12/04/2024
Today let’s examine the fact that the Word, and promises, of God serve as fuel for our prayers, and our life. I hope that as we study on this truth we will find that it couldn't be more encouraging. As we contemplate this subject I hope we are thrilled by this rather obvious thought, and that our spiritual lives are ignited by it!
"Promises, stored in the heart, are the fuel from which prayer receives life and warmth... the Word of God stored in our hearts is the food by which prayer is nourished and strengthened.
Prayer, like people, cannot live by bread alone." – Pastor E. M. Bounds
Our prayers are starved, weak, and lifeless, without the Word of God. Jesus prayed without ceasing and in as much as His entire life was founded on the Word of God, so was His prayer life; it is for this reason that we should rejoice in the words He chose to defend Himself with when he was tempted by Satan following His 40 days in the desert. Listen to this example as He quotes from Deuteronomy to rebuff the dark one…
“And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
Matthew 4:3-4 KJV
These words of Christ were taken from this passage in Deuteronomy, read them now…
“And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”
Deuteronomy 8:2-3 ESV
When we pray, it is always good to incorporate God's Word in our prayers. On the cross, as Jesus spoke with God, He quoted portions of Psalms 22 & 31. His life was the Word of God, His death was the Word of God, and His prayers were the Word of God. Isn't that a powerful testimony regarding how we should live, die, and pray?
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?”
Psalms 22:1 KJV
“Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.”
Psalms 31:5 KJV
All living things require fuel to exist. We would die without the nourishment that food gives us, and our faith would likewise be starved by the lack of sustenance that we receive from the Word of God, and the spiritual nourishment that it brings us. God’s Word is fuel for our spiritual lives and this should be made evident in our prayers and our daily walk with Him.
So, let’s try a little experiment today... Flip your bible open to Psalms and begin reading a few verses as prayer... Then pause, close your eyes, and continue on with your Morning Prayers. My guess is that what you read will infuse, and invigorate, your conversation with God as it enriches, and provides depth to not only your conversation, but your relationship with Jesus, and our Heavenly Father. Give it a try!
“Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.”
Matthew 27:50 KJV
Prayer:
Thank you Father for the nourishment, the spiritual fuel, which we receive from you. Father, we thank you for your Word, and the strength and power it brings to our lives and prayers. In your Holy Word, oh Lord, we find the key to your will and the signpost that points the way to Christ and on towards you. Heavenly Father, lead us through this life, direct us in our prayers, and prepare us for eternity with You. We thank you for the example of your son Jesus Christ who, even on the cross, taught us to not only follow your teaching, but to pray in your Word... even with His dying breath as He prayed… "He cried again in a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit." Holy, Holy, Holy are you our God who was, and is, and will always be, the Word. Holy are you who feeds us yourself in this way, and gives us living water to quench our thirsts for you, even as Jesus fed us His body, and gives us His blood to drink in Communion. Hear our prayers Lord, and nourish us in them by encouraging us to offer up your Word as we pray. Fuel our spiritual lives with the manna and living water that you provide, and that is served to us through your Son Jesus Christ. Let your Holy Spirit give utterance to your Word, as we speak it against all temptation and in our defense against all evil. Let your promises guard our souls, and hide our sins in Christ. See the image of Jesus shrouded in your Word as we stand before you in our final judgement, and speak your mercy, forgiveness, grace, over us as your eternal reward. This being eternity spent in your loving presence.
And all those who hunger, and thirst, will say… Amen, Amen, Amen.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
1 Kings 19:11-13 ESV
“On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
John 7:37-39 ESV
““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.””
John 3:16-17 ESV
“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
John 4:24 ESV
““For God so loved the world,[a] that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 ESV
Rich Forbes