So today I want to talk about prayer; and reading our bibles; and meditation and all those things we know we need or ought to do but for one reason or another, it seems as though life has us by the tender hooks—as though we stand between a rock and a hard place. The necessity of a holistic understanding of the role of these activities; that of God and the attitude we are to possess with regards to this is impossible to underestimate.
On the one hand, we have the extreme where every little thing I do counts in my coin jar; it is a tick of my performance from God that twists His hand for Him to give me whatsoever little thing I want; on the other hand, you have an extreme where it is all the sovereignty of God and I really do not have a role to play but it is His will and nothing else matters. Neither pole is healthy; for both are distortions of a simple freeing truth; both will not give you the life and results you dream of and both will leave you unaware of the true nature of God.
It is beyond a shadow of a doubt that the men we find in the Bible succeeding led the most exemplary of lives. For instance, 3 times a day, Daniel bowed his head and prayed to God; Joseph was a man who devoted Himself to the knowledge of God; Mary out of the virtue in her heart found the favour to be the “Mother of God” and Jesus Himself was devoted to prayer. These are all models worth following; but as we follow it is more important to understand the principle that it is to legalistically make a law of what is not a law.
God by divine grace has blessed us; His hands are extended towards us ready to prove Himself strong on the behalf of those who call upon Him. His Word of healing, prosperity, restoration, and victory has not been inscribed in scripture to cruelly tease us; but it is the unshakeable promise of what He says His goodness will look like in our lives. It is a mercy that through Jesus Christ He has extended to humanity for us to receive. However, how can we fully receive if we do not know? How can we fully partake if there are no foundations sure within the chambers of our hearts? How can we be sure if His words have no entry in our lives? How can they have entry except either they be preached or we search them out in His word?
In immersing ourselves in His Word and in prayer, we immerse ourselves in Him—we immerse ourselves in the presence of Love and in doing so we present the opportunity for our minds to be renewed and for the faith in our hearts to arise to receive what He has given. IN essence, we open up our hands so that we can receive what He has freely given if I am to speak in a metaphor. It is not an issue of twisting the hands of God, but rather it is all about presenting our minds and hearts to Him; so, that we are changed by Him from the inside out—to bear fruits of love, peace, joy, patience, kindness and everything Good that He would have us be. It is giving ourselves the opportunity to find out His will from His word and have the patience in us to wait well until His promises come to pass in our lives.
Selah…
