Your Spiritual Life Depends on This Crucial Discipline

Thinking about food isn’t going to do much for your body. You have to eat food to live. You can know how to make food. You can know everything there is about its nutritional value. You can have a month’s supply of the healthy food stored in the pantry. But your knowledge of food and a storehouse of food will not help you if you don’t eat. The same goes for your spiritual food. You can have a Bible in every room of your house. You can have a Master of Divinity degree and be skilled at teaching or preaching the Word. You can possess the best software programs for studying the Bible in the original language with wonderful historical commentaries. You can have email devotionals delivered to your smartphone every morning. However, all of this education, skill and resources will not necessarily help you spiritually unless you daily take His Word and prayer deep inside your spirit.

Jesus was tempted by the devil to turn a stone into bread while He was fasting in the wilderness. He quoted Scripture to the devil: “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). Jesus taught us that we must take His Word deep inside us daily. We are more than just physical beings who need food to survive. We are spiritual creations who need to commune with our God every day. Most of us are too busy to eat properly. Busyness also keeps us from praying. Busyness keeps us from taking time to study, meditate and hide God’s Word in our hearts. We have an epidemic in the church of spiritually malnourished people who don’t meet Jesus in the secret place daily in the Word and prayer. The admonitions in the Scriptures are numerous and pointed. Meditate on the Word and pray. Your spiritual life depends on it. Here are just a few of the promised results on meditating and hiding God’s Word in your heart:

• You can have peace in your life: “Those who love Your law have great peace, and nothing shall cause them to stumble” (Ps. 119:165).
• You can be free from pornography and other sexual sins: “How shall a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. With my whole heart I seek You; do not allow me to wander from Your commandments. Your word have I hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Ps. 119-9-11).
• Your prayers will be answered: “If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7).
• You will be wise and successful: “This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth. Meditate on it day and night so that you may act carefully according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way successful and you will be wise” (Josh. 1:8).
• You will have a life full of joy and contentment: “His delight is in the law if the Lord, and in His Law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree planted by the rivers of water; that brings forth its fruit in its season; its leaf will not wither, and whatever he does will prosper” (Ps. 1:2-3).

You need to consistently meet the Lord in the secret place with prayer and the Word. You need to hunger after His Word—hunger and thirst for it profoundly and passionately. We need a fresh revelation of Jesus in our lives every day, even more than we need food, water and air. Jesus is the only one who can provide the kind of spiritual nourishment our souls long for. He said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me shall never hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). Our hunger and thirst are satisfied in His presence in the secret place.

The Lord’s Word is inseparably linked to prayer. It is in prayer that we seek to have a relationship with God and to know Him intimately. It is in the Word that He most often speaks to us. A full measure of daily prayer with little of the Word gives life; however, it leads to a lack of steadfastness. Much of the Word with little prayer leaves us unhealthy and prone to judgment and legalism. Being able to stand the tests and storms of life necessitates having the Word embedded deep in our souls with a full measure of prayer daily. A full measure of the Word and prayer daily is indispensable in living the Spirit-filled life.

Are you desperate? Do you see that you are spiritually bankrupt and Jesus is the only answer? I don’t think we really get it. There is a supply of God’s Spirit and presence that will both kill us and fill us. It will kill us and put to death the flesh with its appetites, passions and addictions. And in the process, the Holy Spirit will help us to empty ourselves of our own Spirit as much as it is possible. It will be painful, but it is a hurt that satisfies and electrifies our souls. Then we will be filled up to overflowing with His Spirit and His presence. We will be so spiritually healthy that we will have something to offer every person who crosses our paths.

Adapted from 40 Days Through the Prayers of Jesus by Tim Cameron, copyright 2017, published by Charisma House. This book will help you discover the secrets, mysteries, and provoking lessons that Jesus’ prayer life teaches. You will learn how to avoid hindrances to prayer and receive daily answers. To order your copy click on this link.

Prayer Power for the Week of Feb. 25, 2018

This week ask the Lord for help in disciplining yourself to engage in daily and consistent prayer and study of the Word. Thank the Holy Spirit that He is always available to be the teacher, intercessor and helper that you need. Continue to pray for worldwide revival as well as for our leaders to be led by godly counsel so that God’s will is done in all aspects of our lives. Read: Mark 6:41, Joshua 1:8 and John 15:7.