by David Brenneman
"Do as You have said."
2 SAMUEL 7:25 NKJV
God's promises were never meant to be thrown away like waste paper. He intended that they should be used. God's gold is not a miser's money, to be hoarded and hidden, but is minted to be traded with. Nothing pleases our Lord better than to sce His promises put in circulation- He loves to see His children bring them up to Him and say, "Do as You have said.'
We glorify God when we plead His promises. Do you think He will be any poorer for giving you the riches He has promised? Do you suppose He will be any less holy for giving holiness to you? Do you imagine He will be any less pure for washing you from your sins? The Bible says, "Come now, let us settle the matter,'says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool" (Isaiah 1:18).
Faith lays hold of the promise of pardon; it does not delay by saying "This is a precious promise - wonder if it's true?" No, faith takes the promise straight to the throne, and pleads. "Lord, here is the promise. Do as You have said." Our Lord replies, "Be it done for you as you desire" (Matthew 15:28 ESV).
If we as Christians grasp the promises but do not take them to God, we dishonor Him. But when believers run quickly to the throne of grace and cry "Lord, I have nothing to recommend me but this you have said it, then our desires will be granted. Our heavenly Banker delights to cash his own checks.
Never let the promise rust, Draw the sword of promise out of its scabbard, and use it with holy violence. Don't think that God will be troubled by your urgent, repeated reminders of His promises. He loves to hear the loud cries of needy souls. It is His delight to bestow favors. He is more ready to hear than you are to ask.
The sun is not weary of shining, nor the fountain of flowing. It is God's nature to keep His promises, so go immediately to the throne saying "Do as You have said."
-Morning and Evening - C.H. Spurgeon for the morning of January 15th.
"And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen. And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” Matthew 21:21-22.
"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come." Ephesians 1:18-21.
After reading that last night (I actually read the morning and evening portions at the same time) the passage where Jesus spoke about praying and believing came to mind.
As well with other verses.
"rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer," Romans 12:12.
"Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." James 5:16.
What also came to mind this morning was the evening portion of that 15th of January. This was based on Psalm 109:4 "But i give myself to prayer" (NKJV).
"We must be as immersed in prayer as we are in the air we breathe--and pray without ceasing. Lord, teach us so that we may be more and more powerful in prayer." -C.H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening.
Between these two, and maybe it's just how my mind also connects things...we shouldn't be 'cramming' either in prayer or in our daily Bible reading. Long long ago, and yet still in this galaxy so it's not far far away, in my youth and more precisely the youth group I was in we often crammed to get our Bible reading in before we met. I did it and so did others. The bigger issue is we had to hand write in notes on the verses we read so besides my hand writing being terrible it had that of being rushed to go with it.
With the apps that are out there and the sharing that happens where we can see others progress it's easy to see when cramming happens.
Both in praying and in reading...don't get rushed! Don't think it's a task for you to perform that you feel obligated to do!
Guess what? That's how the Pharasee's and Sadducees saw what they did. As a chore, as an obligation. They knew those better than they knew the Scriptures. When they brougth Jesus to Pilate they wouldn't cross the threshold of his doorstep in order to even accuse Jesus whom they direly wanted to put to death all because of their own 'duties' and obligations they wrote for themselves.
There's much truth in the first section we read from Spurgeon where God's promises are ours to both believe in and to use for His work in our lives.
To be truthful it brought some conviction to me last night after reading that portion. What of you?
What are you doing with your time? Is it more wholly devoted to your wants and desires or are you seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness?
It will show in how you value your time with your Savior and Lord.
That time will either be very valuable to you or it won't.
What you think about His promises will either mean something to you or they won't.
You'll either be one of those servants who invested what they were given or you will be one of those servants who took an buried what they were given.
Have you accumulated your hearts desires around you and have likewise neglected the Word of God in your life?
In the movie "God's Not Dead" there's a segment where the actress speaks to someone and what's said has every bearing on what's being read here today.
"Sometimes the devil allows people to live a life free of trouble because he doesn't want them turning to God. Their sin is like a jail cell, except that it's all nice and comfy and there doesn't seem to be any reason to leave. The door's wide open. Then one day, time runs out, the door slams shut, and suddenly it's too late."
Not everything we go through in life is a heavy trial that is so evident to us that we can't help but see it as such.
We listen to the world and deny that there's a storm going on and go on with life.
This will build up over time and consume the time, attention, and deserving that belongs to the Lord.
It will cause us to rush through a prayer, rush through a Bible reading. Rush rush rush and we won't even acknowledge that we're rushing.
Take the time to be still before your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Inhale. Breathe. Rest.
Jesus is never in a hurry. He never has a need to be. All will be accomplished according to His timetable at His pace by His direction. We can be those Disciples in the boat crying out for Jesus to do something because all we see is us perishing.
Take the time, the rightful time, the holy set apart time, to be with Jesus today. Slow down, and obey.
Don't be so ritualistic that you neglect the holiness of what you are doing with Jesus.
Pray without ceasing.
Read with purpose.
All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
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