All tagged mind

This morning we will study a subject that often perplexes those who are spiritual. My devotional reading today addressed the question "why is it important to pray for my bodily health and worldly matters?" E.M. Bounds reasoned that these things, albeit lower than the spiritual, have much to do with our religion. He went on to say that worldly matters, and our health, affect how we think and this makes them subjects of prayer. Through the years I have prayed for healing many times; not just my own healing but also that of others. Although I can't remember an instance in the Bible where Jesus prayed for His own healing, He healed the bodies of others so there is precedent for this.

Are we studying and memorizing scripture, and reading Biblically based literature, with the thought that this will make us wise and righteous or give us some increased standing with God? Well my friends, only one thing will work to perfect us in the eyes of God, and that is having the faith and obedience of a child. I would rather do this one small thing perfectly than to pursue a thousand wise and scholarly things while missing the mark of holiness entirely.

It’s not simply our actions that we need to repent of, but more than that it is what we carry in our hearts that will prompt, or have prompted, us to sin outwardly. These thoughts and longings desperately beg for our penitence and prayerful attention. Holding worldly thoughts in our hearts such as malice, lasciviousness, hatred, jealousy, and the like, leads us to commit our outward sins; they are like the voice of Satan that whispers nonstop day and night to us until at last we act upon them. Our repentance should begin with these dark thoughts that we feel confident no one can see, and are well hidden from God Himself, these are the deeply rooted sins we should dwell on in our prayer closets. Our transformation through Christ must begin with repentance for our innermost thoughts in order that they not manifest themselves boldly, and become the tangible fruit of what we give safe harbor to within us.