Page 57 - Psalms Ebook

and stale, I pray to the Lord to visit me. “O, visit me with Thy
salvation.” Ask God to help you get into the habit of praying in the very
words of Scripture. And Psalms is not the end. Do not be limited to
Psalms. But it is a good place to start if you want some real wonderful
prayers

Let me suggest a second way the prayers in Psalms helps us get to the
heart of God and help us in our prayer life. Once again, our key verse.
Psalm 62:8, “Trust in Him at all times O people; Pour out your heart
before Him.” Prayer, in its essence, is a pouring out of the heart before
God. It is a spiritual pouring out. It takes place in the depths of your
soul.

Now in my own life, as I told you, I have what I call master key prayers.
I incline to pray generally. Lillian inclines to pray specifically. If you
want something specific, do not call me, call Lillian. She will pray for
you. If you want a general truth, call me. Now, who is right? Lillian or
me? The answer is Psalm 62:8 is right – “pour out your heart”. It is
always right to pour out your heart. If I pray general prayers and I do not
pour out my heart, I have not prayed. If she prays specific prayers but
her heart is not in it, she has not prayed. The point is the pouring out of
your heart. Let me put it this way. It is always right to pour out your
heart even if you break every rule about prayer. If you are pouring out
your heart God will honor that, and do not worry about prayer.

In my library I have a set of books on prayer. It is quite a big set. In
fact, I counted the volumes last night and there were fifty-three. You
know, they cover the whole thing – what is prayer, how to pray, and
what are the conditions of prayer. Lots of info. Almost all of them
emphasize the same thing. That prayer is taught and that it is
conversation with God. In that connection there is a wonderful verse in
Hosea 14. I love it! Verse 1 and 2. God says, “Take with you words.”
I do not have anything to give God, but I have words. “Take with you
words and say to Him,” and then he gives you the words to say as well.
It is a wonderful passage.

But, is prayer taking words to God? Well, not really. Because there is a
problem. In Matthew 6 Jesus warns us, in verse 7, “you are not heard
because of many words”. It is deeper than words. It is not only words.
Isaiah 29, God said: “Their lips honor me, but their hearts are far from
me.” It is possible to have words and miss the whole point of prayer.
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