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Prayer
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Week 2 | August 19th

Honest Prayers

Molly Ratliff
Notes

Honest Prayers

Psalm 62:8

"Trust in Him at all times, you people, pour out your heart before Him, God is a refuge for us."

Philippians 4:6

"In every situation, by prayer let your requests be known to God."

The reality is every meaningful relationship requires us to learn four things: how to be together (wk. 1), how to talk honestly (wk. 2), how to trust deeply (wk. 3), and how to work toward the same purpose (wk. 4).

Honest Prayers

Honest - telling the truth; things that are real, genuine, sincere, open and frank about real thoughts or feelings.

Charles Spurgeon"Do not imagine that the Lord looks down with any pleasure upon the tens of thousands of forms of prayer which are presented to him without heart: such forms rather weary him than worship him… The God of truth can never accept an untruthful devotion… Alas, many of our fellow men never pray; and many who think they pray are yet strangers to that sacred exercise. Perhaps you deny that you are thus guilty, for you have always said a prayer, and would not have gone to sleep at night if you had not done so, that I pray you, remember that you may have repeated holy words… and yet may have never prayed a prayer with your heart."

Honest prayers are prayers given to God by who you actually are.

  • The ritual of prayer > the relationship of prayer
  • We don't fully trust we can be honest

Charles Spurgeon"To pretend to be other than we are before God is a hideous madness."

The real sin, the real hypocrisy, is limiting our prayers but pretending God is getting our full heart.

Examples of Honest Prayer in Scripture

  • David - Vindication; forgiveness; praise (Psalm 109:1-2, 4, 7-13; Psalm 51; Psalm 28)
  • Elijah - Overwhelmed and depressed (1 Kings 19:4)
  • Jonah - Questioned God's ways (Jonah 4:1-3)
  • Father - Faith and doubt (Mark 9)
  • Jesus - Soul exceedingly sorrowful (Matthew 26:38-39)
  • Joshua - Bold request (Joshua 10:12)

Psalm 109:1-2, 4

"Do not keep silent, O God of my praise! For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful have opened against me… But I give myself to prayer…"

Psalm 109:7-13

"Let his prayer become sin. Let his days be few and let another take his office. Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow. Let his children continually be vagabonds, and beg… In the generation to come let their name be blotted out."

Psalm 62:8

"Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us."

Honest Prayers Are Poured Out

Honest poured out prayers invite God to be a part of all of our life. He becomes the actual God of our life as we are honest and entrust our life to him.

  • Ritual > relationship

  • We don't fully trust we can be honest

  • Prayers of relationship (intimacy)

  • Expressions of faith

Sinclair Ferguson"God, here's what I'm experiencing. Here's what I want. Here's what I'm afraid of. Here's what I don't understand. And I'm bringing it all to you."

We serve a God who is not so small that he cannot handle the reality of who we are. He longs for relationship with us which includes being given access to our real prayers — whether they're prayers of praise and happiness and prayers where we are dreaming and asking for bold things, to the prayers of our deepest pains and questions and doubts.