Love God Greatly - the Importance of Prayer: Approaching the Throne of GraceSample

Praying for Yourself 

READ: Psalm 91:1–4; 103:1–5 

SOAP: Psalm 103:1–5

Praise the LORD, O my soul. 

With all that is within me, praise his holy name.

Praise the LORD, O my soul.

Do not forget all his kind deeds.

He is the one who forgives all your sins, 

who heals all your diseases, 

who delivers your life from the Pit, 

who crowns you with his loyal love and compassion, 

who satisfies your life with good things, 

so your youth is renewed like an eagle’s. 

Into the text

Sometimes, the hardest person to pray for can be yourself. We know our needs, but it can be difficult to trust God if He answers differently than we hoped. While it can sometimes be easier to see God’s hand in the lives of our loved ones, we often miss His goodness in our circumstances.

We’ve learned a great deal in this study about the importance of prayer. We’ve seen how we can approach the throne of grace with great confidence and boldness, knowing Jesus goes before us and is always interceding for us. When we lift our requests in prayer, we can be sure He is interceding on our behalf. 

Praying for ourselves includes a great deal of remembrance. In Psalm 103, David reminded himself of God’s goodness. When we lift our requests to God, we must do so with a heart of remembrance and praise. David remembered God’s forgiveness, His healing power, His deliverance, His loyal love, and the way He satisfied him with good things. 

Today, as you pray for yourself, pray not only for the things you need but for your heart to be transformed in His presence. Prayer is not only how we present our requests to the Father but also about how we grow in our relationship with God. So today, approach the throne of grace with boldness and praise Him for what He has done!

Prayer 

Lord God, You are my shelter and my stronghold. I praise You with all my soul. I will not forget Your kind deeds. You are the One who forgives all my sins and who crowns my life with Your loyal love and compassion. With all that is within me, I praise Your holy name. Amen.