16. The Book of 2Samuel 7:18-29

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1 16. The Book of 2Samuel 7:18-29 A Lesson in Prayer (10/30/16) Last week in our study of 2Samuel we came to chapter seven which I believe is one of the greatest chapters in the Bible because it contains one of the greatest promises God has ever given. It s called the Davidic Covenant This covenant (promise) that God gave to David contained several parts let me summarize: First, that God would have David s son, Solomon, build Him a house (temple) and that if Solomon sinned against God (which he did) the Lord would discipline him but wouldn t take His mercy or throne from him. Second, the throne of David's kingdom was to be established forever. And finally, that the Messiah would be a descendant of David but ultimately would be God s Son who would reign forever thus fulfilling the promise that David s kingdom would never end. It is that last part of God s promise to David that is by far the most important, that through David would come the Messiah a promise we see fulfilled in the N.T. The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David (Matt. 1:1) 1

2 Now as we said last week in our study, 2Samuel 7 is divided into two main sections God s Promise; and David s Prayer. David s prayer (v.18-29) is a response to God s promise (v.8-16). I like to study the prayers in the Bible because they teach me how to pray more biblically and therefore more effectively to God. And since prayer is such an integral part of our Christian life I thought we d study David s prayer this morning to see what we can glean to enrich our own prayer lives. II. David s Prayer v A. He begins with humble recognition of his own unworthiness v.18 2 Samuel 7:18 (NKJV) 18 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD; and he said: "Who am I, O Lord GOD? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far? In saying this, David is only repeating back to God what He had said to him earlier in verse 8 2 Samuel 7:8 (NKJV) 8 Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts: "I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel. One of the most effective ways to pray is to pray Scripture in other words, to repeat back to God what He has said to you in His Word. 2

3 And let me say, it must start with you acknowledging what God has said about you that you are NOT a good person by nature and that you don t deserve ANYTHING from God. Genesis 32:9-10 (NKJV) 9 Then Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac 10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant If you come into God s presence with the attitude that you re a good person and that you deserve for God to hear your prayers and give you what you need (or want) you will be praying to yourself because God will not be listening. Luke 18:9-14 (NKJV) 9 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men--extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' 13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." James 4:6 (NKJV) 6 Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." David s humility is also demonstrated in the fact that he refers to himself as God s servant ten times in his prayer. This is important for us to understand because it s foundational to all true biblical prayers that God is the Master and we are His servants He controls us we don t control Him. David wanted to build God a house the Lord said, No, you ve shed too much blood... 3

4 David didn t argue with God or sulk he accepted God s will joyfully and acknowledged God was in charge and that he (David) was His servant. I want to emphasize this because so many today have been taught that prayers of faith put us in the driver s seat (in charge) and make God our servant (although they would never admit that). In the model prayer where Jesus taught His disciples to pray as recorded in Matthew 6:10, He said Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. As someone has said, The purpose of prayer is not to get man s will done in heaven, but to get God s will done on earth. Any so-called prayer that seeks to make man the master and God the servant is a perversion of what true prayer is all about. A. He begins with humble recognition of his own unworthiness v.18 B. He expresses absolute confidence in God s promise v.19 2 Samuel 7:19 (NKJV) 19 And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O Lord GOD; and You have also spoken of Your servant's house for a great while to come. Is this the manner of man, O Lord GOD? In other words, Everything You have done for me up to now is a small thing when compared with what You ve promised me is yet to come is this the manner of man, O Lord God? That last phrase is difficult to understand a couple of other translations read: 4

5 And this is instruction (torah) for mankind, O Lord GOD! (ESV) And this is the law (torah) for man, O Lord God! (Amplified) It seems that what David is saying to God is Your promise to me (or to anyone) is as sure and unbreakable as any law (torah) You have ever spoken. When you read God s Word and pray one of His promises back to Him such as: And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:19) "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Heb.13:5) Or any other promise that appears in His Word do you really believe that what God has said is absolutely sure and can be trusted? Hebrews 11:1 (NIV) 1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for [God s promise] and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God James 1:6-8 (NIV) 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. David expresses absolute confidence in God to do exactly as He had promised and so must we when we pray one of God s promises back to Him that we are claiming in our circumstance. 5

6 C. He acknowledges that everything God has done for him has been by grace v Samuel 7:20-21 (NKJV) 20 Now what more can David say to You? For You, Lord GOD, know Your servant. 21 For Your word's sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all these great things, to make Your servant know them. Grace is a word that is a staple in the Christian s vocabulary we use it all the time. We talk about grace, we sing about God s amazing grace we even name our churches Grace. The Bible says we are saved by grace (Eph.2:8); we stand in grace (Rom.5:2); and we live our Christian lives according to the power of God s grace (Rom.4:16). And yet as important and foundational as grace is to our Christianity I think many Christians would have trouble defining grace if someone asked them to. Grace (Greek- charis ) means a gift, but more precisely a gift from God that we cannot earn, do not deserve and desperately need if we are going to be saved and live the life on this earth that God desires us to live. Some define grace as getting what you don t deserve; unmerited favor, undeserved blessing. This is what David is acknowledging in his prayer that God has blessed him by grace. He didn t deserve it and God didn t do it to glorify David He did it to glorify Himself and His name through David. 6

7 This is also a bedrock concept when it comes to prayer that we understand that God does for us and provides for us yes, because He loves us, but more importantly because by keeping His promises to take care of us it brings glory to His great name! Here is a secret to answered prayer when you pray for God to give you something or to do something for you that He has promised in His Word you don t have to come sheepishly to Him and beg because, maybe He won t want to help me. You come to Him boldly (not cocky) and ask Him with absolute confidence to keep His promise because it brings Him glory to do so! And when God is glorified His name is held up to this world as great! 2 Samuel 7:22 (NKJV) 22 Therefore You are great, O Lord GOD. For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears. D. He remembers God s faithfulness in keeping His promises in the past v And when it came to remembering God s faithfulness in the past there was no greater example of that then how He kept His promise to Israel 2 Samuel 7:23-24 (NKJV) 23 And who is like Your people, like Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make for Himself a name--and to do for Yourself great and awesome deeds for Your land--before Your people whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, the nations, and their gods? 24 For You have made Your people Israel Your very own people forever; and You, LORD, have become their God. 7

8 It's good for us to remember the faithfulness of God in our lives (or to our family, our church or our nation) in the past because it gives us faith that, as God has kept His word in the past, there is no reason for us to doubt He won t keep His promise to us in this present circumstance. Psalm 143:1-6 (NKJV) 1 Hear my prayer, O LORD, Give ear to my supplications! In Your faithfulness answer me 3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul; He has crushed my life to the ground; He has made me dwell in darkness, Like those who have long been dead. 4 Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me; My heart within me is distressed. 5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the work of Your hands. 6 I spread out my hands to You; My soul longs for You like a thirsty land A. He begins with humble recognition of his own unworthiness v.18 B. He expresses absolute confidence in God s promise v.19 C. He acknowledges that everything God has done for him has been by grace v D. He remembers God s faithfulness in keeping His promises in the past v E. He accepts God s grace, gracefully v Samuel 7:25-29 (NKJV) 25 Now, O LORD God, the word which You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house, establish it forever and do as You have said. 26 So let Your name be magnified forever, saying, 'The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel.' And let the house of Your servant David be established before You. 27 For You, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant, saying, 'I will build you a house.' Therefore Your servant has found it in his heart to pray this prayer to You. 28 And now, O Lord GOD, You are God, and Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant. 29 Now therefore, let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You; for You, O Lord GOD, have spoken it, and with Your blessing let the house of Your servant be blessed forever." 8

9 As my pastor used to say, It s not easy for some people to accept God s grace gracefully. (Explain) Now, when it comes to many of God s promises they must be appropriated by faith or they will go unfulfilled in our lives. One author said, This kind of prayer appropriates God s promise. Just because God promised doesn t mean that we possess. Through believing prayer like this, God promises and we appropriate. If we don t appropriate in faith, God s promise is left unclaimed. We may appropriate His promise for forgiveness: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) We may appropriate His promise for peace: 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, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27) We may appropriate His promise for guidance: I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go: I will guide you with My eye. (Psalm 32:8) We may appropriate His promise for growth: He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6) We may appropriate His promise for help: Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace of help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16) Now even though I agree with this author about God s conditional promises (that they must be believed and appropriated) this promise to David was unconditional in other words God was going to fulfill it regardless if David believed it or not. There are things God has promised that will happen regardless if people believe them or not such as: The Rapture, Jesus Second Coming, the Millennial Kingdom and Judgment Day resulting in hell. These are all unconditional promises that will take place and are not subject to man s faith. You would be wise to take these promises seriously and adjust your life accordingly! 9