Luke 24:45
And He opened their understanding that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
What an incredible verse!
That God would reach down into a finite mind.......one that has limited capabilities....and place within that mind the ability to comprehend His word.
For me personally, watching someone have their understanding of God's word activated is payday. To see the lights come on in that individual, and to see the excitement as they begin to grasp what Scripture is saying is priceless. The Word of God no longer is just sentences and hard to pronounce words and phrases. Under the influence of God's Holy Spirit, that person now sees themselves in that Scripture. They see their own heart and the promises of God to anyone who lays everything down to chase Him.
Right now, I have a group of men who fit this category. It is exciting to watch them talking with each other about what a particular passage means to them. It is exciting to be in my office and hear a knock on my door, only to have an entire group come in wanting to ask questions. More than that, I love it when they come to tell me of an encounter they have had with God during the day.
I always, at some point during the program at Rapha, tell the guys about the world's most dangerous prayer. I tell them that if they are serious about their recovery, they will pray this prayer. But that they need to realize that God will take them up on what they are praying. The prayer goes like this: God...don't let me get away with anything. Uncover me at every turn. Amen! Whenever I teach this, you can see the guys wince and squirm, thinking to themselves, "You know..that is scary. I'm not sure I really want to pray this." But at some point they do. What's funny is when God does uncover them. When they are made aware that they are, in fact, trying to do something that runs contrary to God's desire for them. It may be an attitude or an act of defiance but no matter what it is, they find themselves under the conviction of the Holy Spirit. One man shared with me last night that he had prayed that prayer, and not 15 minutes after finishing was working out in the weight room when he had an encounter with someone. It brought about a tremendous amount of anger in this individual and the moment his anger rose, he was suddenly aware that he was wrong and that he'd been uncovered. He told me that he had never experienced anything like that before. He knew right then, that God was serious about the prayer he had prayed.
This entire process of recovery has to have a balance of understanding the Word of God with times of experiencing His presence. To be able to hear God's word and then have a demonstration of His power to reinforce it. That is why I encourage every man in the program to receive prayer when it is offered at a meeting or a service. I tell them, "You may not even know what it is you need...but get prayer anyway. Tell the person praying for you that you just want everything God wants you to have." Sounds greedy doesn't it? Well, it is. I think being greedy for God's presence and His touch upon our lives is not a bad thing. In fact........if you don't want what God has for you......I'll take it!
God on you.....
mb
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