(Editor’s note: This is the first of a two part article.)
Scripture: Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16
I believe David wrote Psalm 91 as a prayer and praise to God for helping him conquer so many wars and protecting him and his people, the Israelites. We love David’s prayers. David’s intimacy with God is amazing.
For Christians, the practice of spiritual disciplines helps us to grow closer to God, to move from glory to glory in our sanctification, and to appropriate the secrets of the kingdom that God so dearly wants to share with us. Other disciplines include: worship, praise and thanksgiving; however, for me “prayer” invokes the presence of God in an amazing and engulfing way, where we feel, see, touch the presence of God oftentimes as if we are floating on a cloud and are assured that God is walking with us on this spiritual journey every step of the way.
The psalmist shares with us the importance of prayer and how prayer is the very lifeline of a child of God. The psalmist says, “He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” What beautiful imagery. God is covering us and protecting us, loving on us, lifting our spirits when we need to be lifted, leading and guiding us.
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What is prayer? Prayer is communicating with God. Prayer is our most important spiritual discipline.
There are several types of prayers:
1. Breath Prayers: Lord have mercy. The car in front of you almost ran into you, so you pray: Thank you, Jesus. Your daughter brings home straight A’s on her report card: You say, “Praise, God!”
2. Prayers of petition: We ask God for something that we need that is in the will of God.
3. Prayer of intercession: Praying for others.
4. Prayers of adoration and praise: We praise God for being merciful and kind and compassionate. We praise God for being God.
We pray the names of God in adoration and praise to let God know that we respect and love God’s marvelous character traits: We may say, “God you’re my Jehovah Jireh, God My Provider; you’re my Jehovah Shalom, God I know my peace comes from you. You’re my Jehovah Shama, you are near us. Jehovah Rophe, you’re our Healer.”
We praise God for the many blessings God has given us: food, clothing, shelter, spiritual gifts, free will, uplifting pastimes, hobbies, etc. God deserves our prayers of adoration and praise.
5. Prayers of lament or sorrow that we spent the last two Sundays lifting up to God as we studied Jeremiah and God assured us of His presence in spite of our sinful natures. When we experience sadness and just can’t seem to shake the feeling, we give God our sorrow and ask God to heal our pain. Sometimes God encourages us to help with His healing of someone else and as we help others, we, too, receive healing.
6. Prayers of promise: Praying God’s promises back to God are a wonderful way to let God know how much you love His Holy Word and how your faith in God will not waiver during difficult times.
In Psalm, 91, the writer prays to God prayers of assurance, adoration, praise, faith, and conviction. When we pray, we should have faith that God can answer our prayers: YES, NO, WAIT. However, we should also realize that God knows what is best for us, so if God does not answer our prayers right away, we know God will give us what we need and then some. Remember those Hebrew boys? They said, “Even if God does not deliver us, we will not bow down to you.”
Our prayers should be filled with the assurance that God can and will answer our prayers. Our prayers should express our faith in God, our love for God, and our desire for God to use us for the building of God’s kingdom.
In Psalm 91, the writer knows the power of continuous prayer. He that “dwells.” The life of a Christian is a life of prayer. Pray without ceasing. Prayer is realizing God’s presence at all times and asking God to help us live this life in a world that does not honor God. Seasoned Christians pray several times during the day. Mature Christians include God in daily chores, when on the road, at work, at play, during hard times and good times realizing that God is only a prayer away.
Where’s your secret place? Seasoned Christians have an intentional quiet time with God, one on one — a place where they meet God each day, a place where they can feel the presence of God right where they are in the quiet of their home. Some have told me that place is the bathroom, while others say it is the loft or the basement or outside in nature, around God’s creation.
Wherever your secret place is, honor that time with God and try to keep your appointment with God. I promise you, God will show up in the same place in the same time with you, if you are intentional about the time and place where you have one-on-one time with God.
The secret place can be anywhere. When someone is yelling at you, you can pray silently even in the midst of that trying situation in order to maintain your holiness and ask God how you should respond. There is a secret place when you get pulled over by the police for speeding, so you pray to God for only a warning ticket.
There is a secret place for many on their jobs, where one can go and pray, even if just for a moment on the job, when work gets tough or when hours are too long, 12 hour days, where you can feel the presence of God and be heard and cared for by God.
The Rev. Edna Morgan is pastor of St. Luke United Methodist Church in Pine Bluff. Her husband, David Morgan, is a retired pastor in the Arkansas Conference, and together, they established a 501(c) (3) non-profit retreat center, Healing Place Ministries, in 2004, that serves the Pine Bluff and Jefferson County areas.
Editor’s note: Pastors, ministers or other writers interested in writing for this section may submit articles for consideration to shope@adgnewsroom.com. Writers should have connections to Southeast Arkansas. Please include your name, phone number and the name and location of your church or ministry.