A Prayer To Welcome Truth To Live In Us

 I was speaking to someone the other day about why we are bothering to put up these little videos every day - that are pretty similar in some ways from day to day.  Here's the reason.

We believe that God's Word is full of life and truth and that as the Bible tell us - if we will hide God's word in our hearts, we won't sin against Him.

I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:11, 105

So one of our first purposes is to get to know what God's Word actually says.  We speak about it.  We put the words up on the screen so we can read it and I really do encourage all of us to go even further than the very few verses we are able to mention in the 5 or 6 minutes that we spend together.

But even more important or at least, equally important to knowing what God's Word says, is having it come to life in our hearts.  Jesus told us:

Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  John 8:31-32

It's way too easy to forget what God has called us to live with all of the competing agendas and sounds around us.  We need to be reminded of the simple basics of life that God says work. They are all found in God's word.  They are the way of freedom for us that we so long to know.  We chase down all sorts of other paths for contentment and freedom and Jesus clearly tells us that we’ll only experience true freedom when we are living under His truth.  Well, that’s motivation for me to know and do what God says.

There are many simple summaries of what God says about how we are to live our lives.  Jesus dear friend John put it this way:

We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. 1 John 3:23-24

There's no life for us in what we read in the Bible or hear talked about if we don't surrender our lives to God, invite Jesus to forgive our sins, and welcome the Holy Spirit to teach us about God's will and give us the power to live it. 

One of my favorite verses has always been from Philippians 2:13 which says:

God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.  Philippians 2:13

I have to tell you, I read some things in the Bible or get in the middle of some situation and there’s nothing in me that wants to do what’s right, what God tells us to do.  I have to pray that God will work in me to even make me WANT to do the right thing let alone have the power to carry it out.

Here’s the part that rally motivates me to spend these moments with you taking God’s word and putting it right into our prayers.  We are invited - well even more than that, we are instructed - to come to God with our requests, to seek His will and to believe that when we ask of Him those things that are on our hearts that he will answer us.  Well, I can't think of anything that is more on God's heart than the things that He tells us matter to Him. 

So, our simple little structure from day to day is to take God's own word in a simple way.  Take a moment to think about what it is saying, and then speak to God about those very words and ask God to make them live in us.  So, each day for just about 5 minutes, that's what we're doing, trusting that God will draw us closer to His heart as we welcome Him into all we are, all we're doing, all we're wondering about, all we need for this day to be successful.

Once again today, Loving God, we are bringing our wills and our lives to You because we can’t do life on our own.  We’ve come to believe that You are the power above all powers, the God above all Gods, the Lord of all Lords who alone can give us life and maintain that life in us. 

Speak Your Words of life to us, in us, and through us today.  We welcome Your voice, Holy Spirit to guide us in all truth and to empower us to live what we’ve read and trust God for all He’s said. Amen