Study 79

Text: Psalm 22

ANSWERS TO PRAYER

No prayer is ever uttered in vain! God does hear every prayer and marvelously, He answers graciously. Consider the spirit of thankfulness that must be felt by the psalmist as he wrote these words.

"Deliver me from the sword,
My precious life from the power of the dog.
Save me from the lion's mouth
And from the horns of the wild oxen!
You have answered me!"
Psalm 22:20-21

Will God always hear and answer our prayers? Let the following text speak for themselves.

"But know that the LORD has set apart for Himself
him who is godly; The LORD will hear when I call to Him."
Psalm 4:3

"I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God"
Psalm 17:6a

"In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry came before Him,
Even to His ears"
Psalm 18:6

To battle evil successfully, we must with all conviction of heart and mind, believe that God does indeed hear and answer prayer!

DECLARING THE PRAISE OF GOD

God had heard and answered so many prayers! How should we respond? It would be a great source of encouragement to fellow-soldiers if we were to learn how we may declare the praises of God as David did. This is even more significant when the text is applied Messianically!

The Messiah Himself practised this spiritual discipline!

"I will declare Your name to My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
You who fear the LORD, praise Him!
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel."
Psalm 22:22-23

A number of blessings will result from practising this spiritual discipline of praising God!

1. Praise is both natural and correct

2. Praise brings a great sense of encouragement and strength to the heart!

~ Pastor Charlie Tan ~

Released 12th June 2005, © Bethany Independent-Presbyterian Church, Singapore