How to Ask God for Help
Psalm 119:145-152
All through the Bible we read that when we face impossible problems, turn to God through Jesus, and cry to him for help -- God will help us --
In Psalm 40 we read that David was feeling very low. So he turned to God and cried out to him for help and God lifted him out of the pit and set his feet upon a rock and put a new song in his mouth.
In 2 Chronicles 14 we read that God’s people were being attacked by a nation who had twice as many soldiers as they did. So King Asa cried out to God and God delivered them.
In 2 Corinthians 12 Paul has a very troubling physical ailment. He turns to God and cries out to him for help and God says the ailment will not be taken away, but God so fills him with Christ’s love that Paul is completely satisfied.
But not only does the Bible tell us that when we cry to God he will help us. The Bible also tells us how to pray when we need help from God. And that’s the point of our next passage in Psalm 119 – Psalm 119:145-152. So let’s go ahead and turn there in our Bibles. If you need a Bible go ahead and raise your hand and we will bring one to you. Psalm 119:145 is on page 515 in the Bibles we are passing out.
Psalm 119 is a prayer manual – a prayer handbook given to us by God to teach us how to pray. And in these verses we will learn how to pray when we need help from God. So let’s read verses 145-152 -- and notice what we learn about the situation the author was facing –
145 With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O LORD! I will keep your statutes.
146 I call to you; save me, that I may observe your testimonies.
147 I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words.
148 My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise.
149 Hear my voice according to your steadfast love; O LORD, according to your justice give me life.
150 They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose; they are far from your law.
151 But you are near, O LORD, and all your commandments are true.
152 Long have I known from your testimonies that you have founded them forever.
So what situation was the author facing? Here’s what I noticed –
In verse 146 he cries to God “save me” – which shows he needed to be saved from something. In verse 147 we read that he was crying for help – which shows that he needed God’s help. And in v.150 we read why he needed help and what he needed to be saved from --
150 They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose; they are far from your law.
We have seen this before. Throughout this Psalm the author has talked about wicked men who were persecuting and slandering and seeking to kill him. And now they are drawing near to him -- which means he’s facing a massive problem.
So what does he do when he faces this massive problem? He turns to God and cries out for help. Notice how he describes this –
Verse 145 – “with my whole heart I cry; answer me, O Lord!”
Verse 146 – “I call to you; save me!”
Verse 147 – “I rise before dawn and cry for help!”
Verse 149 – “hear my voice according to your steadfast love; O Lord, according to your justice give me life!”
When the author faces massive problems he turns to God and cries out for help. Now for most of you this is not a new truth. But let’s take this truth and probe a little deeper into our hearts.
All of us have faced massive problems -- and some of us are facing massive problems right now. So -- what do you do when you face massive problems? Do you turn to God and cry out for help? Did you actually set aside time where you intentionally turn to God and cry to him for help? I’m sure many of you do. But probably many of you do not. So let’s learn from this passage that whenever we face a massive problem, God wants us to turn to him and cry to him for help.
Picture God sitting on his throne with infinite power, overflowing love, flawless wisdom. He’s sitting on his throne with everything you need for this problem -- waiting for you to ask him for help.
So next time you face a massive, insurmountable problem – turn to God and ask him for help. But how? How should you pray? What should you say? Let’s take a look at what he does – how does he pray and ask God for help? Here’s what I noticed –
First, he cries out with his whole heart. Look again at verse 145 –
145 With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O LORD!
It’s clear that he is deeply concerned about these evil men who are drawing near. So when he prays, he doesn’t put on some artificial demeanor. No, he expresses his deep concern to God. It’s not [subdued tone] “with my whole heart I cry; answer me oh Lord.” It’s [passionately] “with my whole heart I cry; answer me!”
So when you pray, cry out with your whole heart.
Second, he directly asks God for help. Sometimes when we pray we beat around the bush. Sometimes we tell God that we know he knows our problem, we say we aren’t exactly sure what is God’s will, we talk about how other people have bigger needs than ours -- but we never directly asked God for what we need.
But the author directly asks God for help. Read verses 145 and 146 again --
145 -- With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O LORD! I will keep your statutes.
146 -- I call to you; save me, that I may observe your testimonies.
Verse 149 – “hear my voice according to your steadfast love; O Lord, according to your justice give me life!”
So don’t beat around the bush, directly ask God for help.
Third, he tells God his motives for why God should respond. Read verse 145 again, and notice the last phrase –
145 With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O LORD! I will keep your statutes.
So what does he mean when he says “I will keep your statutes.” What helped me was to notice that he says the same thing in the next verse with different words.
Look at verse 146 –
146 I call to you; save me, that I may observe your testimonies.
So he’s saying “Father, save me from these evil men, because then I will be able to observe your testimonies. I will be able to obey you and advance your purposes here on the earth.”
And that’s what he’s saying in verse 145 as well. He’s saying “answer me, O Lord -- so that I may keep your statutes.”
So when you pray, explain to God your motives. And if your motives are not good -- then confess that as sin, and fight the fight of faith by praying over relevant Scriptures until you feel the Holy Spirit changing your heart. And when he does, then pray and tell God about your holy motives.
But why should we tell God about our holy motives? It’s not because our holy motives earn help from God. The only reason God can lavish blessings on us is because of Jesus’ death on the Cross, which we are connected to by faith alone. But the reason we tell God about our holy motives, is because this shows that we have genuine faith, which means we are connected to Jesus’ death on the Cross -- which is why God will answer our prayer.
So with that in mind, when you pray for help, tell God about your holy motives.
Fourth, he sets aside times that are devoted to prayer. You can see that in verses 147-148 –
147 I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words.
148 My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise.
The nation of Israel had three military watches: the first was from sunset to 10 o’clock; the second from 10 until 2 AM; the third from two until sunrise. So he is saying that there are times when he wakes up early, and times when he stays up late -- specifically for the purpose of meditating on God’s promises and praying.
So when you are facing a huge problem, you might need to set your alarm for four in the morning so you can pray, or plan on staying up until 1 o’clock to pray.
Fifth, as he prays he strengthens his faith by meditating on God’s promises. You can see that in verse 148 –
148 My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise.
What he’s saying is that to help him pray he strengthens his faith by meditating on God’s promises. I experienced this on Monday. I saw there was something that I was loving more than Jesus. But as I prayed about this, I can see that I did not have much faith.
So I strengthened my faith with some promises – like Matthew 7:8 – “for everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened” -- and Psalm 51:10 -- “create in me a clean heart oh God, and renew a right spirit within me.”
And as I prayed over those promises my faith rose, and I knew that Jesus would change my heart. And he did. So as you pray strengthen your faith by meditating on God’s promises.
Sixth, he appeals to God’s steadfast love as a reason God should answer. That’s in verse 149 –
149 Hear my voice according to your steadfast love…
This is helpful for two very different reasons. Some of you easily fall into the lie that because of your sin God could never answer your prayer. Others of you easily fall into a different lie – that because of your goodness God is obligated to answer your prayer. Both lies are deadly.
And both lies are overcome by appealing to God’s steadfast love. If you think you’ve sinned too much to have God answer you – then when you pray say “God because of your steadfast love in Jesus Christ I know that all my sins are paid for so you will answer me.” Or if you tend to think that you’ve been so good that God is obligated to answer – then when you pray say “God I know that I’ve not been good enough, and that in myself all I deserve is hell, but I praise you that because of your steadfast love in Christ I am forgiven and you can answer my prayers.”
So appeal to God’s steadfast love as a reason God should answer.
Seventh, he appeals to God’s justice as a reason God should answer. That’s at the end of verse 149. Let’s read the whole verse –
149 Hear my voice according to your steadfast love; O LORD, according to your justice give me life.
So what does that mean? How is God’s justice a reason for why God should help him? I found the answer in the next verse -- verse 150 –
150 They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose; they are far from your law.
So what he’s saying is – “these men are evil, and far from your law, but you are just, so it would be right for you not to let them have their way.” So when we pray it’s good to give God reasons for why it would be right for God to help us..
Eighth, he reminds himself of who God is. You can see that in verses 151-152 –
151 But you are near, O LORD, and all your commandments are true.
152 Long have I known from your testimonies that you have founded them forever.
He’s not saying these things because God doesn’t know them. He’s saying them because he needs to be reminded of them. And I would encourage you when you pray about you problems -- sprinkle your prayer with statements about who God is.
Let’s close by doing this right now. I’d like to invite those of you who are facing problems to stand up. I want to pray these two verses over you, to encourage your faith, and to strengthen you.
You are near O Lord – in Christ you are near to each of these who are standing. You are nearer to them than their problems, nearer to them than their difficulties.
And all your commandments are true. They will never regret trusting you, walking in your ways, hoping in your promises, loving their enemies, being honest at work. They will never regret being faithful to you because all your commandments are true, no matter what it costs them.
And the truth of your word is founded forever. You’ve promised to provide all their needs in Christ Jesus – that truth is founded forever. You’ve promised to strengthen them in Christ Jesus – that truth is founded forever. You’ve promised to be a very present help in trouble – that truth is founded forever. You’ve promised never to leave or forsake them – that truth is founded forever.
So Lord bring your strength and your peace upon our brothers and sisters as they face seemingly insurmountable problems. Help them, deliver them, and strengthen them we pray – in Jesus name.