Prayers of the Old Testament
The Prayer of David continued...
One of the most loving things God can do for us as His children, is convict us of our unintentional sins, because with each thing God convicts us of, we are that much closer to becoming that which God had intended us to be.
Within the pages of Scripture, God has been compared to a potter who molds the clay in the shape He desires, but who also places the molded clay into the furnace to make it strong and cause it to retain its shape.
Every time God convicts us of something, He is placing us into the furnace, not only forming us into the image He desires us to be, but making us stronger by removing impurities and uncleanness.
As with many a biblical precept and principle, we’ve twisted the notion of chastening within the modern day church, to the point that it is now an unwelcome and undesired event rather than the good and positive thing the Bible tells us it is.
It is for our own good that God convicts us. It is for our own good that God chastens us, and we must respond to His chastening and conviction with all requisite haste.
Acts 17:30-31, “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
Although God overlooks our times of ignorance, when an unintentional sin is revealed to us, when God makes it known whether through His word or through His servants, it is incumbent upon us to repent of it. We come before God with our prayers of repentance as David did, asking God to forgive all that would stand as a stumbling block between ourselves and His glory. We ask God for forgiveness, knowing He is faithful to forgive, knowing He is just to render to each according to His righteousness, and to mend the broken and contrite heart when it cries out to Him.
Another of David’s prayers which has been close to my heart since first reading the passage in the book of Psalms many years ago – and a prayer I often repeat myself during my time with the Lord – is for a closer and more profound spiritual walk with God.
David was wise enough to know that absent a clean heart and a steadfast spirit, one cannot have a true, lasting, vibrant and profound spiritual walk with God. As such, David’s prayer was not for the thing itself, but for the virtues which would facilitate the thing in his life.
David did not pray for a closer spiritual walk, he prayed for the steadfastness and clean heart which he knew would inevitably bring him closer to the Lord.
Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
Seeing as having a clean heart is of great import, what does having a clean heart entail?
Personally I believe a clean heart is a heart made clean by the blood of Christ, but also a heart which is sincere in all its doings, wherein what is in our heart and what is on our lips are one and the same thing.
If there is conflict between what is in our hearts and what is on our lips, if we think one thing and speak another, then our hearts are not clean.
A clean heart begins from within. It is something which cannot be taught, it is something for which no manual exists. It is a work between us and God, facilitated by our willingness to forego our own will and be wholly submitted to His authority.
Psalm 24:3-4, “Who may ascent into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully.”
Who can stand in God’s holy place? The word of God is very specific as to the group of individuals who will ascend into the hill of the Lord and stand in His holy place. By what David tells us via the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we realize that it has nothing to do with one’s denomination, age, gender, or nationality, but with whether or not they have clean hands, a pure heart, have not lifted their soul to an idol, or sworn deceitfully.
Through Christ and His shed blood we are transformed into such individuals, we are renewed, born again, having pure hearts where once our hearts were evil, having clean hands where once our hands were stained.
As we follow this train of thought to its rightful conclusion, we also come to understand that though some might call themselves brothers or sisters, though some might call themselves believers, they are believers in name only because their hands have not been made clean, nor have their hearts been purified.
Countless souls today actively practice idolatry and lift up their souls to idols, all the while claiming to be faithful followers of Christ.
More could be said, but I will refrain, because we are studying the prayer life of David, and not all the idols idolatrous idolaters worship in our day and age.
The other thing David prayed for was a steadfast spirit.
In order to be steadfast, one needs some sort of trouble or difficulty, because the definition of steadfastness is loyalty in the face of said trouble or difficulty.
Men can claim to be steadfast, but until their season of trouble comes they are but mere blustering braggarts, going about inflating their own egos.
When we pray for a steadfast spirit, we are praying for God to give us the boldness, the courage, the forthrightness, and loyalty to withstand the attacks of the enemy, to hold our position and to stand our ground.
Pray for a steadfast spirit only once you’ve understood what it all entails, and are prepared to be on the frontline of the battle. A steadfast spirit implies that you will meet the enemy head on when others are fleeing, that you will stand your ground when others are retreating, and that you will advance the cause of the kingdom of God when others are about their own business.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Monday, November 19, 2012
Good News and Bad News!
We have no more and no less than twenty-four hours in a given day. No matter how much we attempt to stretch time, unless God does for us as He did for Joshua, chances are, try as we might to manipulate, compartmentalize, and manage it a day will still have but twenty-four hours.
Because I cannot make time stand still, nor replicate myself, I am forced to juggle projects throughout the week, attempting to be faithful to every task I have undertaken thus far.
If the number of things I was juggling would stay unchanged, then there would be no need for this article because I could manage them well enough.
Those of you, who know me, know I don’t go chasing after more than what God has already put on my plate. I am as content with where God has me today as I was where He had me ten years ago. I have long since learned the invaluable lesson that it’s not about me, but about Him, and I will do anything He asks of me, regardless of how lowly some might deem it to be.
Although I didn’t go looking for more things to do, God has nevertheless opened a new avenue for our ministry, one He has compelled us to pursue.
Starting in January, we will be on no less than twelve radio stations throughout the United States, from Nebraska, to South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
Since radio programs don’t record themselves, I will have to once again divvy up my time in such a way where it will be possible for me to record these programs. I’ve also been working on new ‘truth in a nutshell’ teachings, which we will be filming beginning this week.
The good news is that God is opening up new avenues for us to preach the Gospel. The bad news, especially for those of you who are daily readers of this blog, is that I will not be able to post with the frequency I’ve been posting, since these projects will be taking up a substantial chunk of my time.
I will do my best to be faithful in continuing with the series on prayer, as I do believe it is a worthwhile and necessary teaching for the Body of Christ especially in the days to come, but if I don’t post every day or even every other day, I hope you can understand the reason why.
I ask that you keep me, my family, and this ministry in your prayers, as I believe the Lord is about to increase our workload exponentially.
Since the times are what they are, I will be posting more thoughts on the current events we are seeing taking place all around us and the prophetic ramifications of said events as pertains to Bible prophecy.
One thing is certain: the times are upon us, and we would be wise to enter into this season prayed up, fasted up, and grounded in the truth of God’s holy word.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Because I cannot make time stand still, nor replicate myself, I am forced to juggle projects throughout the week, attempting to be faithful to every task I have undertaken thus far.
If the number of things I was juggling would stay unchanged, then there would be no need for this article because I could manage them well enough.
Those of you, who know me, know I don’t go chasing after more than what God has already put on my plate. I am as content with where God has me today as I was where He had me ten years ago. I have long since learned the invaluable lesson that it’s not about me, but about Him, and I will do anything He asks of me, regardless of how lowly some might deem it to be.
Although I didn’t go looking for more things to do, God has nevertheless opened a new avenue for our ministry, one He has compelled us to pursue.
Starting in January, we will be on no less than twelve radio stations throughout the United States, from Nebraska, to South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
Since radio programs don’t record themselves, I will have to once again divvy up my time in such a way where it will be possible for me to record these programs. I’ve also been working on new ‘truth in a nutshell’ teachings, which we will be filming beginning this week.
The good news is that God is opening up new avenues for us to preach the Gospel. The bad news, especially for those of you who are daily readers of this blog, is that I will not be able to post with the frequency I’ve been posting, since these projects will be taking up a substantial chunk of my time.
I will do my best to be faithful in continuing with the series on prayer, as I do believe it is a worthwhile and necessary teaching for the Body of Christ especially in the days to come, but if I don’t post every day or even every other day, I hope you can understand the reason why.
I ask that you keep me, my family, and this ministry in your prayers, as I believe the Lord is about to increase our workload exponentially.
Since the times are what they are, I will be posting more thoughts on the current events we are seeing taking place all around us and the prophetic ramifications of said events as pertains to Bible prophecy.
One thing is certain: the times are upon us, and we would be wise to enter into this season prayed up, fasted up, and grounded in the truth of God’s holy word.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
A Belated Freeform Friday
This morning I woke up thinking about my grandmother. She passed away a couple years before my grandfather did, in fact, as a family we always assumed the loss of her quickened his own demise.
Even though my grandfather loved my grandmother dearly she was neither a lighthearted nor carefree spirit. Most individuals who got a chance to meet my grandmother would say she was a hard woman, and to an extent they were right, but if they had known of her childhood and how she grew up perhaps they would have understood where her mannerisms and overall demeanor stemmed from.
The reason I am mentioning my grandmother in today’s post, is because she is the only person who truly defined poverty for me, and at a young age to boot. No, she didn’t know she was defining poverty for me, in her mind she was just telling us stories of her childhood and how she grew up those awful years after the war.
Today I hear the term ‘poverty’ thrown about more often than ever before. From more people in America – the land of plenty – descending below the poverty line, to more people than ever before living in poverty, it seems the word itself has lost meaning for many people.
Poverty is not owning one flat screen instead of two, it is not owning one car per family instead of two, true poverty is eating dirt because there is nothing else to eat and you can’t stand to hear your stomach rumble anymore.
Whenever my grandmother would tell us how her and the other girls in the village would eat dirt and see an earthworm as a treat, she would get this haunted look in her eyes that to this day I cannot describe.
Am I trying to make a case for how great things are? No, I’m just trying to open your eyes to the reality that it will get much, much worse.
In this nation we have never known true poverty except perhaps during the great depression, but those who lived through such times are long gone, and we do not believe we will ever see such times again.
Even in a country such as my homeland where people suffered under the iron fist of communism for forty-five years, the younger generation no longer understands why their parents and grandparents always put away cheese, pickle vegetables, cure meats, and other things just so they have some food on hand for any eventuality.
They do not understand it, because even though times got hard, they never had to resort to eating dirt, or tree bark, or grass just to keep from starving.
So what’s the point of today’s post? Am I trying to scare you? Am I starting my own meals ready to eat company and told you this story as a way to drum up business? No. I just woke up thinking about my grandmother, and about the stories she told of when she was a little girl, and decided to share it with you so you might understand the true meaning of hunger, of need, of lack, and of poverty.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Even though my grandfather loved my grandmother dearly she was neither a lighthearted nor carefree spirit. Most individuals who got a chance to meet my grandmother would say she was a hard woman, and to an extent they were right, but if they had known of her childhood and how she grew up perhaps they would have understood where her mannerisms and overall demeanor stemmed from.
The reason I am mentioning my grandmother in today’s post, is because she is the only person who truly defined poverty for me, and at a young age to boot. No, she didn’t know she was defining poverty for me, in her mind she was just telling us stories of her childhood and how she grew up those awful years after the war.
Today I hear the term ‘poverty’ thrown about more often than ever before. From more people in America – the land of plenty – descending below the poverty line, to more people than ever before living in poverty, it seems the word itself has lost meaning for many people.
Poverty is not owning one flat screen instead of two, it is not owning one car per family instead of two, true poverty is eating dirt because there is nothing else to eat and you can’t stand to hear your stomach rumble anymore.
Whenever my grandmother would tell us how her and the other girls in the village would eat dirt and see an earthworm as a treat, she would get this haunted look in her eyes that to this day I cannot describe.
Am I trying to make a case for how great things are? No, I’m just trying to open your eyes to the reality that it will get much, much worse.
In this nation we have never known true poverty except perhaps during the great depression, but those who lived through such times are long gone, and we do not believe we will ever see such times again.
Even in a country such as my homeland where people suffered under the iron fist of communism for forty-five years, the younger generation no longer understands why their parents and grandparents always put away cheese, pickle vegetables, cure meats, and other things just so they have some food on hand for any eventuality.
They do not understand it, because even though times got hard, they never had to resort to eating dirt, or tree bark, or grass just to keep from starving.
So what’s the point of today’s post? Am I trying to scare you? Am I starting my own meals ready to eat company and told you this story as a way to drum up business? No. I just woke up thinking about my grandmother, and about the stories she told of when she was a little girl, and decided to share it with you so you might understand the true meaning of hunger, of need, of lack, and of poverty.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Friday, November 16, 2012
PRAY FOR ISRAEL!
Nothing more need be said. Pray for Israel as you would for your own kin as their season of turmoil begins. God keep them and protect them.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Taking the Day!
Today I'm driving my wife to the airport. She is returning to Romania, and I'm going to spend the monring with her because to be honest, I'm going to miss her, and I want to spend as much time as I can with her before she leaves. We will commence with our teachings tomorrow, but for today, no post other than to tell you there will be no post. God bless.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Lord, Teach Us To Pray! Part 201
Prayers of the Old Testament
The Prayer of David continued...
As flawed a figure as David is, it is undeniable he is also a highly relatable figure. Because there is so much of David within the pages of Scripture, it is nigh near impossible not to find an aspect of David’s life with which we can relate.
David was not a man who was embarrassed to ask for God’s forgiveness when he stumbled. He was not one to attempt to blame it on someone else as Adam was wont to do, nor was he a man that skirted responsibility for his actions.
As such, one of David’s most often prayed prayers of petition was petitioning God for forgiveness.
Psalm 25:11, “For Your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great.”
Psalm 25:18, “Look on my affliction, and my pain, and forgive all my sins.”
Whenever David asked God for forgiveness, he admitted his guilt before God. One does not ask to be forgiven if they haven’t done anything to be forgiven of. David knew of his own iniquity, he knew of his own sins, and when he prayed to God he did not attempt to minimize these things, or present himself before God as someone different than whom he was.
When we petition God for forgiveness, what we are doing is asking God to be spared punishment. Being aware of our own guilt, we must likewise be aware of the punishment we are deserving of, and in our petitions for forgiveness we are asking God to pardon, and not punish us as we would rightly deserve.
We serve a good God, a God who forgives when we ask for forgiveness, a God who pardons when we petition Him for a pardon. It is His good pleasure to forgive us, but we must repent and ask for forgiveness.
Isaiah 43:25-26, “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins. Put Me in remembrance; Let us contend together; State your case that you may be acquitted.”
Isaiah 44:22, “I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
This is God speaking to His own people. He is not speaking to the godless, to the heathen, to those who never knew Him, but to those who know Him and have transgressed, and sinned. It is to His own that God makes the generous offer of blotting out their transgressions and their sins, if they put Him in remembrance, and state their case before Him.
Isaiah 55:7, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”
David knew of God’s requirements when he came before Him asking for forgiveness. David knew that true repentance required the forsaking of one’s way, and a return to the Lord, who would then have mercy.
Just saying we’re sorry or asking for forgiveness in our prayers is not sufficient in and of itself. What God requires of us, is a turning, a forsaking of our wicked ways, and an embracing of righteousness and sanctification. God does not forgive just so we return to the mire from which He plucked us. He does not cleanse us, and give us white garments just so we get them muddy again, returning to our former thoughts, desires and lusts.
Not only does David pray that his iniquities and sins be forgiven him, he also prays to be forgiven of his secret faults and presumptuous sins.
Psalm 19:12-13, “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression.”
There are intentional, willful sins, transgressions men commit knowing full well exactly what they are doing, then there are unintentional sins, or sins committed through error. David repents and asks forgiveness for his intentional sins, but also for his unintentional sins.
Yes, the notion of unintentional sin is a Biblical one, and we find it within the pages of Scripture.
Leviticus 4:1-2, “Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a person sins unintentionally against any of the commandments of the Lord in anything which out not to be done, and does any of them, if the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, then let him offer to the Lord for his sin which he has sinned a young bull without blemish as a sin offering.”
The notion of unintentional sin is mentioned no less than six times within this chapter alone, and God was aware of this facet of human existence, and he included it in His Word.
There are many today within the household of faith who practice unintentional sin, because they are unaware that God considers what they are doing sinful. Ignorance of God’s word begets unintentional sin, and I’ve heard people saying ‘I didn’t know that was a sin,’ far too often within many a congregation.
The consequence of not defining what God considers sin, the consequence of not preaching against sin, is myriads of men and women who are sinning unintentionally because no one ever told them their practice was sinful.
When we clearly define what is acceptable and what is not acceptable, what is sin and what isn’t sin, then at least we know we’ve done our part, and those who have heard our words have no excuse for not adhering to the Word of the living God.
It is neither loving nor tolerant to see someone calling themselves a believer, practicing what the Bible clearly defines as sinful, and not pointing it out to them.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
The Prayer of David continued...
As flawed a figure as David is, it is undeniable he is also a highly relatable figure. Because there is so much of David within the pages of Scripture, it is nigh near impossible not to find an aspect of David’s life with which we can relate.
David was not a man who was embarrassed to ask for God’s forgiveness when he stumbled. He was not one to attempt to blame it on someone else as Adam was wont to do, nor was he a man that skirted responsibility for his actions.
As such, one of David’s most often prayed prayers of petition was petitioning God for forgiveness.
Psalm 25:11, “For Your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great.”
Psalm 25:18, “Look on my affliction, and my pain, and forgive all my sins.”
Whenever David asked God for forgiveness, he admitted his guilt before God. One does not ask to be forgiven if they haven’t done anything to be forgiven of. David knew of his own iniquity, he knew of his own sins, and when he prayed to God he did not attempt to minimize these things, or present himself before God as someone different than whom he was.
When we petition God for forgiveness, what we are doing is asking God to be spared punishment. Being aware of our own guilt, we must likewise be aware of the punishment we are deserving of, and in our petitions for forgiveness we are asking God to pardon, and not punish us as we would rightly deserve.
We serve a good God, a God who forgives when we ask for forgiveness, a God who pardons when we petition Him for a pardon. It is His good pleasure to forgive us, but we must repent and ask for forgiveness.
Isaiah 43:25-26, “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins. Put Me in remembrance; Let us contend together; State your case that you may be acquitted.”
Isaiah 44:22, “I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
This is God speaking to His own people. He is not speaking to the godless, to the heathen, to those who never knew Him, but to those who know Him and have transgressed, and sinned. It is to His own that God makes the generous offer of blotting out their transgressions and their sins, if they put Him in remembrance, and state their case before Him.
Isaiah 55:7, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”
David knew of God’s requirements when he came before Him asking for forgiveness. David knew that true repentance required the forsaking of one’s way, and a return to the Lord, who would then have mercy.
Just saying we’re sorry or asking for forgiveness in our prayers is not sufficient in and of itself. What God requires of us, is a turning, a forsaking of our wicked ways, and an embracing of righteousness and sanctification. God does not forgive just so we return to the mire from which He plucked us. He does not cleanse us, and give us white garments just so we get them muddy again, returning to our former thoughts, desires and lusts.
Not only does David pray that his iniquities and sins be forgiven him, he also prays to be forgiven of his secret faults and presumptuous sins.
Psalm 19:12-13, “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression.”
There are intentional, willful sins, transgressions men commit knowing full well exactly what they are doing, then there are unintentional sins, or sins committed through error. David repents and asks forgiveness for his intentional sins, but also for his unintentional sins.
Yes, the notion of unintentional sin is a Biblical one, and we find it within the pages of Scripture.
Leviticus 4:1-2, “Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a person sins unintentionally against any of the commandments of the Lord in anything which out not to be done, and does any of them, if the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, then let him offer to the Lord for his sin which he has sinned a young bull without blemish as a sin offering.”
The notion of unintentional sin is mentioned no less than six times within this chapter alone, and God was aware of this facet of human existence, and he included it in His Word.
There are many today within the household of faith who practice unintentional sin, because they are unaware that God considers what they are doing sinful. Ignorance of God’s word begets unintentional sin, and I’ve heard people saying ‘I didn’t know that was a sin,’ far too often within many a congregation.
The consequence of not defining what God considers sin, the consequence of not preaching against sin, is myriads of men and women who are sinning unintentionally because no one ever told them their practice was sinful.
When we clearly define what is acceptable and what is not acceptable, what is sin and what isn’t sin, then at least we know we’ve done our part, and those who have heard our words have no excuse for not adhering to the Word of the living God.
It is neither loving nor tolerant to see someone calling themselves a believer, practicing what the Bible clearly defines as sinful, and not pointing it out to them.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Lord, Teach Us To Pray! Part 200
Prayers of the Old Testament
The Prayer of David continued...
There are many prayers David prayed within the pages of the Bible which are worthy of introspection and discussion, so it has proven quite difficult isolating two or three prayers to delve into.
Since David was a man of prayer and a man dependent upon God, it is a worthwhile pursuit to understand what prayer meant to him. Yes, David prayed many prayers, but in the prayers we’ve discussed thus far, and the prayer we will discuss shortly, we come to understand what the act of prayer meant to David, and the value he placed upon it.
You can tell allot about a man’s relationship with God by how he values prayer. You can tell how strong or how weak one’s intimacy with the Father is, by how often they bend the knee, and come before God in fellowship.
No man ever stumbled because he prayed too much or too often or too long. No man ever stumbled because he spent too much time in fellowship with God or in God’s presence.
Men have stumbled, and continue to do so to this day because they neglect prayer, fellowship and intimacy with God, thereby allowing the enemy to worm his way into their hearts.
Thus far we have discussed David’s prayer of thanks to God for having blessed him, David’s prayer of repentance when he strayed, and now we will begin discussing David’s prayers of recognition regarding God’s sovereignty, as well as David’s prayers of petition toward God.
Psalm 27:1, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
When an individual comes to acknowledge that ‘the Lord is,’ their entire prayer life is transformed, as is the way in which they approach God.
Three simple words: ‘The Lord is’ yet the declaration these three words make are forceful and all encompassing.
What have I to fear if the Lord is? What have I to be concerned with if the Lord is?
What is the Lord to you? To David, the Lord was his light, his salvation, and the strength of his life. David knew in whom he trusted, and why he trusted in Him.
When David declares that ‘the Lord is,’ he isn’t merely acknowledging the existence of God. David’s declaration goes beyond mere knowledge of God’s existence, to the realm of intimate knowledge of His attributes, and those things for which He was directly responsible in David’s life.
David did not mistake what God had done for him with his own doings, or the doings of another. He did not take the credit for his strength or the light he possessed because he knew from whence they came.
Beholding the tenderness, love, and heartfelt emotion with which David prayed, we come to realize the deep knowledge he possessed of God and the ways of God.
Psalm 27:10, “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me.”
David recognized the perpetual faithfulness of God. He knew God would not abandon him in difficult times, when his enemies surrounded him, when his friends abandoned him, or when his own parents forsook him.
Barring the requisite exceptions we can all agree that one’s mother and father are likely the last individuals to abandon you. Though friends, brothers, acquaintances and spouses might forsake you, your mother and father will stick it out.
David rests fully in the faithfulness of God, and the words of his prayer testify his absolute certainty that God will never abandon him.
Do we possess the same certainty as David did? Do we know to the depth of our heart that though our father and mother might forsake us the Lord will take care of us no matter what?
As children of God this must be an unshakeable reality in our hearts.
It matters not what we are going through, how many enemies we might have, how many legions of the enemy’s minions stand against us, the Lord will take care of us.
The knowledge that God is ever present, ready to step in and take care of me makes my journey light and carefree even during the most treacherous moments. I know He is there, I know He will take care, what more can I desire?
David honors God from the depth of his heart, and acknowledges his dependence upon him.
Oh, that we would learn to pray as David prayed, with sincerity and forthrightness giving glory to He who is worthy of glory.
Psalm 18:1-3, “I will love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God my strength, in whom I will trust. My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.”
If we take the time to diligently study the book of Psalms, we come to realize David has prayers of praise, prayers of worship, prayers of thanks, prayers of confession, prayers of repentance, and even prayers of petition.
With all the knowledge David possessed concerning God, we, today ought to possess a greater knowledge of Him still, for He was revealed to us in greater measure and far more vividly through the Son Jesus Christ.
There is no excuse or justification for why the prayer lives of most professing Christians today are largely nonexistent. There is no excuse or justification for why so many professing Christians have a superficial knowledge at best.
We can try to justify it to ourselves, and might even do a good enough job of appeasing and pacifying our conscience, but before God our excuses will not stand.
It’s not that God will not open; it’s that we never knocked. It’s not that God cannot be found; it’s that we never sought Him.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
The Prayer of David continued...
There are many prayers David prayed within the pages of the Bible which are worthy of introspection and discussion, so it has proven quite difficult isolating two or three prayers to delve into.
Since David was a man of prayer and a man dependent upon God, it is a worthwhile pursuit to understand what prayer meant to him. Yes, David prayed many prayers, but in the prayers we’ve discussed thus far, and the prayer we will discuss shortly, we come to understand what the act of prayer meant to David, and the value he placed upon it.
You can tell allot about a man’s relationship with God by how he values prayer. You can tell how strong or how weak one’s intimacy with the Father is, by how often they bend the knee, and come before God in fellowship.
No man ever stumbled because he prayed too much or too often or too long. No man ever stumbled because he spent too much time in fellowship with God or in God’s presence.
Men have stumbled, and continue to do so to this day because they neglect prayer, fellowship and intimacy with God, thereby allowing the enemy to worm his way into their hearts.
Thus far we have discussed David’s prayer of thanks to God for having blessed him, David’s prayer of repentance when he strayed, and now we will begin discussing David’s prayers of recognition regarding God’s sovereignty, as well as David’s prayers of petition toward God.
Psalm 27:1, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
When an individual comes to acknowledge that ‘the Lord is,’ their entire prayer life is transformed, as is the way in which they approach God.
Three simple words: ‘The Lord is’ yet the declaration these three words make are forceful and all encompassing.
What have I to fear if the Lord is? What have I to be concerned with if the Lord is?
What is the Lord to you? To David, the Lord was his light, his salvation, and the strength of his life. David knew in whom he trusted, and why he trusted in Him.
When David declares that ‘the Lord is,’ he isn’t merely acknowledging the existence of God. David’s declaration goes beyond mere knowledge of God’s existence, to the realm of intimate knowledge of His attributes, and those things for which He was directly responsible in David’s life.
David did not mistake what God had done for him with his own doings, or the doings of another. He did not take the credit for his strength or the light he possessed because he knew from whence they came.
Beholding the tenderness, love, and heartfelt emotion with which David prayed, we come to realize the deep knowledge he possessed of God and the ways of God.
Psalm 27:10, “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me.”
David recognized the perpetual faithfulness of God. He knew God would not abandon him in difficult times, when his enemies surrounded him, when his friends abandoned him, or when his own parents forsook him.
Barring the requisite exceptions we can all agree that one’s mother and father are likely the last individuals to abandon you. Though friends, brothers, acquaintances and spouses might forsake you, your mother and father will stick it out.
David rests fully in the faithfulness of God, and the words of his prayer testify his absolute certainty that God will never abandon him.
Do we possess the same certainty as David did? Do we know to the depth of our heart that though our father and mother might forsake us the Lord will take care of us no matter what?
As children of God this must be an unshakeable reality in our hearts.
It matters not what we are going through, how many enemies we might have, how many legions of the enemy’s minions stand against us, the Lord will take care of us.
The knowledge that God is ever present, ready to step in and take care of me makes my journey light and carefree even during the most treacherous moments. I know He is there, I know He will take care, what more can I desire?
David honors God from the depth of his heart, and acknowledges his dependence upon him.
Oh, that we would learn to pray as David prayed, with sincerity and forthrightness giving glory to He who is worthy of glory.
Psalm 18:1-3, “I will love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God my strength, in whom I will trust. My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.”
If we take the time to diligently study the book of Psalms, we come to realize David has prayers of praise, prayers of worship, prayers of thanks, prayers of confession, prayers of repentance, and even prayers of petition.
With all the knowledge David possessed concerning God, we, today ought to possess a greater knowledge of Him still, for He was revealed to us in greater measure and far more vividly through the Son Jesus Christ.
There is no excuse or justification for why the prayer lives of most professing Christians today are largely nonexistent. There is no excuse or justification for why so many professing Christians have a superficial knowledge at best.
We can try to justify it to ourselves, and might even do a good enough job of appeasing and pacifying our conscience, but before God our excuses will not stand.
It’s not that God will not open; it’s that we never knocked. It’s not that God cannot be found; it’s that we never sought Him.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
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