Praying with passion and precision - Greg Laurie - http://www.wnd.com/2015/02/praying-with-passion-and-precision/
Pastor Greg Laurie looks at King David's relational pleas to his God
In times of trouble, we often turn to the book of Psalms, and so we should. When Jonah was swallowed by the great fish, he cried out words that are found in the Psalms. Jesus referred to the Psalms often. In fact, when He hung from the cross, He quoted from the Psalms.
Have you ever been betrayed by someone you loved? Perhaps even a member of your own family has turned against you. Have you ever faced seemingly insurmountable odds? Has it ever seemed as though there was no way out of your particular dilemma? If so, then you have a good idea of how David felt when he penned the words of Psalm 5.
David had made a number of mistakes in his life. He committed many sins that haunted him in his later years. Because of his multiple marriages, he had children who were partially related to one another, half brothers related to half sisters. It certainly wasn't the Brady Bunch. There was a lot of conflict and problems in his family as a result of his multiple marriages.
One of his sons was named Absalom. David also had a daughter named Tamar. Absalom and Tamar were full brother and sister. But one day, Tamar's half brother Amnon raped her. Absalom, her full brother, was outraged by what Amnon had done. He also was angry that his father had not taken stronger measures to deal with Amnon. So Absalom arranged to have Amnon killed. The result was that Absalom was banished from the kingdom. After a period of time, Absalom was allowed into the kingdom in again. But in the process, he was turning the hearts of the people away from his father, the king.
When you get down to it, the chickens were coming home to roost, as the old expression goes. David was reaping the results of the seeds of sin he had sowed many years earlier. Years before, following his sin of adultery with Bathsheba and his attempt to cover it up by having her husband murdered, the prophet Nathan told him, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel: Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. ... Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house'" (2 Samuel 12:7, 10-11 NKJV).
Out of his own household David was reaping the results of his sin. In his older years, David was fleeing for his life. After he readmitted his wayward son Absalom back into his kingdom, Absalom devised a plot to overthrow the king. He actually was leading a coup. Over a period of time, he stole the hearts of the people from his father and was getting ready to take over, causing a very aged King David to desert his throne and flee for his life into the wilderness.
During this time of difficulty David penned three psalms in the wilderness: Psalm 3, 4 and 5. He began Psalm 5 with these words: "Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, for to You I will pray. My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up" (verses 1-3).
If ever there were a time David needed to be sure that God was listening to his prayers, it was that time. David really needed to know that God was with him. And in Psalm 5 we find a prayer that hits the mark. There are three things that stand out about it.
First, there was a holy boldness: "Give ear to my words, O LORD." The phrase "give ear" in Hebrew literally means "to broaden the ear as with the hand." It's the idea of someone who is a bit hard of hearing who cups his hand around his ear to hear what's being said. David was saying to God, "Lord, I want you to cup your hand around your ear and listen to what I am about to say."
Then he said, "Give heed to the voice of my cry." That phrase is even more daring in the Hebrew. It means "to prick up the ear," which is what happens with a dog. You know how dogs are. They can hear things you can't hear, and suddenly their ears go up. David was saying, "Lord, I want you to prick up your ear." In other words, "Lord, I want you to really listen."
Where did he get the audacity to speak to God that way? How did he dare to stand before God and say, "Cup your hand around your ear and listen carefully?" He said it because he had a relationship with God. The reason David could say, "Give ear to my words, O LORD" was because he went on to say, "My King and my God." He had a relationship with God that gave him freedom of access.
Secondly, there was a real burden. He said, "Consider my meditation." The Hebrew word used here for meditation is an unusual word because it hints at an unspoken prayer, an aching, a longing and a yearning of the innermost being. Essentially, David was saying, "Consider my yearning. Consider my aching heart. Consider what is going on deep inside of me, the cry of my soul." Sometimes a good prayer is a groan. David had a burden deep inside.
Lastly, there was clear focus. "David said, My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up." Another version puts it this way: "Every morning you'll hear me at it again. Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on your altar and watch for fire to descend" (MSG). It is speaking of an order, of a structure and a focus in prayer. David was saying, "Not only am I praying with boldness, not only am I praying with passion, but I am praying with precision. I am praying with clarity. I am aiming my prayer in a certain direction."
So how did things turn out for King David? I would say quite well. Through a quick chain of events, David was returned to his throne, and Absalom ended up hanging by a tree as he fled for his life. God turned it around and put David back where he belonged. And it all happened through prayer as David cast it on the Lord.
What a difference prayer can make. Take your problems and burdens and cast them on the Lord, and he ultimately will have his way. No matter how bleak your scenario is right now, God can turn it around.
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