Tuesday, January 29, 2008

The Promise and Power of God's Word


So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11 (New American Standard Bible)


To think that every time I read my Bible, God has something He wants to accomplish in me. He did it several times this morning. Through different passages I saw heart issues that needed to be addressed, times where I have allowed the opinions of others to hold too much power over me, instances when I have allowed myself to be “rooted and grounded” in soil that is not of God, unwillingness to walk in love and forgiveness, and other things that remain between God and me. My point is this. As God’s word comes forth to me it has purpose and promise. He says it will not return to Him empty. It will accomplish what He wants it to accomplish and it will succeed in what He plans for it.

He compared it to the rain. The rain does not evaporate back into the air without first watering the ground and bringing forth the growth for our sustenance. It accomplishes what it was sent to accomplish! His word does so even more profoundly.

I am being challenged this morning to make this verse a prayer each time I open God’s word or sit under the teaching of God‘s word. A prayer of thanksgiving, promise, anticipation, and realization. To ask God to make me completely receptive to all that He desires to accomplish through what He speaks to me. Ultimately it will produce growth, change, and fruit. In other words, what God tells me should have a profound effect on how I think, speak, and act. It is the very thing that will transform me from the inside out.

Too often I have allowed circumstances and people to speak louder to me than God’s voice. But this morning, God is urging me to allow His voice to become clearer and louder than any others. As I begin to do that, some voices will become duller and others will be muted all together. May His words accomplish much today!

In addition to this, I am gaining fresh confidence in the power of praying Scripture over the life of individuals. This is done by finding verses that express what it is I would like to see God do in another person’s life and then praying those verses for them. It might be for salvation, deliverance, reconciliation, change, or any number of issues. Whatever it is, God’s Word and God’s Spirit are the most powerful means to accomplish it. May much be sent forth and accomplished today!

Father, I am trying to grasp the full implication of what You are saying to me this morning. You have awakened in me a desire to hear You. Amen.