A copy of God's Word. Turn with me to the book of Psalms. The book of Psalms. Psalm 50 verses 14 and 15. Psalm 50 verses 14 and 15. Hear now the Word of the Living God. Offer to God thanksgiving and pay your vows to the Most High. Call upon me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you and you shall glorify me. Let's pray. And now, O Lord, as we look to your word, we ask that you would comfort and guide and aid your sheep, your adopted sons and daughters. We pray that as we look at the doctrines of your word, Tonight and over this whole year long that you would strengthen us for right living. Comfort us and educate us, yes, but make us ready to pray all the more in this week ahead. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Well, just by way of reminder, Each week, we've been looking at various doctrines. And I say that because week to week, different folks are joining us. And this year, throughout the year long, we've been using the Heidelberg Catechism, which is a Reformation-era catechism, to look at the major doctrines of the Christian faith. And the Heidelberg Catechism not only follows very pastorally the idea of guilt and grace and gratitude, but it takes three different elements and traces them out over 52 Lord's days. Firstly, it takes the Apostles' Creed and walks through them, question and answer, question and answer. And each of you that are on the list of email recipients get this every week. And then after it walks through the major teachings of the Apostles' Creed, of which there are about 12, It walks through the Ten Commandments, the law of God, and looks at each of those commandments. And then lastly, it looks at the Lord's Prayer. The Apostles' Creed. The Ten Commandments and the Lord's Prayer were standard fare for the education of churches and children for centuries. And that's what it's following. And I say all that to say, tonight we begin that last section, the Lord's Prayer. Between now and the end of the year, we'll look at each of those elements. What does it mean to call God our Father, who art in heaven? What does it mean to ask God to make His name hallowed, to give us our daily bread, to forgive us our debts as we forgive those who trespass against us. But before the Catechism moves into that question, it simply asks a few questions by way of introduction. These questions are on the back of your bulletin tonight. And I won't walk through all of them, but I think the first one is important for us to ask. Why is prayer necessary for Christians? The wording is intentional. It's not why is prayer suggested, why is prayer helpful, although that will come, but why is it necessary? And the answer is this, because it is the chief part of the thankfulness which God requires of us. And because God will give His grace and Holy Spirit only to such as earnestly and without ceasing beg them from Him and render thanks unto Him for them. So what I want to do is, before we move into question 119, which is the Lord's Prayer, and then spend the next few weeks looking at all of these different aspects of the Lord's Prayer, using the Catechism as a guide, I want to ask three simple questions. And we'll be using some of the various proof texts that the writers of the Catechism used. Number one, why pray? Why pray? Number two, How are we to pray? Not so much what we're to say, but how are we to do it? And then number three, what are we to pray for? What are we to pray about? And with each of these, we'll see that the answer comes by way of command and blessing. Command and blessing. So firstly then, the question, why pray? And for that, we'll look at our text, Psalm 50, verses 14 and 15. Look there with me. Offer to God thanksgiving. Pay your vows to the Most High God. Call upon me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me. Now, for each of these, we said we'd look at the command and then the blessing. Brothers and sisters, Psalm 50 verse 14, among other places, teaches us, among other things, that prayer, specifically thanksgiving, is commanded. It's commanded. Yes, we could say that if a Christian were to live their days for week and week and week and not pray, that would be sinful. And it would be sinful because we are commanded to pray. Now the scripture tells us in some places to pray without ceasing. In other places it says pray this, pray that, pray for this person, pray for that person. But here in the book of Psalms we're told that we are commanded to pray specifically to offer thanksgiving. Why are we to pray? Because we're commanded to. We're commanded to offer thanksgiving to the Lord. This is what the catechism writers say, isn't it? Why is prayer necessary for Christians? Because it is the chief part of the thankfulness which God requires of us. How do you thank God? How do I thank God? Well, we thank God in a variety of ways, certainly, but we thank God chiefly in our prayers. We offer to God words of thanksgiving. Now I'm gonna be honest with you. More of my prayers are asking God for things than thanking God for things. Supplication versus thanksgiving. And we need to be careful in the Christian life that we don't look for percentages of our prayers. But if you ask the average Christian where do we lack most in our prayers, it is likely in the area of thanksgiving. offering God thanksgiving. And yet the New Testament writers teach us something very interesting about praying prayers of thanksgiving. The New Testament writers say things like this, cast your cares upon the Lord, for he cares for you. And in the same breath, the way that we are to do that is by thanking God, to offer God thanksgiving. So the psalmist says, offer to God thanksgiving. Why pray? Well, we're commanded to offer God prayers of thanks. But the command comes with a blessing, doesn't it? Comes with a blessing. Look at the next verse. Offer to God thanksgiving and pay your vows to the Most High. But then verse 15, call upon me in the day of trouble. So not only do we pray prayers of Thanksgiving, we do pray prayers of supplication. Lord, I'm in a day of trouble. I need you. I need your guidance. I need daily bread. I need this. I need that. Call upon me in the day of trouble and look at the promised blessing. I will deliver you and you shall glorify me. Well, herein is our answer. Why pray? We're commanded to. What's the blessing? Divine help. Divine aid. We're commanded to pray and the command comes with a promise of blessing. Blessing of divine aid. Now turn over a few pages to Psalm 116. For there we see the testimony of someone who prays. What does the testimony of someone who prays look like? Psalm 116 verses 1-5, I love the Lord because He has heard my voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined or turned His ear to me, therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live. The pains of death surrounded me, and the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me. I found trouble and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of the Lord. O Lord, I implore you, deliver my soul. Gracious is the Lord and righteous. Yes, our God is merciful." This is the testimony of one who prays. Look, I love the Lord because I prayed to him and he heard my cry for mercy. He turned his ear to me. Now, boys and girls, the Bible teaches us that God is spirit and does not have a body like men and women. But many times in the Bible, the words that God uses are words that we'll recognize. So when you want mom and dad to hear you, what part of their body do they hear you with? Their ear. This isn't teaching us that God has a big, huge ear out there in outer space, but rather that God hears at all times. It's like He turns His ear to us. But notice, everyone, the kind of trouble that this person was in. The pains of death surrounded me. Have you been there? Have you been there? The pains of death surrounded me, and the pangs of Sheol, the place of the dead, laid hold of me. I found trouble and sorrow." Have you been there? Whether physical death or another kind of death or suffering or sorrow. Notice what the writer says. Then I called upon the name of the Lord. O Lord, I implore you. It's a strong word. Do you implore the Lord? Lord, if you don't help, there will be no help to be found. Lord, you are the only one who can bring deliverance. And then without adding to the text, there's another sentence, verse 5. And I just want to encourage you. Sometimes there's very little time between verse 4 and verse 5 in the Christian life. You pray and the answer comes that day, the next day, the next week, the next month. But sometimes there is a long time between Psalm 116 verse 4 and Psalm 116 verse 5. Some of you have been imploring of the Lord, Lord would you deliver me, deliver my soul, and you've been praying that for years. But either way. Look what the writer says. Gracious is the Lord, and righteous. Yes, our God is merciful. Why pray? Well, we're commanded to. And the command comes with the promise of blessing. The blessing of divine aid, divine help, divine strength. But secondly, we should ask the question, How should we pray? How should we pray? And for that, most of us would go to perhaps the Lord's Prayer, which the Catechism does, and we'll walk through that. Here are the things that we should pray, but how should we do it? We'll flip over a few more pages to Psalm 145. Psalm 145. I should say this as you're turning there, Psalm 145 verse 18. Jesus the Lord, who gave the model prayer in Matthew 6, was intimately aware of all of these Psalms related to prayer. Remember, the Old Testament is Christian Scripture. The Lord would have been aware of all of these foundations for prayer as he taught his disciples and those who follow them down through the ages how to pray. But before that model prayer, the writer of this psalm says in Psalm 145.18, the Lord is near to all who call upon Him. To all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him. There's another sermon waiting right in that verse. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear him. Let me just give you the brief sermon version. Our fear of the Lord determines our desires. That's a sermon for another day. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear him. He also will hear their cry and save them. The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. You may say, well, the word prayer's not really listed there. How then does this teach us about prayer? Well, look at verse 18. The Lord is near to all who call upon him. At least in part, the Lord is near to all who pray to him. But there's a clarification, isn't there? To all who call upon him in truth. So once again, We're met with a command and a blessing. What's the command? Well, the command is that we come to Him in truth. We could talk all night about what this means, but in short, let's say this. Coming to God in truth is coming to God knowing who He is. It doesn't mean that you know all that there is to know about God, for what creature could? He is infinite. We are finite. But the Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. We're coming to the right God in the way that He has told us. We're commanded to come to Him in truth. Look at question 117 of the Catechism. What belongs to such prayer as God is pleased with and will hear? First, that from a heart we call only upon the one true God, who has revealed Himself to us in His Word, for all that He has commanded us to ask of Him. You see, part of the how of praying is that we are commanded to come in truth, that we're commanded to come to the one true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But like the first question of why pray, there's a command and a blessing. What is the blessing here? Well, look at the text, verse 18. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him. He also will hear their cry and save them. We come to God in truth. We come to God based on who He is, revealed Himself to be in His Word. And the promise of blessing is that we will have the divine presence. He will hear us. Have you thought about this, Christian? Psalm 114 verse 19 says something. That the blessing we will receive is that the sovereign God of the universe will hear. And this isn't meant to be read as, well, He knows all things, so He happens to know that you're mumbling. Not that He hears sound waves. but that He listens and will save you. In view, of course, here is the cry of the repentant sinner for salvation. The one who sees in their own heart and life a breaking of God's law. Who realizes that they've offended a holy God. That God is right and just to punish them for their sins. But they see in the cross of Jesus Christ and in His promise to receive them, the command to come. And they pray, O Lord, save me. And God hears. He listens. This is the blessing. And without preaching another sermon tonight, let me just say this. All throughout the pages of Scripture, the commands of God often, if not almost always, come with promised blessing. God commands us to pray, so we do it. But the blessing is that we receive divine aid. God tells us one of the hows of how we are to pray is that we're to come in truth. And when we come in truth to the God who has revealed Himself in Scripture, the blessing is He hears us. He hears us and saves us. So why pray? You are commanded to. Commanded to bring thanksgiving and supplication, the asking of things of God, in prayer to the Lord. And the blessing is divine aid. The how? We are commanded among other things to come in truth. To know the God revealed in Scripture. To pray with an open Bible, if you will, and the blessing that comes is the Divine Presence. He hears. Now boys and girls, help me with something. God is everywhere. So, when Pastor Ryan says that the blessing is the Divine Presence, Don't we already have that? I mean, isn't God everywhere? The answer is yes. There is no place that we can go, on the earth, in outer space, in heaven above, or under the earth, where God is not. He is everywhere. And yet, His people know the unique presence of God among them. That is a blessing. that we, the creature, the small ones, the ones that are bound, that are finite, get to know, at least in a limited way, the presence of God. Those that are not saved, God's presence is everywhere, but they don't know the blessing. Well, the catechism rightly then says in question number 118, what has God commanded us to ask of Him? The answer, all things necessary for soul and body, which Christ our Lord is comprised in the prayer taught us by Himself. We'll get to those words, the words that we're to use. But before we get there in the weeks to come, turn with me to James 1. James chapter 1 verse 17. Because we've looked at the question of why. Why pray? We've looked at an aspect of how to pray. And now we're going to close with the question of what. Not so much what words to use, but what things should we think about or be involved in or ask the Lord from in our prayers. And if you ever look up the catechism in a version where all of the little footnotes are listed, James 1.17 shows up. It's not really a verse on the surface literally about prayer, but we learn something about prayer from James 1.17. James 1.17, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will, He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures." So what's the command? Well, here, By way of understanding this verse, the command is this, we're commanded to see all things as coming from God. You may say, well, it doesn't literally say, you must see all things as coming from God. Of course not. That's the implication, isn't it? Every good gift, every perfect gift is from above. The bread on your table, the paycheck in your money market, the glass of wine that you enjoy with a friend, the cup of coffee, the air conditioning or the heat that you have in your home, your home itself, your apartment, your blankets, your pillows, your bed, your car, your pencils, your pens, your church, your elders, your deacons, your Bibles. And chiefly, verse 18, your own salvation, all of it, all of it comes from God. So when we think about what to pray for, the catechism writers are correct. When I realize that everything that I have, every good and perfect gift, comes from the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning, and my own regeneration itself, my own spiritual life comes from Him. Then every day is a day of thanksgiving and supplication. Or at least it ought to be. Every day is a thank you Lord for this, and Lord would you please provide here every good gift. So we're commanded to see all things as coming from God. Now there are other verses, which we won't turn to tonight, which remind us that in our own subjective experience, even the things that don't feel good also come from the hand of God. In God's providence, we don't have a doctrine which teaches good things come from God, but things that hurt don't. He's not in control of that. No, all things come from God. But here we're reminded of the positive aspects. Every good gift is from above. So what do we pray for? All things. All things. And isn't that what the Lord's Prayer teaches? Lord, firstly, make your name hallowed. Make your name great. Do things here the way that they are there. Give us this day what we need. We need physical food and provision. Lord, we need spiritual restoration. Forgive us our debts as we go out and do the same to others. Lord, don't lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Because yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. So we pray for all things, all things and all peoples. If we had time tonight, we'd look at all the different verses on prayer. Pray for the emperor, pray for this, pray for that, pray for one another. 1 Timothy 2, I desire men everywhere to be praying, lifting holy hands, right? There's prayer all over the Bible. But James 1.17 just reminds us and teaches us something about prayer. And everything that we have comes from the God to whom we pray. So what is the blessing? Divine gifts. Divine gifts. We are commanded to see all things as coming from God. What is the blessing? That God gives gifts. Look at verse 18. We see the chief of gifts. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth. that we might be a kind of first fruits of His creatures. So as we close, we're given an example, and it's the chief example in the life of the creature. Of His own will, He brought us forth by the Word of Truth. For every Christian in this room, there was a time when God, according to His own will, His own sovereign plan, caused us to be brought forth, to be born again, And through the preaching of the word, a Sunday school lesson, a gospel track, a conversation with a friend over coffee, the word was ministered to us in such a way that the Holy Spirit took that and within our hearts, God, the giver of all good gifts, caused us to see our need for Christ. And for the very first time, we saw Christ differently. No longer was he the one who demanded of us things that we didn't want to do, but he was the one who laid down his life for his friends. And it was this Christ that we received. And we were born again by the word of truth, according to the will of God. So the chief of gifts, the salvation that we know, is listed. But if you're like me, there are times where you might remember why you should pray. You might even remember that you should pray to God, the God of truth. You might remember that he promises to bless you with divine aid, that he promises to be with you and to hear you. But do you remember when you pray that God is the God that gives you every gift? As you sit here listening to my voice, the very breath that you're taking, the very heartbeats that you have had, are gifts. So when James writes, every good and perfect gift is from above, we're meant to remember as we hear our Lord's instruction on the words we should use to pray. We're praying to the one that has given us everything. Why pray? How to pray? What to pray? These are all foundational things that are found in the word of God and these texts and others. And over the next few weeks, we'll look at the various discussion points of the Lord's prayer. But as we close, are you aware that the God who commands you to pray also attaches to that command the promise that he will help? Are you aware that the God who says, you must come to me according to my word, is the God who says, I will hear you. I will hear you. And are you aware that when you're commanded in James 1 to see all things as coming from God, the God to whom you pray is the God who has given you more blessings than you ever could deserve. I think the writers of the catechism are right to remind us of the commands and the blessings of prayer. Let's go to our God then together in prayer. Almighty God, make of us both tonight as a people who gather to pray, and in our own prayer closets and lives over the next week and month and years. People who heed your commands, but also see your rich blessings. Lord, would you fashion in your people tonight a greater ability to trust that you hear. To trust that you are the God who gives good gifts. To trust that you will help. And it may not come in the ways that we expect or command of You. But Lord, we know that You will aid Your people. We thank You that as we come to You, the Triune God, through our Mediator Jesus Christ, who spread His arms wide and died in our stead, we are united with Him and raised up with Him, that we have complete access to the throne of grace, So Lord, make of lazy, praying people, people who pray with greater boldness, greater reliance, greater trust. We pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's stand together.