October 3, 2018
Author: Pastor Gordon Cook
October 03, 2018
Psalm 139: 1-18 Four Doctrines to Shape Our Prayer Life
Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones said a lot about prayer. I quoted him last Sunday, “What a man is on his knees, that he is and nothing more.” He called prayer the noblest of activities and believed the best posture for prayer was on our knees because it cultivates in our minds and hearts a submissive spirit. He had four great doctrines which he believed should shape our prayer life. First, the doctrine of God. Second, the doctrine of the Trinity. Third, the atonement. Fourth, adoption.
Let’s look at the first one, the doctrine of God. Think of some places in the Bible we might go to meditate on the doctrine of God, so we don’t fall into the trap of shrinking God. I think it was Dr. Packer who suggested we are God-shrinkers. What are some places that help us remember how great our God is?
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Job 38-41 – God’s response to Job;
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Isaiah 40 – where many great things are compared to God;
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Genesis 1:1 – He’s from everlasting;
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Exodus 4 – a display of God’s power;
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Psalm 139 – reminds us of God’s omnipresence and omniscience; a study of Jesus’ miracles in the Gospels;
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Romans 9 & 10 – God is sovereign.
We should remember how great our God is when we go to prayer, remember that there is nothing He cannot do. No one can stay His hand, there is no obstacle he cannot overcome. Let’s remember who God is when we come to prayer.
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