View an in-depth discussion of Teach Us to Pray in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris.  
Click on the image below to view the video:

With thanks to Hope Channel – Television that will change your life.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/2-teach-us-to-pray-hopess-video-discusion/

Join It Is Written Sabbath School host Eric Flickinger and this quarter’s author, Dragoslava Santrac, as they provide additional insights into this week’s Sabbath School lesson, “How to Read the Psalms.”

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/2-teach-us-to-pray-it-is-written-discussions-with-the-author/

Daily Lesson for Wednesday 10th of January 2024

We all have probably faced times when the presence of God seemed very far from us. Who, at times, has not thought: How could this have happened?

The psalmists, humans like the rest of us, surely faced similar things. Though, yes, at times our sins bring trials upon us, at other times they seem to be so unfair, and we feel as if we did not deserve what we are now faced with. Again, who has not been there?

“How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?” (Psalms 13:1, NKJV). Again, who cannot relate to these sentiments, as wrong as they might be? (Does God ever forget any of us?)

Psalms 13:1-6, then, points to the way to avoid another common ­mistake—focusing on ourselves and our problems when praying. This psalm can transform our prayer by leading us to reaffirm the faithful and unchanging nature of God’s dealings with His people.

Sure, though the psalm does begin with laments and complaints, it does not end there. And that’s the crucial point.

The psalm leads us to deliberately choose to trust God’s redemptive power (Psalms 13:5), so that our fear and anxiety (Psalms 13:1-4) can gradually give way to God’s salvation, and we begin experiencing change from lament to praise, from despair to hope (Psalms 13:5, 6).

However, a mere repetition of the words of the Psalms with only a slight comprehension of their meaning will not produce the authentic transformation intended by their use. When praying the Psalms, we should seek the Holy Spirit to enable us to act in the way demanded by the psalm. The Psalms are the Word of God by which believers’ characters and actions are transformed, not simply informed. By God’s grace, the promises of the Psalms are made manifest in the lives of believers. This means that we allow God’s Word to shape us according to God’s will and to unite us with Christ, who demonstrated God’s will perfectly and, as the incarnate Son of God, prayed the Psalms, as well.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24a-02-from-despair-to-hope/

The beautiful picture on the front of our lesson pamphlet brings us our theme hymn for this quarter with its two variations in melody: Hym 552/546 – The Lord’s My Shepherd.

 We sing of the stepping stones in learning to pray in
Hymn 488 – At First I Prayed For Light and then we can enjoy the
Sweet Hour Of Prayer – Hymn 478.

In Times Like These – Hymn 593 we learn to
Only Trust Him – Hymn 279 along with
Hymn 510 – If You Trust In God To Guide You, and find
“‘Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus – Hymn 524 and then say
I Am Trusting Thee, Lord Jesus – Hymn 535. We have then learned to
Trust And Obey – Hymn 590.

In despair it is wonderful to find
My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less – Hymn 522 (Tuesday and Wednesday). We are then able to sing
Holy God, We Praise Your Name – Hymn 30 because
My Faith Looks Up To Thee – Hymn 517 and we have learned to
Only Trust Him – Hymn 279.

Psalm 92:1 “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your Holy Name, O Most High!”

To learn unknown hymns, you will find the accompaniment music for each one at: https://sdahymnals.com/Hymnal/

Another great resource is for when there is a hymn you wish to sing but can’t find it in your hymnal. Go to https://www.sdahymnal.org/Search and in the search bar type a special word in that is in the hymn. I am sure you will be amazed at the help you will be given.

 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/2-teach-us-to-pray-singing-with-inspiration/

Daily Lesson for Tuesday 9th of January 2024

Praying the Psalms does more than enable worshipers to articulate their prayers freely. The Psalms supervise their experience according to God’s standards and make it bearable by introducing hope and reassurance of God’s presence.

The lamenting words of Psalms 22:1-31:1 may help suffering people express their grief and sense of loneliness: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning?” (NKJV).

These words, of course, have become famous among Christians because they were the same words that Jesus Himself, while on the cross, uttered, showing us how central to Christ’s experience the Psalms were (see Matthew 27:46).

However, even amid the suffering and trials, these words also are expressed: “I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise You” (Psalms 22:22, NKJV).

In other words, though these exact feelings may not coincide with the author’s present dilemma, the psalmist was still expressing his faith in God and declaring that, no matter what, he would still praise God.

The point is, by giving us words to pray, the Psalms teach us to look beyond our current situation and, by faith, to see the time when our life will be restored by God’s grace.

Praying the Psalms thus takes worshipers to new spiritual horizons. The Psalms let worshipers express their feelings and understandings, but they are not left where they presently are. The worshipers are led to abandon their burdens of pain, disappointment, anger, and despair before God and to trust in Him, whatever their circumstances.

The movement from lament to praise observed in many psalms is suggestive of the spiritual transformation that the believers experience when they receive divine grace and comfort in prayer.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24a-02-a-psalm-of-despair/