11/02/2022

How to Pray
When You Don’t Have a Prayer
(Psalm 77)
Pastor Jerry Rice

October 11, 2020

“I cry to the Lord; I call and call to Him.
Oh, that He would listen.
I am in deep trouble and I need His help so much.
All night long I pray, lifting my hands to heaven, pleading.
There can be no joy for me until He acts.
I think of God and moan,
overwhelmed with longing for His help.
I cannot sleep until You act.
I am too distressed even to pray”(vs. 1-4, LB)!

 
I. You can’t ___________ life ______________ backwards.
“I keep thinking of the good old days of the past, long since ended. Then my nights were filled with joyous songs. I search my soul and meditate upon the difference now”(vs. 5-6, LB).
 
II. The _____________ of God _________________ forever.
“Has the Lord rejected me forever? Will He never again be favorable? Is His loving-kindness gone forever? Has His promise failed? Has He forgotten to be kind to one so undeserving? Has He slammed the door in anger on His love”(vs. 7-9, LB)?
 
III. God’s ____________ for you will ____________ change.
“And I said: This is my fate, that the blessings of God have changed to hate. I recall the many miracles He did for me so long ago. Those wonderful deeds are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about them”(vs. 10-12, LB).
IV. Let your ________________ turn to ________________.
“O God, Your ways are holy. Where is there any other as mighty as You? You are the God of miracles and wonders! You still demonstrate Your awesome power”(vs. 13-14, LB).
 
V. God ____________ shows up in ______________ times.
“You have redeemed us who are the sons of Jacob and of Joseph by Your might. When the Red Sea saw You, how it feared! It trembled to its depths! The clouds poured down their rain, the thunder rolled and crackled in the sky. Your lightning flashed. There was thunder in the whirlwind; the lightning lighted up the world! The earth trembled and shook”(vs. 15-18, LB).
 
VI. Be willing to _______________ God ________________.
“Your road led by a pathway through the sea—a pathway no one knew was there! You led Your people along that road like a flock of sheep, with Moses and Aaron as their shepherds”(vs. 19-20, LB)
 
Three Steps to Recovering Prayer & Praise
1.___________________________!
“In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer,
I have overcome the world”(John 16:33, NKJV).
2.___________________________!
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author
and perfecter of our faith”(Hebrews 12:2, NIV).
3.___________________________!
“We know that God is always at work for the good
of everyone who loves Him”(Romans 8:28, CEV).