Obedience and Prayer

"Many persons, being told that God answers prayer for Christ’s sake, overlook the condition of obedience. They have so loose an idea of prayer, and of our relations to God in it, and of his relations to us and to his moral government, that they think they may be disobedient and yet prevail through Christ. 

How little do they understand the whole subject! Surely they must have quite neglected to study their Bible to learn the truth about prayer. They might very easily have found it there declared, 

“He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination.” 

“The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord.” 

“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” 

All this surely teaches us that if there be the least sin in my heart, the Lord will not hear my prayer. Nothing short of entire obedience for the time being is the condition of acceptance with God.

There must be a sincere and honest heart — else how can you look up with humble confidence and say, "My Father;" else how can you use the name of Jesus, as your prevailing Mediator; and else, how can God smile upon you before all the eyes of angels and of pure saints above!” ~Charles Finney

Let us remember to approach God's throne room with clean hands and a pure heart.  He is holy, holy holy!  Let us remember to Whom we pray and when we seek His face, let us cleanse ourselves of all wickedness.

Meditating on the Scriptures - Part 2

Listen to the wisdom of Matthew Henry on the subject of meditation and be encouraged in your own life to make this discipline a priority.

"To meditate in God’s word is to discourse concerning the great things contained in it, with a close application of mind, a fixedness of thought, till we be suitably affected with those things and experience the savour and power of them in our hearts."

"meditation is the best preparative for prayer, so prayer is the best issue of meditation."

"If we willingly banish holy meditations in our solitary hours, Satan will soon occupy our minds with sinful imaginations."

"Meditation and prayer are blessed means of strengthening faith and hope."

"Meditation. God’s words must be laid up in our hearts, that our thoughts may be daily employed about them."

"In retirement and in meditation the Christian character is formed and perfected."

"We must have constant regard to the word of God, as the rule of our actions, and the spring of our comforts; and have it in our thoughts night and day. For this purpose no time is amiss."

"Those who would have clear views of heaven, must get as near to heaven as they can, on the mount of meditation and faith."

Isaac "went out to take the advantage of a silent evening and a solitary place, for meditation and prayer; those divine exercises by which we converse with God and our own hearts." 

Meditating on the Scriptures

“I began to read the Holy Scriptures upon my knees, laying aside all other books, and praying over, if possible, every line and word. This proved meat indeed and drink indeed to my soul. I daily received fresh life, light and power from above.”– George Whitefield

“I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God, and to meditation on it…. What is the food of the inner man? Not prayer, but the Word of God; and….not the simple reading of the Word of God, so that it only passes through our minds, just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what we read, pondering over it, and applying it to our hearts.” – George Müller

“The more you read the Bible, the more you meditate on it, the more you will be astonished by it.” – Charles Spurgeon

“Remember that it is not hasty reading, but serious meditation on holy and heavenly truths, that makes them prove sweet and profitable to the soul. It is not the mere touching of the flower by the bee that gathers honey, but her abiding for a time on the flower that draws out the sweet. It is not he that reads most, but he that meditates most, that will prove to be the choicest, sweetest, wisest, and strongest Christian.”– Thomas Brooks

Believing Prayer

"Beware in your prayers, above everything else, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do. Expect unexpected things ‘above all that we ask or think."

"Each time you intercede, be quiet first and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do, of how He delights to hear Christ, of your place in Christ, and expect great things."

"Learn to worship God as the God who does wonders, who wishes to prove in you that He can do something supernatural and divine."

"We must begin to believe that God, in the mystery of prayer, has entrusted us with a force that can move the Heavenly world, and can bring its power down to earth."

"The measure of believing, continued prayer will be the measure of the Spirit’s working in the Church. Direct, definite, determined prayer is what we need."

"One thing is sure: The Lord wants us to believe most certainly that asking, seeking, and knocking cannot be in vain. Receiving an answer, finding God, and the opening of His heart and home are the certain fruits of prayer."

"The Holy Spirit comes in answer to believing prayer."

~Andrew Murray

Due to scheduling conflicts, over the next two weeks I will be unable to write blog posts on what the Lord is sharing with me. However, I will try to share some encouraging and inspiring quotes from others who have walked this path before us and have finished the race. They have much wisdom to share and as we learn from them, I pray that we might be inspired and equipped to walk this path that they have trod.

How to Abide in God's Word

As you may remember, in our last article we studied abiding in God's Word as John 8:31-32 says:

"Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, 'If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.'”

Today, I want to examine some ways that we can apply this principle to our lives. Whenever we study God's Word it is very important not to simply leave it at head knowledge. We gained a lot of valuable information when we studied John 8:31. Now we want to apply it to our lives.

How can we do this? Although this is not comprehensive nor written by a trained professional, here are some ideas that you can incorporate into your life and watch to see how they work.

1. Prayer.  If there is one thing that the Lord has been teaching me it is that I cannot do anything on my own.  I'm a list person. I like having a process for everything.  And abiding in God's Word (although there are some principles) cannot be reduced to a list. So although we may suggest ideas for how to abide in God's Word, what we really need is the Holy Spirit's help. Without Him, we can do nothing.  I am always reminded of Jesus' command to His disciples to "watch and pray."  They could do their part--the watching--but they must also pray that the Lord would do what only He could do.  So when we approach this whole issue, we must begin (and end) in prayer.

2. Read God's Word. Study it.  The more you are in God's Word, the better.  What you spend the most time with is what you will be thinking about.  The more we devour God's Word and immerse ourselves in it, the more we will be--in reality, in it.

3.  Memorize and meditate on God's Word.  We can only read His Word for so long. If you are anything like the normal human being, your free time is quiet limited.  You just don't have two hours each day to spend reading God's Word.  When we take the time to hide verses in our heart, we can pull them out for meditating on as we drive to work, take a walk in the park, or do the dishes.  Whenever the mind is idle we can be meditating on God's Word.  This will allow us to abide in God's Word throughout the day.

4.  Listen to the Bible on audio.  Many listen to music or sermons.  Yet those were not commanded by Christ. Those are not identifying features of Jesus' disciples.  Abiding in God's Word is.  I say this just as much to myself as to others. Imagine what it would be like if you and I spent the time we are listening to music, or a sermon, or an audiobook; what if we used this time to listen to Scripture? I know I would have an hour or two each day devoted to listening to Scripture!  Folding the laundry, doing the dishes, driving to and from--all are good times to listen to God's Word spoken and allow it to saturate our minds.

5. Talk about the Scriptures with others.  Everyone! The more it is in your mind, your heart, your eyes, and your lips; the more you will be abiding in God's Word.  Talk about what the Lord is teaching you through His Word.  Ask what others are learning.  Discuss with others the meaning of passages and how the Lord has used verses in your life.  As you spend time talking about God's Word with others, you will find yourself more and more abiding in the Scriptures.

Remember once again that none of this is possible without the Holy Spirit's help.  It must be Him.  But with His assistance and guidance, we can abide continually in God's Word.  It will take some time to develop the discipline, so give yourself some grace, but keep moving forward, further and further--deeper and deeper--into God's Word.  And watch as the truth sets you free -- free-er than you ever thought possible.

Abiding in God's Word -- A Word Study

“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’” ~John 8:31-32

What does it mean to "abide in" God's Word?  Today, let's do a little word study.  Together we'll examine the Greek word, some cross-references, and a few commentaries before discussing our application.  So let's begin!

Greek Word

The Greek word for "abide" is "menō."   The Outline of Biblical Usage reveals this about the meaning behind meno.

to remain, abide

1. in reference to place
1. to sojourn, tarry
2. not to depart
1. to continue to be present
2. to be held, kept, continually
2. in reference to time
1. to continue to be, not to perish, to last, endure
1. of persons, to survive, live
3. in reference to state or condition
1. to remain as one, not to become another or different

to wait for, await one

We learn here that in order for God's Word to abide in us, it must sojourn, dwell, or stay with us; much as one would dwell at a home.  It's not just a two week stay, but, as meno describes, it must continue in and endure with and in us.  See how much we can learn from digging a little deeper into the word?

Cross-References

Next let's look at a few cross-references. Comparing Scripture against Scripture takes the passage deeper in meaning and allows us to better understand what the author means. Note: the first five cross-references are all written by the same author: John. This makes them especially useful for cross-referencing purposes, because we get more insight into what the author actually meant.

John 15:7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”

Abiding in Jesus and abiding in His words are very similar. We should not just abide in one, or just abide in the other. Rather, we must dwell in both and allow both to dwell in us. When we do, we will bring our requests before God and He will hear them. Why does He promise this? When we abide in God's Word, we better understand His heart and know what He desires. When He lives in us, we do not live there and our self will be out of the way. We will align our hearts with His will, instead of praying for a new car or a million dollar job.

1 John 2:14  “I have written to you, fathers,Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.I have written to you, young men,Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you,And you have overcome the wicked one.”

He is praising these young men because God's Word abides in them.  He also mentions that they are strong and that they have overcome the wicked one.  How can we overcome the devil? Through wielding the Sword of the Spirit--which is the Word of God.  So here again we must be abiding in God's Word so that we might overcome the wicked one.

1 John 2:24 “Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.”

What did they hear from the beginning? The Word of God. And if that word abides in them (and in us as well) we will also abide in the Son and in the Father. The key to abiding in God is to abide in His written word--for it is there that He has revealed Himself to mankind.

2 John 1:9 “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.”

Again we see that if we abide in the doctrine of Christ--another way of saying God's Word--we will abide in both the Father and the Son. This practice of abiding in God's Word serves great purpose if we desire that Christ might indwell in us. Remember, if we are not abiding in the vine, we will bear no fruit, for without Jesus Christ we can do nothing (John 15).

John 5:38 “But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.”

What is one of the purposes or results of abiding? Belief.  If we do not truly believe in Jesus Christ, then we are not truly abiding in His Word.  As we remain in His Word, we grow deeper in our faith.

Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

The command of John 8:31 is echoed here in Colossians 3:16.  We must let God's Word dwell in us.  How?  Richly!  Not just halfheartedly or begrudgingly, but richly!  And in all wisdom.  Or it could also be translated, "unto all wisdom."  Our goal as we let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly is to gain a heart of wisdom--spiritual wisdom.  Wisdom concerning the will and character of God.

Commentaries

Now that we understand a little more of what it means to abide in God's Word through cross-references, let us take a look at a few commentaries to see what additional insight we can gain into abiding.

"If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples." This doesn't mean that you can't lay your Bible down and go to your work. No. Abiding in the word of Jesus means remaining in that force field of the word. It means not leaving it.

• Abide means not ceasing to be persuaded by its truth, and never elevating any other truth above it.
• Abide means not ceasing to be attracted by its beauty and value, and never seeing anything as more beautiful or more valuable or more attractive than the word and the Lord it reveals.
• Abide means not ceasing to rest in its grace and power—never turning away as though greater peace could be found anywhere else.
• Abide means never ceasing to eat and drink from the word as the bread of heaven and living water, as if life could be sustained anywhere else.
• And abide means never ceasing to walk in the light of the word, as though any other light could show the secrets of life.

~John Piper

Because we don't have time to discuss the application today, I want to give you time to think. What does it mean to abide in God's Word? What practical application can we carry from this passage? What are some ways we can abide in His Word? As you consider these things, write your thoughts below and maybe they'll make it into the next article!

Come Into His Presence With Thanksgiving

I remember in the early months of this autumn the Lord laid it on my heart to pray for revival in the life of our church.  And then He brought the revival one Friday night.  Our church's youth gathered together and listened as a couple filled with the Holy Spirit talked with us.  At the end, the Lord granted us such a time of confession and repentance as I have never seen.  The Lord was so merciful and gracious to answer my prayers!  He brought a revival to our church that evening, but more than that, He brought a revival to my own heart.  The Lord has grown me exponentially closer to Him as a result of that evening.  I treasure it as one of my greatest memories.

After all this, though, how much time do you think I spent in thanking Him?

After the Lord was answered my prayers so much more abundantly than I could have ever asked or imagined, you would have thought I would have shed tears of joy and spend many minutes rejoicing over the mercy of my Lord.

Honestly, I probably spent a total of five measly minutes in praise.

Pretty sad isn't it.  After all the Lord did for me, what return did I give?  Only to rush on to my next request, without pausing for even a moments gratitude.

I am reminded of the story of the ten lepers whom Jesus healed.  Out of those whose lives He completely transformed that day, only one of them came back to thank Him.  To him Jesus said, "“Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?' And He said to him, 'Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well'” (Luke 17:17-19).

What about you and I?

Will we be like the nine who did not return to give glory to God, or will we fall down at Jesus' feet with spirits of gratefulness.  Many, many verses speak on the topic of thanksgiving. Truly it is an important part of Scripture.  Yet how important do we make it in our own lives?

Think about how God feels when we refuse to acknowledge our thanksgiving to Him?

He has poured out His very life for us and blessed us with everything we need for life and godliness. He has given us all things richly to enjoy. He answered even our petites concerns to show us that He loves us and cares for us.  He provides us strength by the minute and His mercies are a never ending waterfall flowing down upon us.

He has done all this for us, yet we do not thank Him.  How discouraging this must make Him feel! Imagine if you had given someone of everything you had--your love, possessions, and time--and they refused to acknowledge it with even the slightest of smiles. How would that make you feel?

Over these next few weeks, make thanksgiving a priority. Write down verses on thanksgiving and hang them up in your prayer closet, on the bathroom mirror, and over the kitchen sink to remind you to live in a spirit of gratitude.  Watch how this praise changes your heart as your eyes are turned from what you don't have to what you do have.  Watch, for as you pour out your heart and bring glory to your amazing King, He will bless you as well.

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!" ~Psalm 100:4

P.S. If you are a young lady, I invite you to join me in the King's Blooming Rose's Thanksgiving Challenge for the month of November.  Let us give thanks to the Lord!