Praying Like God Is God

(Psalm 144)
I have a love-hate relationship with David. There are elements of David's passion for God that inspire me while other elements of his character repel me. This sounds all too much like someone I see in the mirror every day! One of David's character traits that I admire is that he actually prays like God is God! When times are good he worships. When times are bad he worships. This is a man who relies not on his own strength (most of the time!) but on God's, which is definitely a characteristic that any follower of Christ would want. Psalm 144 shows us a prayer-in-a-nutshell example of how to engage with God in a way that is sure to encourage and build faith.

Pronouncing God's Power (Vss. 1-2)
David begins his prayer, not by praying his problems, but by pronouncing the power of God - what a great reminder to any of us who are facing challenges in life! God is our strength, our resource, our emotional supply, our defense and our rescue! He is always equipping us to face the battles we encounter.

Perspective: God's Sovereignty (Vss. 3-4)
What is man when compared to God? Declaring the sovereignty of God bring us into a right perspective of Who is in charge of every situation. If God is for us who can be against us? Not only are David and his enemies subject to a sovereign God, but so are we and the difficulties we face today. As this truth takes root in us we will be propelled forward in prayer since God can actually DO things!

Petition for God's Presence (Vss. 5-8)
Once we have encouraged ourselves through worshiping God, declaring who He is and affirming His sovereignty over mankind, we're in a better frame of mind to ask for God's supernatural help. If we are advancing the kingdom of God on the earth, we can expect opposition! Recognizing that we really do need God's intervention on our behalf is a necessary ingredient to continued advancement. We need God's power and involvement in our lives, and it's certainly biblical to ask for it. We don't subscribe only to a theology of God's presence with us, but we expect a present-tense reality of God's presence bringing His kingdom among us.

Proclaiming God's Praise (Vss. 9-10)
Maybe it should seem obvious here, but when David declares that he is going to praise the God who saves and delivers him from his enemies, he is only saying it a few seconds after asking God for help in the first place! Nothing has changed in his situation, yet he is choosing to praise God anyway. We serve the same God that David did, and we can sing and worship with the same faith in the face of struggle and warfare. Our God is still a God who saves and delivers us out of the the hand of the enemy. Besides, even if we don't see the full deliverance in this lifetime we still end up in heaven, right? Deliverance doesn't get much better than that!

Prophetic Purpose (Vss. 11-15)
"Deliver me, so that..." Did you notice that of all the reasons David gives when asking for God's deliverance, none of them are really about him? They are really about seeing others blessed within his sphere of influence. Even under the pressure of difficult circumstance God gives us an ability to see prophetically into the bigger picture. As we pray for the blessing of others and for those we impact, our eyes are lifted from the individualistic, self-absorbed mentality of the victim to a broad kingdom perspective that is full of mission and vision! Who else but God can meet us in the middle of intense trial and turn our heart to songs of praise and prayers of faith?

What Does This Mean For Us?
1. We serve a powerful God who has all the provision we will ever need to fulfill His God-sized purposes.
2. We are on His Mission.
3. As we focus on the greatness and purpose of God, our faith is stirred.
4. We can now find boldness to ask for big things and dream big dreams, regardless of our present circumstance!

So, what are you asking for today that is bigger than you? What dreams do you have that are simply too big to be accomplished by anyone but God Himself? Like David, we can use a difficult situation as an opportunity to engage with our sovereign God and declare His greatness! Each of us can look beyond our circumstance to the God who rules and reigns over that circumstance and let our faith be stirred!