Tag: Cry for help

11.z. “He has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.”

Habakkuk 1:2  O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.

Psalms 13:1-2    How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?  How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Revelation 6:10     They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

Psalms 94:3    O LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?

Psalms 74:10     How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever?

Psa 22:24  For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.

Habakkuk prophesied and cried out “how long shall I cry for Help?”  He saw iniquity and asked, “why do you make me see this and then sit idly by?”  David cried out “how long?”, “Will you forget me forever? Those who were martyred for faith in Jesus Christ during the Tribulation period cried out “how long before you judge and avenge our blood?”  David cried out “how long will the wicked be exalted?”  If you are a believer and God has opened your eyes and ears to the wicked things of our society that are called and believed to be alright to do, Pornography – (which the thesaurus uses words like improper, indelicate, crude, vulgar, dirty, filthy, corrupting and immoral) for which our society calls “Adult Entertainment”, Abortion – (which is child murder, assassination, homicide, depraved execution, fetal homicide) for which society calls “Women Rights”, Petaphilia – which is called alternative sexual preference, LGBTQ – which is called progressive lifestyle.  These are just a tip of the iceberg of what lost souls are being temped with and are buying into it.  How long oh Lord?  We can see it and be appalled by it but we seem powerless in of ourselves to do anything about it.  Remember this “Jesus Christ died for sinners!!!!”  He died for each of these with the same amount of grace, mercy, and love He has given to us.  Were it not for the Holy Spirit softening our hardened hearts with the Good News of Jesus Christ, we too would be as guilty as any of these.  Are they so far lost that they cannot be saved – No they are not.   I think we would do much better praying for them and proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ rather than calling on God to judge and avenge.  That time will certainly come but for now let us remember “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” and keep our focus on advancing the body of Christ by living and proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Who knows what the Holy Spirit will do.  A heart and soul may be softened and the person repents, seeks forgiveness, and trusts in the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse them from all unrighteousness.

Treasures of Hope

Psalms 119:145   With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O LORD! I will keep your statutes.  I call to you; save me, that I may observe your testimonies.  I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words.  My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise.  Hear my voice according to your steadfast love; O LORD, according to your justice give me life.  They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose; they are far from your law.  But you are near, O LORD, and all your commandments are true. Long have I known from your testimonies that you have founded them forever.

The Psalmist passionately depended on God and His word, but that did not eliminate the participation of the Psalmist in any way. He still woke early to seek God, in prayer (cry for help) that was helped by God’s word (I hope in Your word).

i. “So long as the duty only of prayer is known, we shall be content with our set seasons. But when the privilege is felt, we shall be early at work, following it closely morning and night.” (Bridges)

“The word furnished his hope, and his hope his prayer.” (Trapp)

We use prayer in our study of the word of God; this is essential. Yet we also use the Word of God in our prayers. In prayer, the Word of God shows us:

· The nature and heart of the God we pray to

· What we have received from God, and should thank Him for

· His greatness, informing and expanding our praise

· His moral will, directing us to pray that we can do it

· His promises to His people, which we claim by faith

· Substance for our prayers, as we pray-read the Scriptures

Being diligent in prayer will never leave us destitute of hope.  It is refreshing to know that prayer soon refreshes our heart, mind, and soul with hope, new hope, dependent hope, expectant hope, lasting hope, satisfying hope, delivering hope.  This hope is grounded, established, and grown by faith in God.  Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

What is it that we hope for? What is it that occupies our thoughts?  What are those longings we seek in the depth of our heart?  Is it to know God, serve God, be used by God, to follow God, to honor God, to glorify God, to obey God???

We do well to give no more than a glance at the the distractions of the world around us and intently focus on the treasures of hope in His word.

What to Confess

“If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

“Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.”

“Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions.”

Psalms 32:1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.  I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.  Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him.

Luke 11:28  But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

Revelation 22:14  Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.

2 Corinthians 5:19  that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Jeremiah 31:18  I have heard Ephraim grieving, ‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined, like an untrained calf; bring me back that I may be restored, for you are the LORD my God.  For after I had turned away, I relented, and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh; I was ashamed, and I was confounded, because I bore the disgrace of my youth.

Hosea 7:14  They do not cry to me from the heart, but they wail upon their beds; for grain and wine they gash themselves; they rebel against me.

Lamentations 3:8  though I call and cry for help, he shuts out my prayer;

Luke 16:15  And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

Jeremiah 2:35  you say, ‘I am innocent; surely his anger has turned from me.’ Behold, I will bring you to judgment for saying, ‘I have not sinned.’

1 John 1:8  If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Proverbs 28:13  Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

Psalms 38:18  I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin.

Psalms 51:3  For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.  Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.  Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

There is much for us to learn about sin.  Throughout our lives we continue to learn how we sin against God.  That is, we do, if we stay in His word and seek to follow Him.  How do we know if we sin if our heart, mind, and soul is focused on what our culture says is acceptable, permissible, and lawful if we are not feeding on God’s word with a desire to humbly serve, honor and glorify Him.  Don’t we sound a lot like those who do not confess, do not acknowledge, try to conceal, or say I am innocent of sinning against God?  Do we think we can plead ignorance when God’s word is so readily available? Certainly not.  Look at those who cry out to God and have not acknowledged their sin before Him.  “He shuts out my prayer”.  Scripture says if we confess our sin He is faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  Believing in Christ also means following Him and following Him means we want to know how to serve, honor and glorify Him, and this means we want to know our sin, confess it and do it no more.  Do you want to grow closer to God?  Ask Him to show you your sin while you are reading His  word, while you are thinking about His word, and while you are living out everyday.

 

In the morning

“I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words.”

“for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.”

Psalms 5:3
O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.

Psalms 22:2
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.

Psalms 55:17
Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.

Psalms 69:16
Answer me, O LORD, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.

Psalms 88:13
But I, O LORD, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you.

Psalms 130:6
my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.

Mark 1:35
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.

Isaiah 26:9
My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

Psalms 119:147
I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words.

Our hope and strength are in the Lord our God.  Note the heart of David in many of these scriptures: “my soul yearns” “I wait” “I rise early and cry out to you” “my soul waits” “evening, morning and noon I cry out to you” “I hope in your words”.   We find hope in His words (promises).  Do you find yourself in a place in your life where your walk with God seems luke warm at best?  You don’t seem to have many troubles and yet you don’t see blessings.  From past experience I can attest to living in this state of mind.  I know exactly  what this is like and when I look back there were actions / choices made that allowed me to arrive at this place of christian blah.  I was very complacent in my walk with Him.  I was not reading His word. I was not seeking Him.  I was not placing Him first in my life.  I was not meditating / thinking about what His word.  I was not praying.  I was not being a humble servant desiring to bring honor and glory to Him.  I was living, existing without much care for Him or His plans and purpose for my life.  He did not leave me there.  He reached out and dropped a rock on me to get my attention.  He used my wife to get the word of God and His promises in front of me.  He placed people around me who spoke His word into my life.  He restored my soul, desire, hope, joy, purpose.  When I look back at this I am so thankful and yet at the same time regretful.  I regret not seeking, desiring to serve, honor, and glorify Him. I regret not staying in His word and being one of those able to speak His word of encouragement into the lives of those hurting or lukewarm.  I regret all of the time I wasted in not serving  Him.  I am thankful for His steadfast love and mercy.  I am thankful for His word of hope, joy, peace and rest.  I am thankful for His leading.  I am thankful for those He used to encourage me in my walk with Him. If you find yourself lukewarm get into His word.  Your life will change, your hope renewed, and purpose made much more clear.