Psalms 86 Prayer Pattern

This psalm was chosen to provide a model designed by God showing ways we can approach Him in a desperately dependent fashion. Use Psalms Prayer Patterns to pour out your heart to God while acknowledging your weakness and His strength, as you grow deeper in your relationship with Him.

Psalms Prayer Pattern

Bend down, O LORD, and hear my prayer;
      answer me, for I need your help.
Protect me, for I am devoted to you.
      Save me, for I serve you and trust you.
      You are my God.
Be merciful to me, O LORD,
      for I am calling on you constantly.
Give me happiness, O LORD,
      for I give myself to you.
O LORD, you are so good, so ready to forgive,
      so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help.
Listen closely to my prayer, O LORD;
      hear my urgent cry.
I will call to you whenever I’m in trouble,
      and you will answer me.

No pagan god is like you, O LORD.
      None can do what you do!
All the nations you made
      will come and bow before you, LORD;
      they will praise your holy name.
For you are great and perform wonderful deeds.
      You alone are God.

Teach me your ways, O LORD,
      that I may live according to your truth!
Grant me purity of heart,
      so that I may honor you.
With all my heart I will praise you, O LORD my God.
      I will give glory to your name forever,
for your love for me is very great.
      You have rescued me from the depths of death.

O God, insolent people rise up against me;
      a violent gang is trying to kill me.
      You mean nothing to them.
But you, O LORD,
      are a God of compassion and mercy,
slow to get angry
      and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
Look down and have mercy on me.
      Give your strength to your servant;
      save me, the son of your servant.
Send me a sign of your favor.
      Then those who hate me will be put to shame,
      for you, O LORD, help and comfort me.       —Ps. 86 NLT

(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)


We would love for you to share in the COMMENTS the insights you have received on your journey.

Why Does God Allow People to Suffer?

The most frequently asked question by both the hurting of heart and the skeptical of soul is “Why does God allow people to suffer?” God allows people to be touched by evil because He is capable of redeeming them from it. As God’s dominion is expanded through evangelism and His interests are advanced by disciple making, the more evil will be restrained and the innocent protected. Then we will witness the fulfillment of the biblical admonition, “Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good” (Rom. 12:21 NLT). Scripture asserts that people suffer because this world is ruled by Satan, dominated by sin, and because sinful people do sinful things. Yet God remains ever vigilant to redeem the youngest to the oldest from this present evil world.

BIBLE TRUTH

“His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust” (2 Peter 1:3–4 NASB).

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
God’s sovereignty promises that when we encounter the evil of this world we will be encompassed by the love, mercy, and grace of God to the perfecting of our souls, the performing of God’s will, and the proclaiming of His faithfulness. Therefore, it is imperative for us to believe “ . . . that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28 NASB).

PRAYER
My Lord, I long to live in Your shelter because You are the Most High. I yearn to find rest in Your Almighty shadow. Lord, I declare that You are my refuge, my place of safety. You are my God, and I trust You. (Ps. 91:1–2)


(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)


We would love for you to share in the COMMENTS the insights you have received on your journey.

Repentance Is...

Living in the truth is the process of divine transformation where God changes me. The permeation of God’s truth in my life alters all aspects of my being—what I believe, how I think, what I feel, how I behave, and the choices I make. I am made new. “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20 NLT ).

Our violating God’s law and usurping His authority required the death penalty. The sinless Son of God died to satisfy the justice of God. Although Christ was the one who was crucified, God views His sacrifice as satisfying His righteous demands on our behalf. Therefore what Christ has done for us, we have done through Him.

BIBLE TRUTH
“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death” (Rom. 8:1–2 NLT).

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
Those who choose to receive God’s truth and enter into Christ’s redemptive process will move to repentance. Repentance is that place where we turn from our philosophy of self-centeredness to Christ-centeredness. It is opting to live and do life God’s way and giving up our self-sufficiency. Those who continue in deception may attempt a ritual of repentance. With no true heart change, they may go through the motions commonly deemed consistent with repentance such as crying, revealing sinfulness, asking for forgiveness, going to the altar, making promises to be different, or even a renewed religious fervor. But as we give up our willfulness to God and relinquish ourselves unreservedly to Christ, submission to God’s authority, obedience to God’s design, and death to our selfish desires will result.

PRAYER
Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your loving kindness. According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight. (Ps. 51:1–4)


(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)


We would love for you to share in the COMMENTS the insights you have received on your journey.

Brokenness Is...

Christ’s redemptive process can only be participated in through the power of Christ as He addresses the nature of sin by bringing us to brokenness. The willingness to give up our willfulness to Christ in exchange for His enabling us to submit to His will, removes our resistance to entering into Christ’s redemptive process. Christ’s redemptive process is characterized by dependence on Him as we see ourselves in desperate need of Him.

Because of Christ’s satisfaction of the sin debt, He can redeem us from our sinful selves and all the crises we have created. He resolves the symptoms of the sin nature—guilt, shame, and fear—and reconciles us to fellowship with God, restoring love, joy, and peace.

BIBLE TRUTH
“He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world” (1 John 2:2 NLT).

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
Unfortunately, we must still contend with the nature of sin resident within us. Self-sufficiency tempts us to reenter the futile cycle dominated by the nature of sin in our lives. But gratefully, at the point of salvation, we are blessed with a new set of options. No longer are we bound by the power of sin; we may now choose from His abundant resources and allow His divine enablement to personally empower us.

PRAYER
Jesus, because I belong to You I want my flesh with its passions and desires to be nailed to the cross and crucified there. I desire to live by Your Spirit, so please guide me to follow Your Spirit’s leading in every part of my life. (Gal. 5:24–25)


(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)


We would love for you to share in the COMMENTS the insights you have received on your journey.

I Want Fruit!

Erroneously we believe we must contrive the fruit of the Spirit by force of our human will. When we are told we must exhibit the fruit of the Spirit, we diligently work to manufacture the formula for accomplishing that task. When we recognize that we cannot produce His fruit through our own ability, we realize it is only as we experience Christ as relevant that His fruit comes alive within us with transforming power. It is by the process of divine intervention as we submit to His Spirit that we are enabled to be more than we are. At our best we cannot be more than what we are apart from Him. Only as we depend on the Holy Spirit can we experience the fruit He has to offer. Therefore, all of our life endeavors should be fostering our connection to Him as we conform to His image.

BIBLE TRUTH
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
      and desperately wicked.
      Who really knows how bad it is?
But I, the LORD, search all hearts
      and examine secret motives.
I give all people their due rewards,
      according to what their actions deserve” (Jer. 17:9–10 NLT).

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
Some will continue to hold on to self-effort while lamenting their inability to achieve His promised fruit. “There must be some way to be spiritual my way. There must be a way I can access the riches of God through human means. Certainly God will allow me to govern my life while utilizing His power.” We want the resource of grace apart from dependence on God. The problem of most spiritual struggles is not “I can’t” but “I don’t want to.” Do you want to allow God to completely govern your life?

PRAYER
Father, I submit to your royal Son, Jesus. I don’t want You to become angry and destroy me in the midst of all my activities—for Your anger flares up in an instant. I desire the joy that comes from taking refuge in You! (Ps. 2:12)


(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)


We would love for you to share in the COMMENTS the insights you have received on your journey.