GOD’S WORD FOR NOVEMBER 7 ~ ~ Psalm 19:7 ~ ~ “The law (Word) of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;”

Michael Youssef’s book “How to Read the Bible…”

Looking into the mirror of God’s Word can be an unpleasant experience. We don’t like to be confronted with our hypocrisy. We don’t want to admit to ourselves that we make moral compromises, that we are complacent and spiritually lazy.

Many of us feel guilty about our prayer lives. We tell ourselves, “I’ll start praying daily. I’ll build a habit of prayer.” And we begin praying every morning and every night for a few days. And then we miss a day. Then two or three days. And soon we are back to our old prayerless lifestyle.

Or we feel guilty for neglecting the Bible. We tell ourselves, “I’ll build a habit of meditating on God’s Word.” And we begin with the best of intentions. Then we miss a day, then two or three, and soon the Bible sits on the shelf, neglected.

We keep our commitment for a few days, but the change is temporary. God is looking for permanent change in our lives. Here’s how I achieved that in mine.

In my early days as a pastor, I would run myself ragged trying to meet the demands of my ministry. I scheduled breakfast, lunch and dinner meetings, and appointments all day long. But I neglected to schedule time with God in prayer and Bible meditation.

In 1993, I came down with double pneumonia. I was bedridden for two weeks – and during that time of illness, God convicted me that I should not minister to others until I had ministered to Him and to my own spiritual needs. From then on, I never made breakfast or early morning appointments. Instead, I always offered up the first fruit of my day to the Lord, praying and meditating in my Daily Chronological Bible.

If you struggle to make time for prayer and Scripture meditation, here are some suggestions:

1. PRAY THROUGH THE SCRIPTURES. In the morning, pray these scriptural prayers back to God: Psalm 5:2-3 Ps 25:5 Ps 90:14 Ps 143:8 Lamentations 3:22-23 1 Thessalonians 5:17-19.

In your intercessory prayers for others, pray through:

Ephesians 1:17-19

Ephesians 3:14-19

Colossians 1:9-12

Copy these verses and say them daily.

2. PRAY ALOUD. There is something empowering and energizing about praying with your voice, not just your silent thoughts. You are truly conversing with the Father. Pray with the door closed and with no one listening but God. You’ll pray freely, without feeling self-conscious. Your “prayer closet” may be your backyard, basement, car, bathroom, or literal closet, but I encourage you to find a place where you can pray aloud to God.

3. BEGIN WITH THE LORD’S PRAYER. I suggest adding three words – “in my life” – to three lines of that prayer: “Our father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name IN MY LIFE. Your Kingdom come IN MY LIFE. Your will be done IN MY LIFE.” You may find that these three simple words will personalize that prayer in a meaningful way. The Lord’s Prayer also reminds us to ask God for our basic needs (“Our daily bread”), for forgiveness and the grace to forgive others (“Our debts”and “our debtors”), and for deliverance from temptation and evil. This is an effective pattern for prayer.
4. MAKE A COMMITMENT.

God’s Word holds up a mirror to show us what our spiritual life looks like. It can be painful to look in the mirror and face our physical imperfections. In the same way, it’s painful to honestly look at ourselves in God’s mirror, the Bible,. We think, “If I don’t look in the mirror, if I don’t read the Bible, I won’t have to acknowledge my flaws. I won’t have to change.”

Mirrors are relentlessly truthful. They take away our excuses. That’s why James, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote: (James 1:23-24)

“Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets whet he looks like.”

Do you enjoy looking in the mirror first thing in the morning? Is it pleasant to see your disheveled hair and your smooshed face? For me, facing the mirror is like a horror show. But that mirror gives me an honest reflection of myself. That reflection enables me to do something about that horror show before I go out and face the world. I can scrub my face and comb my hair and make myself presentable.

Now, suppose you look in the mirror and say, “Ugh! I don’t like what I see. But I’m really busy today. I won’t do anything about my appearance right now. Maybe tomorrow or next week.” Then you go out your front door – and now you’re a horror show for everyone who sees you. No rational person would look in the mirror and ignore what the mirror showed him.

But that’s precisely what we do when we look into the mirror of God’s Word, then ignore all the sins, flaws, and bad habits we find there. If we pretend we’re doing just fine when God’s Word says we’re not, we gradually harden our hearts to the conviction of God’s Spirit. The Bible is a mirror that reflects to us the reality of who we really are – not to condemn us, but to lead us to repentance and wholeness with God’s help.

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Hosea 2:19

 And I will betroth you unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth you unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.

John 14:21

 He that has my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me: and he that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest (reveal) myself to him.

Psalm 42:8 2

Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the day time, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.

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Romans 8:38, 39

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Proverbs 3:3-4

Do not let kindness and truth leave you;
Bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and a good reputation in the sight of God and man.

Psalm 84:11

 For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

Job 10:12

You have granted me life and goodness; And Your care has guarded my spirit.

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