Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

Bookends For Effective Prayer

PSALM 136:1-2, 26 – Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

 

THEME OF THE DAY:  BOOKENDS FOR EFFECTIVE PRAYER.  Of the one hundred and fifty Psalms, two stand out unique.  The obvious one is the one hundred nineteenth. It contains  a hundred seventy-six verses and each one is an exposition of the scriptures.  This whole Psalm is about God’s Word. It exalts the Word.  The author shows intense delight for the Word.  If we are Christians who may have drifted a little in our spiritual fervency for God’s Word, run and bury ourselves in this Psalm.  It will enflame our hearts once again for holy scriptures.

 

The other unique Psalm is referenced in today’s scripture; the one hundred thirty-sixth Psalm.  Its distinction is not in length. It only contains twenty-six verses.  There are two things setting this portion of God’s Word apart from the others.  First is the way it starts and finishes.  Today’s scripture contains the two opening and one closing verses.  The repeated theme in both is the giving of thanks for God’s steadfast love. The second distinction in the hundred thirty sixth Psalm is the repetition.  Every verse, all twenty-six, end with the words for His steadfast love endures forever.

 

Now let’s make an application of these distinctions in our prayer lives, but first a little self-evaluation by way of a question containing a contrast.  Are our prayer lives characterized more by giving thanks to God or asking God to do or give us something? If the latter, I venture to say we are struggling with prayer in consistency of practice, enjoyment of the practice and vitality in the practice. If God is just our servant to answer prayer, or a “divine vending machine” passively waiting for us to put our petitions in the slot, push the button and get the answer, we not only are failing to understand prayer, but it is lifeless and mechanical.  Well, to prevent such a stale prayer life, make the giving of thanks be the bookends holding up our prayer lives and to do so meditating on the steadfast love of God.

 

When we start prayer giving thanks to the Lord, end our prayers giving thanks to the Lord, and that because we live aware of the incredible and undeserving love of God to us, prayer becomes what God designed if for.  It is a spiritual relationship of fellowship with our Heavenly Father through our Mediator, elder Brother, Jesus by the blessed, dove-like Holy Spirit.  Prayer becomes a delight of discipline we cannot ignore or won’t neglect.  This communication with God is too precious to us!  But there is something else extremely important and makes all this possible.

 

The giving of thanks to God is not natural for human beings.  It is a fruit of the work of God’s Spirit. In fact, the Apostle Paul tells us in the fifth chapter of his letter to the Ephesians, a sign of being filled with God’s Spirit is the giving of thanks – And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:18-20).

 

What does that have to do with a prayer life with bookends of giving of thanks to the Lord?  Everything.  It means there is no real prayer life without the Spirit of God filling and controlling the Christian.  And when that is happening?  Bookends in prayer – giving thanks – will shape our prayer lives!

 

PRAYER: “Father, help me shape my prayer life around You, not me, in the spirit of thanksgiving.”

 

QUOTE: “When we concentrate on the steadfast love of God, we cannot help but give thanks.”

 

Because of Him,

 

Pastor Jim