A HEART FOR THE WORD AND PRAYER

E. “Our hearts must have some object of desire, and the only way to keep out worldly gain is to put in its place the testimonies of the Lord. If we are inclined or bent one way, we shall be turned from the other; the negative virtue is most surely attained by making sure of the positive grace which inevitably produces it.”[1]

F. Before you read, ask the Lord to bend your heart to his way in his word.

II. SPIRITUAL VISION NEEDED

A. Psalm 119:18 (ESV) — 18 Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.

Psalm 119:18 ESV

18 Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.

B. Reading your Bible is a supernatural activity.

C. In Jesus day, the Scribes and the Pharisee’s were those who probably read the Scriptures more than anyone else. They would focus on the details, yet Jesus indicates they didn’t see what they should have seen.

D. ‘Have you not read’ is stated six times by Jesus to the Pharisees.

E. Matthew 12:3 (Luke 6:3), 5; 19:4; 22:31; Mark 12:10; 12:26.

F. John Piper says, “This must have been highly offensive….The implication each time is that the most authoritative Bible readers of that day didn’t know what they were talking about.”

G. Luke 24:44–45 (ESV) — 44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,

Luke 24:44–45 ESV

44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,

H. “He (David) felt that God had laid up great bounties in his word, and he begs for power to perceive, appreciate, and enjoy the same. We need not so much that God should give us more benefits, as the ability to see what he has given. The prayer implies a conscious darkness, a dimness of spiritual vision, a powerlessness to remove that defect, and a full assurance that God can remove it…And what man can open his own eyes, since he is born blind? God himself must reveal revelation to each heart. Scripture needs opening, but not one half so much as our eyes do: the veil is not on the book, but on our hearts. What perfect precepts, what precious promises, what priceless privileges are neglected by us because we wander among them like blind men amongst the beauties of nature, and they are to us as a landscape shrouded in darkness!”[2]

I. This is why Paul’s prayers for the believers in Ephesus are so important (Eph 1:16-19; 3:14-19).

J. They show us that we have an ongoing need to have the eyes of our hearts enlightened.

K. Before you read, bow in prayer and ask for your eyes to be opened. As you read, pray!

III. A UNITIED FOCUS

A. Psalm 86:11 (ESV) — 11 Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.

Psalm 86:11 ESV

11 Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.

B. The fear of the Lord is joy.

C. Isaiah 11:3 (ESV) — And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear,

Isaiah 11:3 ESV

3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear,

D. Before we read, we must ask the Lord to unite our heart for the purpose of growing in the fear of the Lord.

E. This is not fear as in terror, but the fear that arises from seeing the Lord as Creator and loving Father. It is awe and amazement. It is joy and delight.

F. When we come to the word of God we often have multiple agendas. We need a single focus.

G. We pray before we read, asking for a heart that is single in focus. Our focus is the Lord himself.

H. This comes from the Lord.

IV. FINDING SATISFACTION

A. Psalm 90:14 (ESV) — 14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Psalm 90:14 ESV

14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

B. The goal of our reading is to find satisfaction in him.

C. We need the Lord to open our eyes, so we understand his love and find delight in him.

D. If prayer is not for gratifying natural desires but for Christ-exalting fruit-bearing, the major challenge in praying is to become the kind of person who is not dominated by natural desires, but by spiritual fruit-bearing desires. [3]

V. PRAYER FLOWS OUT OF THE WORD OF GOD

A. All we have just reviewed are prayers before reading the word of God.

B. I will end this morning with several quotes that express the importance of the word of God to prayer.

C. Another benefit of the Word of God that wakens desire to read and ponder and memorize Scripture is the role it plays in answered prayer. Jesus said, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7). The words of Jesus must abide in us if our prayers are to be effective.[4]

D. George Mueller, “I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the word of God, and to meditation on it.… What is the food of the inner man? Not prayer, but the word of God; and … not the simple reading of the word of God, so that it only passes through our minds, just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what we read, pondering over it, and applying it to our hearts.”[5]

E. It is not simply about personal transformation, but about being transformed to become what I was created to be as a member in Christ’s body and fulfilling the ultimate purpose of Creation that was lost in the garden.

[1] Spurgeon, C. H. (n.d.). The Treasury of David: Psalms 111-119 (Vol. 5, p. 210). London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers. [2] Spurgeon, C. H. (n.d.). The treasury of David: Psalms 111-119 (Vol. 5, p. 172). London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers. [3] Piper, J. (2004). When I don’t desire God: how to fight for joy (p. 108). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books. [4] Piper, J. (2004). When I don’t desire God: how to fight for joy (p. 107). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books. [5] Piper, J. (2004). When I don’t desire God: how to fight for joy (p. 119). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

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