"THE SOUL THAT PRAYS!"

PSALM 63:1-8

There is prayer that comes from the lips only and prayer that comes from the heart and soul of man! Jesus noted the difference between the two when He said of the religious leaders: "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me" Matthew 15:8. He spoke of the same principle when He said to some, "and why do you call me, Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?" Luke 6:46. What a contrast with the Psalmist who said things like: "To Thee, O Lord, I lift up my soul" Psalm 25:1, and "that my soul may sing praise to Thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to Thee forever" Psalm 30:12, and "And my soul shall rejoice in the Lord; it shall exult in His salvation" Psalm 35:9, and "Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name" Psalm 103:1. In light of that, and of our text, what kind of soul should we bring to Him in prayer?

• A THIRSTY SOUL THAT SEEKS THE LORD: VV1-2
• The thirsty soul yearns for and seeks God earnestly or, literally: early; no last resort! God's word tells us:
• Matthew 5:6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."
• Matthew 6:33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.
• Psalms 27:8 "when Thou didst say, 'seek my face,' my heart said to Thee, 'Thy face, O Lord, I shall seek.'"
• Psalms 14:2 "The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God."
• How do we go about seeking the Lord? He's in heaven and spirit and we are here and flesh!
• David says, v2 "Thus I have beheld Thee in the sanctuary, to see Thy power and Thy glory." He frequented the house of worship! He was a in the congregation of worshippers in the house of the Lord! He mentally gazed at God and contemplated Him with pleasure! Part of our seeking is to be with His people among whom He promises to be when we gather in Jesus' name!
• Psalm 34:4-7: "I Sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; He saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them."
• v5 "Those who look to Him are radiant,..." the soul that seeks the Lord looks to Him, directs thoughts to Him!
• v6 "This poor man called ..." the soul that seeks the Lord cries out to Him!
• v7 "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, ..." the soul that seeks the Lord fears, reveres, stands in awe of Him!
• As iron is attracted to a magnet, as a sunflower turns its face to derive the sunshine, as insects are drawn to light, so let the soul of man seek God in prayer!
• If God is our chief desire, if we yearn for Him, if as the Psalmist says, "as the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, OGod," Psalm 42:1, then we will seek Him! He says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13.
• Dr. Bonar, in his diary, wrote, "Tonight I gave myself to a time of waiting upon the Lord.  I had not been much in the spirit of prayer, but now several things have become clear to me.  I realize I have not communed enough with the Lord, nor come to Him as often as I should. Little forethought has been given to the requests I've made.  There has been much conversing and outward engagement with men, but I have not been occupied enough with God Himself. I also realize that a closeness to Him gives abundant strength and is like sunlight shining through the clouds on a gloomy day." So we ought to bring to Him a soul that seeks Him and we ought to bring:

• A SATISFIED SOUL THAT PRAISES THE LORD: VV3-7:
• The satisfied soul knows the goodness of God and praises Him joyfully for:
• V3 His lovingkindness which is better than life itself!
• V5 His bounties; marrow and fatness (to the jew the good and lush portions), spiritual blessings, help, hope!
• V7 His help, His deliverance, His rescue! God has not left us without help!
• I heard a girl say once, "when I became a christian, I thought I'd have to give up a lot! I found out that Jesus doesn't take away from your life, He gives!" She found satisfaction in Him!
• Many things bring us satisfaction; eating a good meal after being really hungry; sitting down to rest after back breaking labor; hearing good news from the doctor after extensive tests; bringing to suitable conclusion a meaningful task; but none as good as the fulfillment in Jesus!
• He gives fullness of grace: John 1:16 "for of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace."
• He gives fullness of joy: John 15:11 "these things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full."
• He gives fullness of peace: John 14:27 "peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."
• If something is filled really full, it overflows! The soul that is filled with satisfaction of God, overflows in His praise!
• We tell Him thanks!
• We tell Him we love Him!
• We give Him all the credit and glory!
• Tantalus was a king in ancient mythology.  Having displeased the "gods" he was confined to the Netherworld. He was situated in a body of water that just reached to his chin.  When he would get thirsty, he'd lean over to take a swig but the water would recede, just out of his reach.  Above him hung lucious fruits.  When he grew hungry, he'd reach up to secure one, but the branches would move away, just out of reach. Those necessitiew were there, but just out of reach!  That's where the word "tantalize" comes from.  But God doesn't tantalize us, He satisfies us! So we bring a soul that is satisfied and praises Him.  But we also bring:

• A RESOLUTE SOUL THAT CLINGS TO THE LORD: VV6-8:
• This describes the, tenacious, determined, won't quit, never-say-die soul! Nothing will get in the way of the soul and God because when all the things of God are kept in mind, we refuse to let go of Him!
• This is a picture of someone grasping with both hands and all their might something they don't want to lose! It is the little boy who has been given the cherished toy and clasps it with both arms; it is the little girl who finds her lost kitten and who squeeezes it so it won't be separated from her again! It is the mother and father I saw on the 911 the other night whose 2 year old had been rescued from a 12 foot deep sink hole and they wouldn't let him go!
• Note what the psalmist says: "my soul clings to thee!"
• To cling means to hold firm: cling stubbornly, tightly to God, not the things of this earth!
• To cling is to stick like adhesive, glue: stuck to God, not to the fleeting temporal quests of this world!
• To cling is to keep or retain: keep God in your mind and thoughts, not preoccupied with lesser things!
• But there is something better in this verse! God upholds the soul that clings to Him faithfully!
• Isaiah 41:10, 13 "do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely i will help you, surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." ... "for I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand, who says to you, `do not fear, I will help you."
• John 10:28 "and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of my hand." We always maintain the freedom of will to walk out of His hand, but no enemy can snatch us away!
• Jude 24, 25 now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our savior, through Jesus christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
• A little boy went with dad on a lawn mowing job.  The man asked him if he'd like to come in for a cookie.  The boy said, with firmness, "Nope, I'm staying with my Daddy!"  And he walked right around the yard, holding on to his dad's belt loop until the whole job was done.

How are things between your soul and God today? Do you seek Him early and earnestly? Is He the greatest desire of your life? Have you experienced the fullness, the satisfaction He brings to your inner being? Have you determined that whatever else you let go of, you will cling to God? Then you stand on praying ground! I want to urge you this morning to commit yourself to a life of prayer. You'll find that there is a lot of competition for your time and thoughts and affections, but if you'll turn your eyes upon Jesus they will pale into insignificance. Let Him occupy the prime focus of your attention and energies. Let Him outrank, outweigh and supercede all other concerns of life. Oh soul, are you weary and troubled? There's help, there's light, there's hope for those who turn their eyes upon Jesus.

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