Young People's Group

PRAISE AND PRAYER

by Pastor Mitch
June 17, 2012

Two Lessons That Continue To Abide In My Heart

Memorizing large amounts of facts and figures for our exams is seen as a norm today. However, students tend to forget them not long after the exams are over. It is also quite common for us to forget the many Biblical lessons that have been taught to us each month. The challenge for us is to seek to retain them not just for a week but to make them a part of our life. There are two lessons that I learned last week that I am seeking to practise as part of my life.

1. Lesson On Praising God Continually

“I will praise You, O Lord, with my heart;
I will tell of all Your marvelous works.
I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.” 
Psalm 9:1-2

At the Youth Praise Night, Pastor taught us of how very often, people tend to praise God after He has helped us with a matter. It is easier to praise God at the end of a troubling situation and God has convincingly answered our prayers. Pastor challenged us to consider how we should praise God at the beginning of a matter. The Psalmist in Psalm 9 sought to praise God with his whole heart and to sing to the glory of His name at the beginning of going through a trying time. When the text of Psalm 9 was written, the Psalmist was precisely going through such a situation. He was at the beginning of his situation and yet, he was able to give praise to God. Can we also learn to praise God at the beginning, in-between and at the end of a challenging situation? We must seek to practise this principle.

2. Lesson On Praying To God Continually

“As for me, I will call upon God,
And the Lord shall save me.
Evening and morning and at noon
I will pray and cry aloud,
And he shall hear my voice.” 
Psalm 55:16-17

Another lesson that remained in my heart is the lesson from Psalm 55 on the place of prayer. Pastor spoke at the Morning Worship service of how the Psalmist went through another difficult situation and his initial reaction was to have a complaining spirit and his emotions got the better of him. His final reaction was to pray instead. Prayer had an important place in the Psalmist’s life. He determined that he was going to pray three times a day: evening, morning and noon. He decided that he was going to cover each part of his day in prayer and to cry out to God. He had absolute confidence that God would hear his prayer. He knew he could cast his burden on the Lord and He would sustain him.

Application Of These Lessons

Next week, we are going to have our Junior Camp. It is going to be a challenging time for all who would be serving at the camp. Can we learn to praise God even at the beginning of the camp, in between and at the end of the camp? Can we also learn to pray at evening, morning and at noon during this camp? Let’s seek to apply these lessons not just at camp but in every situation and challenge that we may face in life. Let’s always seek to praise God and to pray to Him each and every day.

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