Page 56 - Psalms Ebook

teaching the objective truth of God. She says stay away from your
applications; let them apply it themselves and just give them the truth.
“Set a guard over your lips.”

It is a wonderful prayer. When I study, over and over again I use Psalm
119, verses 18 and 19. Perhaps you have used this as well. “Open my
eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law.” What a
Bible study prayer! Applying the indispensable principle.

Psalm 119: 133: “Do not let any iniquity have dominion over me.” See
how short that is? But what a wonderful prayer it is. “Do not let any
iniquity,” that is a telescopic prayer. Later on when we get into the
Penitential Psalms I will show you the difference between microscopic
prayer and telescopic prayer. But here is an illustration of telescopic
prayer where you just pray in a shotgun way. He is not saying deliver
me from lust or deliver me from lying. He is saying do not let any
iniquity have dominion over me. Sometimes you will be more specific
and confess every little sin. Other times you are going to say, Lord,
cleanse me from everything I did in the last year. That is Scriptural, too.
That is telescopic confession and there is a place for it, and we will get
into that.

Psalm 51:7: “Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.” You know
you have just sinned and you come before the Lord with no words left.
One little sentence and it is done. “Wash me and I shall be whiter than
snow.”

I think some of you know in August of 1996 that I had a little problem,
like many people do, with a blockage in my heart. When I was up in the
hospital in Providence, I was reading Psalm 90:12 and the Lord made it
alive to my heart: “Teach us to number our days, that we may apply
our hearts to wisdom.” At that time that verse was used to actually
change a major direction in my whole life.

Are you familiar with the shortest prayer in the Bible? Not the shortest
verse, the shortest prayer. Psalm 12:1, “Help, Lord.”
There is one you can always use. Two words. “Help, Lord.” It is one
of those psalms that are just applicable at any time. I could go on and on
and illustrate over and over, but I do not think more would be gained by
that.

Psalm 106:4: “O, visit me with Thy salvation.” And I do not leave out
the “Oh” either. “Ohhhhhhhhhhh, visit me”. That gives intensity to
the prayer, and very often when my heart feels dull and I feel lethargic