Are you appalled by the title of this post? Ha! I figured it would turn up a few eyebrows. Seriously though. Are we behaving like stupid Christians? We probably all have at some point, and from time to time, may still forget the simplicity of our relationship with Christ. Hebrews 5:11-14 should snap us out of this state! "11 There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. 12 You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word.[c] You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. 13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. 14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong."
Prayer and the Word go hand-in-hand. Too many Christians are walking around with only part of their armor on. If we believe God's Word is truth, then why don't we look for the answers to our prayers there? God may not answer your prayer if the answer lies within His written Word.
Think of it like this. Praying to God without looking for the answers in the Bible is like going to the doctor, hopping up on the exam table, telling them what's wrong, but then walking out of the room without hearing any medical advice. Too many of us are wasting months, maybe even years waiting for a response from God when He's already answered it in the Bible. Going to the doctor doesn't help you. Listening to the "diagnosis" and receiving medical advice is what helps. Now, obviously, we know God is the Healer, but stick with me here. Likewise, if we go to the doctor, tell them our problem, listen to the diagnosis, walk out with a written prescription for medicine, but never venture to the pharmacy to have the prescription filled, then we're not going to get better.
The very same is true in our relationship with The Lord. If we go to Him in prayer, then find our answer in the Bible (because our answer always lyes there), but never follow through with that wisdom, that advice, then it's useless. We are going to battle without our armor fitting properly. James 1:22 says, "But don't just listen to God's Word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves." We can't navigate our way through life without the GPS. The Lord is that GPS. We also can't experience any real growth in our walk with God if we continue to go to Him in prayer, but not look for our answer in His Word. And of course, we cannot escape the vicious cycle of confusion and frustration if we continually hear from The Lord (whether through the Holy Spirit or by reading the Bible) but choose not to do what it says. Your prescription does nothing sitting in the cabinet unopened. Your Bible does no good sitting up on a bookshelf or on top your nightstand collecting dust.
Don't miss the heart behind this. The Creator of the universe and everything in it designed you and me to want a relationship with him. Some of us spend a significant period of our lives not recognizing that the need for that relationship is a need for Him. Prayer is good. It is essential. There is a time for prayer. There is always a time for action too. No football team is successful by only having a game plan. You can crouch in the huddle all day long, but until you yell, "Break!" and then execute that game plan, it's useless. God has spoken! It's in His Word. He is urging us as he did Joshua in Joshua 7. In verse 10, The Lord says, "Get up! Why are you lying on your face like this?" He was saying then, and He is saying now, "It's time to get up! I have spoken. You need only do what I've said." The Lord continues on instructing Joshua with what He wants him to do.
It's time we do like the Word says in Ephesians 6. Put on the FULL armor of God. Going out into battle without ALL of your armor is silly. Your helmet does nothing but defend. Your sword is your offensive weapon. Use it! They only benefit us when all used together. It's time to operate FULLY in the power of Jesus. No enemy fears an opponent out on the battlefield with partial armor. It's time we stop wasting precious and costly time waiting for God to speak when He already has, about everything, in His Word. Go to the doctor, get the expert's advice, walk out with your prescription and a game plan, fill your prescription, and then take the stinkin' medicine!
Prayer and the Word go hand-in-hand. Too many Christians are walking around with only part of their armor on. If we believe God's Word is truth, then why don't we look for the answers to our prayers there? God may not answer your prayer if the answer lies within His written Word.
Think of it like this. Praying to God without looking for the answers in the Bible is like going to the doctor, hopping up on the exam table, telling them what's wrong, but then walking out of the room without hearing any medical advice. Too many of us are wasting months, maybe even years waiting for a response from God when He's already answered it in the Bible. Going to the doctor doesn't help you. Listening to the "diagnosis" and receiving medical advice is what helps. Now, obviously, we know God is the Healer, but stick with me here. Likewise, if we go to the doctor, tell them our problem, listen to the diagnosis, walk out with a written prescription for medicine, but never venture to the pharmacy to have the prescription filled, then we're not going to get better.
The very same is true in our relationship with The Lord. If we go to Him in prayer, then find our answer in the Bible (because our answer always lyes there), but never follow through with that wisdom, that advice, then it's useless. We are going to battle without our armor fitting properly. James 1:22 says, "But don't just listen to God's Word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves." We can't navigate our way through life without the GPS. The Lord is that GPS. We also can't experience any real growth in our walk with God if we continue to go to Him in prayer, but not look for our answer in His Word. And of course, we cannot escape the vicious cycle of confusion and frustration if we continually hear from The Lord (whether through the Holy Spirit or by reading the Bible) but choose not to do what it says. Your prescription does nothing sitting in the cabinet unopened. Your Bible does no good sitting up on a bookshelf or on top your nightstand collecting dust.
Don't miss the heart behind this. The Creator of the universe and everything in it designed you and me to want a relationship with him. Some of us spend a significant period of our lives not recognizing that the need for that relationship is a need for Him. Prayer is good. It is essential. There is a time for prayer. There is always a time for action too. No football team is successful by only having a game plan. You can crouch in the huddle all day long, but until you yell, "Break!" and then execute that game plan, it's useless. God has spoken! It's in His Word. He is urging us as he did Joshua in Joshua 7. In verse 10, The Lord says, "Get up! Why are you lying on your face like this?" He was saying then, and He is saying now, "It's time to get up! I have spoken. You need only do what I've said." The Lord continues on instructing Joshua with what He wants him to do.
It's time we do like the Word says in Ephesians 6. Put on the FULL armor of God. Going out into battle without ALL of your armor is silly. Your helmet does nothing but defend. Your sword is your offensive weapon. Use it! They only benefit us when all used together. It's time to operate FULLY in the power of Jesus. No enemy fears an opponent out on the battlefield with partial armor. It's time we stop wasting precious and costly time waiting for God to speak when He already has, about everything, in His Word. Go to the doctor, get the expert's advice, walk out with your prescription and a game plan, fill your prescription, and then take the stinkin' medicine!
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