Sovereign Grace Church Toronto

There are many who say, “Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!” Psalms 4:6

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us. Psalms 67:1

Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your stead- fast love! Psalms 31:16

In these verses we see a clear connection between God’s face and the shining of light on the one praying. It is also associated with good: a deliverance; God’s grace; His blessing. To have God’s face turned toward us is to experience his favour. It is like being in a long dark night, shivering with cold, and to suddenly feel the warm rays of sunlight on us. How good the warmth and light are!

Many times God comes to us on his own initiative. He comes to us and surprises us, as he did when he sought us before the foundation of the world; gave his Son for us; and then called us to himself through the work of the Holy Spirit in us. But there are times when God comes to us because we ask him to. Are you asking God to shine his face on you; your family; your church; and unbelieving friends, and even nations that do not know him?

Pastor Tim Kerr

Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God. Ps 31:5

A critical part of prayer is the act of self-surrender. It is something that needs to be done again and again. Note the way this is done in Jesus’ life and then in our lives in the following two verses:

When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 1 Peter 2:23

Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. 1 Peter 4:19

How does his “paying a price for us” (redeem) actually motivate us to entrust ourselves to our Redeemer?

Pastor Tim Kerr

Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Psalms 25:16

Sometimes it seems to us that God is not facing us. We see his back but not his face. And there is nothing lonelier than when even God seems absent. So we plead with God to turn his face toward us. This is a strong metaphor for God’s presence and favour to be experi- enced tangibly. There is always plenty of grace available when we are conscious of God’s presence. How does God’s grace fill the deep void of the lonely and afflicted soul? Why is grace from outside of ourselves the key to the problem we feel inside of ourselves?

Pastor Tim Kerr

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. Psalms 19:14

Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. If we think about grievances, our mouth pours out accusations. But if we think on God’s mercy to us, our mouth speaks mercy-filled words to others. If we meditate on the gospel, we will find ourselves speaking its good news to others. We speak what we think.

So, how do we think the right thoughts? This verse gives us the answer. There is an objective provision in history that if connected to our subjective life in the present, can make our heart meditations acceptable. The two are connected via prayer. What is the objective foundation of subjective transformation in this verse? How does this work?

Pastor Tim Kerr

Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Psalms 19:13

It is right for us to pray about our sin struggles. While it is good to confess sins committed, it is better to defeat them–before committing them–through prayer!

There is some irony in the fact that presumptuous means “willful” yet the word “dominion” indicates the will is not free. That is, we are stubbornly willful in our sins, but that willfulness is actually evidence of a deep bondage of the will. There is a bent toward evil, enslaving our capacity to choose what is right. Therefore habituated willfulness and inclination toward any sin is really an indication that our wills are enslaved.

How seemingly hopeless! Unless of course grace is found— grace that is greater than all our sin. And each time we pray we open ourselves up to the One who is the endless source of sin-overcoming grace!

Are there any willful and habituated sins in your life? How are you praying for grace to overcome them?

Pastor Tim Kerr

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? Psalms 13:1-2

“How long?” appears 4 times in these two short verses. This kind of questioning of God is rarely if ever spoken in times of favour and spiritual prosperity (though we would expect the truly humble and reflective person to ask it, most never even consider the “unfairness” of prosperous times, so deep is our sense of entitlement).

But there is evidence of God’s favour even in these verses. Do you see it? Because of the sorrow, anguish and sense of defeat being experienced, the Psalmist is praying!

He delivers the afflicted by their affliction and opens their ear by adversity. Job 36:15

The sanctifying grace of prayer is squeezed out in times of adversity which in a very real way, makes adversity a true gift!

Pastor Tim Kerr

Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide your- self in times of trouble? Psalms 10:1

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? Psalms 22:1

When experiencing suffering, often the most painful and distressing part of all is the seeming disinterest of God. When life gets most difficult, it often seems that God is most distant. Trials, by their very nature, are hard to bear, but they can seem overwhelming if God is not present.

These verses show us that there is a kind of praying that gives expression to the deep troubling questions of the heart. There is, of course, a sort of refined pious way of praying that never addresses God in this way. But the end result of such prayers is an endless circling of the mind, collecting unbelieving debris as it makes its rounds in the heart. Much better to release our doubts and questions to God. In releasing them they are quickly joined to faith as they take upward flight to God! Releasing them to God is an act of faith in itself. Does the fact that Jesus, himself, prayed this way encourage you to follow his example? (Matt 27:46) What do we learn from his holy “questioning prayer”? How does Christ’s redemption, and the fruit that resulted from it, shine hope for us as we hear his despairing cry of “Why”?

Pastor Tim Kerr

Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my en- emies; make your way straight before me. Psalms 5:8

Here we find instructions for spiritual warfare. “In your righteous- ness” could be taken two ways. It could be a request for the righteous God to lead us in the way that is right. Or it could be a request for godliness which can be the best defence against spiritual enemies.

Lead me in the right path, O LORD, or my enemies will con- quer me. Psalms 5:8 NLT

As you think of the Lord’s leading of your life, are you aware of spiritual enemies that are seeking to harm you by diverting you from God’s will? Why is prayer such an essential part of our spiritual weaponry in battle?

“Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come. Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home” (Amazing Grace, John Newton)

Pastor Tim Kerr