I was recently speaking to our youth about the necessity of slowing down and approaching their personal time with the Lord in His Word prayerfully and patiently. That discussion rose out of a statement in the April 2 installment of Faith’s Checkbook by Charles Spurgeon where he wrote: “Not by hasty reading but by deep meditation we profit by the Word of God.”
In chapter 2 of David Powlison’s book, Seeing With New Eyes, he explores some practical implications of Ephesians. As he prepares to take us into the Word he tells us, “We must lean hard on God” (p. 36). He gives the following prayer which I in turn give to you in hopes that this will help you develop or maintain a prayerful, patient and expectant mindset as you approach your Lord in His Word:
Our heavenly Father, you have spoken such wonderful things. They are true, but we stumble in the dark. Overcome our hearing-impaired, sight-impaired, mind-impaired, heart-impaired natures. Our God, you let us glimpse what is true and right, holy and perfect, what is worthy of adoration. You give us a glimpse of Christ Himself. Paul blazed with light in Christ, and we want to blaze with light also. Make us know you better. Help us, our Father, we pray in the name of your Son, Jesus, who has brought us into life. Amen.
May the Lord, in His grace and by the power of His Spirit, give you some rich, personal time with Himself through the Scriptures today.
