In part one, we started with a prayer to get a Christian in the right place to follow God’s will and deal with their own selves. We continue this work in ourselves with a new type of prayer, this time it is Habakkuk that has prayed a life changing prayer.
Habakkuk 3
Habakkuk’s Prayer
3 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth.
2 O Lord, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.
3 God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.
4 And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power.
5 Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet.
6 He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting.
7 I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction: and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.
8 Was the Lord displeased against the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation?
9 Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.
10 The mountains saw thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high.
11 The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear.
12 Thou didst march through the land in indignation, thou didst thresh the heathen in anger.
13 Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah.
14 Thou didst strike through with his staves the head of his villages: they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me: their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly.
15 Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great waters.
16 When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops.
17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
19 The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.
The first two chapters of Habakkuk give us the prophet’s “question and answer” time with God. Now that God has answered Habakkuk, the prophet brings a prayer to close the book.
“O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years” Habakkuk simply prays for revival. He knows how God once worked and how His people once responded, and Habakkuk wants to see that again. The prayer of Habakkuk shows us that revival is a work of God, not the achievement of man. There is something man can and must do for revival – simply cry out to God and plead for His reviving work.
Notice the words “Revive Your work.” Often, my prayer is really “revive my work,” but I must have a heart and mind for God’s work, far bigger than my portion of it. I have been saying for a while now, “It’s not about you. It’s about God.” We get so wrapped up in our lives, that we can’t see God’s will. Even getting wrapped up in what we do for the Church or as a community. We can’t do anything without out God. It is God’s work not our own.
At the same time, this must be a personal prayer: “LORD, revive me.” We too often blame the church for sin, corruption, laziness, prayerlessness, lack of spiritual power, or whatever and we forget that we are the church. Pray for personal revival and diligently search yourself:
Check your conduct – does your walk glorify the LORD as it should? How about your private conduct, which only the LORD sees?
Check your conversation – is your speech profane or impure? Do you talk about Jesus with others?
Check your communion – are you living a growing, abiding life with Jesus?
“In the midst of the years make it known.” Habakkuk longs for God to do a work that is evident to everyone as a work of God. He prays that revival would be known at a definite time and place (in the midst of the years), not just as an idea in someone’s head.
In wrath remember mercy: Habakkuk prays knowing well that they don’t deserve revival, so he prays for mercy. The idea is, “LORD, I know that we deserve your wrath, but in the midst of your wrath remember mercy and send revival among us.”
“O God, have mercy upon thy poor church, and visit her, and revive her. She has but a little strength; she has desired to keep thy word; oh, refresh her; restore to her thy power, and give her yet to be great in this land.” (Spurgeon)
The power of God on behalf of His people.
3: 3-15
His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise: As Habakkuk prays for revival he begins to praise the God who brings revival. In this song of praise (punctuated by several expressions of Selah, as in the Psalms) Habakkuk glorifies the power and majesty of God.
It is good to praise God like this, and God’s people need to do more of it. It is good to praise God because …
– Because it gives appropriate honor and glory to God
– Because declares God’s specific works
– Because it teaches and reminds us of who God is and what He has done
– Because it places man in proper perspective under God
– Because it builds confidence in the power and works of God
3:16-18
Knowing God’s strength, Habakkuk can trust the LORD even in a crisis.
When I heard, my body trembled: Habakkuk shows the proper response of man under the sovereign power of God. He recognizes his own weakness and low standing before this God of all majesty and power.
Though the fig tree may not blossom, not fruit be on the vines … yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation: In almost a vision, Habakkuk sees the Judean countryside desolate, perhaps from the invading Babylonian army or perhaps from natural calamity. In the midst of this almost complete loss, Habakkuk can still rejoice in the LORD.
He knows that this God of majesty and power is not broken down because man faces difficult trials. Sometimes we think, “If God is so great and powerful, why I am going through a hard time?” Habakkuk knew this was the wrong question and the wrong attitude. Instead, he says: “I know you are strong and mighty, and if we are in desolate circumstances it is because we deserve it. I will praise You still, and even rejoice in You.”
Rejoice in the LORD … joy in the God of my salvation: With desolate circumstances like he just described, Habakkuk can find no joy in the fig tree or in the vines or in the fields or flock; yet God is unchanged. He can still rejoice in the LORD, because He is unchanging.
Habakkuk didn’t just practice positive thinking and shut out the idea of the barren fig tree and the empty cattle stalls. Instead, he saw those problems for what they were and remembered that God was greater than them all.
3:19 Knowing God’s strength, Habakkuk can trust God for strength.
The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills. To the Chief Musician. With my stringed instruments.
The LORD God is my strength: Habakkuk can only properly pray this after he prayed the prayer of faith in the previous verses. He rightly declared that his strength was not in fig trees or vines or fields or flocks, but only in the LORD God.
We might even say that what we praise is our strength. If by his words, life, or heart a man lives to praise his own achievements and resources, that those are his strength. If by words, life, or heart one praises a person or an idea, then those are his strength. We demonstrate that the LORD God is our strength when we praise Him.
He will make my feet like deer’s feet: Habakkuk thought of the deer running about on the high hills, never losing a step and never falling. More than that, the deer positively dance and leap on the hills – they are full of life and joy. So the prophet declares, “God will set my steps that firmly and lively also. As I trust in Him, He will not allow me to slip or fall, and I will do more than merely plod along – I will skip about with life and joy.”
As you pray this type of prayer pray for revival of His work, be humbled by how much you deserve wrath, but receive mercy, take time to praise God, trust God through crisis and pray to thank God for your salvation and take Joy in that.