A Call to Prayer Session 4 | Waiting on the Lord Big Ideas: • Distraction and Influence • Biblical Meditation Defined and Practiced Recap: Prayer is a much larger conversation but really does boil down to a few key elements. • Intimacy with God (abide in Christ) (our Father) • Worship of God (awe, respect, fear) (Recognizing my dependence upon Him) (His will not mine) • Repentance of sin (acknowledge and turn from) • Honoring God's word (awe, respect, fear) • Obeying God's word. (do what it says) • Prayer should be experienced and lived out in light of your biblical world view and not simply systematic theology and doctrine. • Who your faith is in and according to His will. Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. “The first quarter of an hour thus spent in attempted meditation will be, a time of warfare: which should at least convince you how unruly, how ill-educated is your attention, how miserably ineffective your will, how far away you are from the captaincy of your own soul.” -Evelyn Underhill Isaiah 30:15 For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” But you would not How many hours in a year=8670 The average number of hours each year we spend on activities: • Music - 616 • Sleeping - 2,959 • Eating - 428 • Driving - 506 • Working - 2,000+ • Surfing the internet - 377 • Tv - 1,073 • School - 900-1,000 (Kids K-12) • Church attendance - 40 2 Corinthians 10:4-6 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. What did Jesus do? Mark 1:35 “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.” Luke 4:16 “So, He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.” Luke 6:12 “Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God.” Matthew 14:13 “When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself.” Mark 6:31-32 “And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.32 So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.” The Hebrew words Haga and Sjach are most often translated into our English Bibles as the word meditate. They carry additional meanings such as “mutter, moan, whisper, reflect, rehearse, and muse.” The Greek word most often used in the New Testament and translated as meditate is Logizomai and means “to reckon, consider, dwell, number, reason, take into account.” Joshua 1:8 “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then, you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Psalm 119:15 “I will meditate on Your precepts and contemplate Your ways.” Psalm 1:2 “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law, he meditates day and night.” Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” 1 Timothy 4:15 “Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.” Psalm 42:1-6 “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? 3My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say to me, ‘Where is your God?’ 4 When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast. 5 Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance. 6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me; therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan, and from the heights of Hermon, From the Hill Mizar.” Psalm 30:1-6 “Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice! let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. 3 If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, o Lord, who could stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared. 5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope. 6 My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning— yes, more than those who watch for the morning.” • The psalmist directed his attention to pursue God and remain still before Him while waiting on God. • He poured out his soul pain in the vulnerable petition because He knew the character and faithfulness of His God. The term cry out means “calling, shouting, proclaiming, announcing, reciting, and summoning.” He did not withhold his feelings as He already knew God understood his weak state. • He acknowledged the deep state of despair he was in. He did not play games with God. The word depths can be defined as “deep places.” The writer was feeling this pain in deep places and could only be calmed by God Himself. He allowed his emotions to be freely expressed before God in the form of tears and petition. • The writer was meditating on God’s faithfulness and character amid his calamity. • Vulnerability with God opens the gateway to soul health but can also be extremely difficult. ++To be vulnerable means “capable of or susceptible to being wounded or hurt, open to moral attack, criticism, temptation, and assault, and difficult to defend.” Psalm 46:10 (context of Gods greatness) Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! Take Away: Question: When you read about the spiritual disciplines of being still before God and biblical meditation, what did you learn, and what challenges do you see to live this out? Question: Do you have a regular and intentional sabbath scheduled into your average week? Question: What are some very practical and straightforward ways to apply the spiritual disciplines of being still before God and biblical meditation?