Word of Encouragement (2/11/2021)
Yesterday, in reflecting on prayer as a means of regaining a God-centered perspective, we talked about pleasure as our greatest motivator and our need to have it reoriented and reordered from the worldly perspective. Let’s stay on that topic one more day.
Yesterday, I briefly mentioned the importance of Scripture reading for our prayer life. The ultimate and final prayer of ours should be, “Not my will, but yours, be done” (Matt. 26:39). “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us” (1 John 5:14). Where do we learn of God’s will? Isn’t it in the Scripture that we find the clearest expression of His will? But of course, we need the Holy Spirit, who inspired the words of the Bible, to help us understand them. So, we should pray for the illumination of the Holy Spirit before we read the Bible. Then, we should read it prayerfully with careful attention and reverence. Then, we should pray for the proper application of the Word as well as according to the Bible.
What happens when we read the Bible? I don’t think I’m alone to experience a paradigm shift of sorts whenever I open up the Bible to read. The words of the Bible jolt me out of whatever state of mind and heart I’m in. It may be because “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things” got to me throughout the day before and I have drifted away from the God-centered, biblical perspective on life. Maybe I lost it while I slept because my default mode is still so worldly. So, when I pray without reading the Bible, I often end up simply praying for what the Gentiles seek— “what to eat, what to drink, what to wear,” etc.
But when I open up the Bible, I am confronted with God’s perspective on things—what God cares about. I come to the Bible, seeking happiness; the Bible tells me that God cares about holiness. I come to the Bible, desiring pleasure; the Bible tells me that God cares about righteousness. I want God to deliver me from my troubles; God wants to deliver me from sin. I just want forgiveness; God wants me to turn away from sin in repentance. I want to escape from my afflictions; God wants me to cultivate endurance as He walks me through them. I want comfort and ease; God wants my life to be meaningful and fruitful. I want to be left alone in my familiar misery; God wants to heal me and help me enjoy the abundant life Christ has sacrificed so much to give me. I want more of this world; God wants to give me more of the surpassing riches of the world to come. I want more gifts from Him; God wants to give more of Himself so that we can have true happiness and everlasting joy and peace.
Oh, how we need this God-centered, biblical perspective to guide us! Living life without it is like trying to find our way through the complex maze of life without the map in darkness. We learn of God’s will in the Bible. We inscribe it on our hearts through prayer. And we live it by obedience in faith and repentance. May this be the pattern of our lives!