verse 2. “…When I cry
unto Thee. Serious-minded
Christians must take note: it is not a mumbled list of ‘religiously ingrained
words’ that the Psalmist is referring to in this verse; perhaps sent up to the
Lord God while we are half awake and half asleep. No. It is the
alert cry of the regenerate soul that God’s ear is ever open to
hear. When you and I get more serious about our prayer-life, we can
rest assured that the Lord God will get more serious about hearing and
answering our daily petitions. (Dr C.K. McClinton 1947 - ?)
Verse 2. “…When I lift
up my hands toward Thy Holy oracle. Our hands, in Scripture denote our actions, ‘the working of our
hands’. Thus, we must at all times make certain that what we are engaged
in throughout the day is commensurate with the petitions we seek to lift up to
the Lord God at night. If God’s ‘oracle’ is Holy, then it is only open
and attentive to those who lift up Holy hands; actions (including words and
thoughts!) that are sanctified and acceptable to the Presence of a thrice Holy
Lord God of total wrath against all sin. (Dr C.K. McClinton 1947 - ?)
Dictionary Definition: Oracle - (noun) medium or agency of Divine revelation; a
response by or on behalf of God; the place where such responses are given; the
Jewish sanctuary; the Word of God… (The Chambers Dictionary, page 1139)
When seeking to come before God’s Holy Presence in
prayer, we must come to God the Father, through God the Son, Jesus Christ; in
the power of God the Holy Spirit - and all and only by the way of the Cross of
Christ’s full Atonement Sacrifice at Calvary. We can come no other way.
Therefore, it is a Spiritually healthy practice, to commence our time in prayer
to God Almighty with a sincere plea for renewed sanctification, cleansing from
all the sins we have committed that day - in word, thought, or deed. Then
the way is clear for us to worship, praise, thank and petition our High and
Holy Lord God. Let us ’…lift up HOLY hands…’ as we lift up our prayers to
Him.
Thought: We cannot sup
with Satan and sin - then pray at God’s table of grace!
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