Meditate God’s word (inhale).
“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither whatever they do prospers.”
Psalms 1:1-3
Who does it remind you of when you read this scripture portion from Psalms 1? This picture that the word of God paints, of the strong tree planted by the streams of water, yielding fruit and leaf not withering? Let me guess, Jesus! You got it right.
Jesus calls us to follow Him as the Holy Spirit sanctifies us to be like Him! Verse 1 is shunning our old man, that denial of the old man is a reaction to the action of “delighting” in His word. Do you look for Him as you read the word? Are you delighted as you catch a glimpse of the hem of His garment? Do you delight in Him? If you do not delight in Him, let our Father know, speak to a fellow believer, examine your heart!
Tip: It is hard and close to impossible to consistently, personally meditate on God through reading scripture, if you are not meditating within a community setting. Find your community to strengthen your personal meditation.
Pray (exhale).
“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission”.
Hebrews 5:7
There was this request that the disciples made to Jesus, and we see that in Luke 11:1. One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” I used to wonder what it was about Jesus’ prayer that made the disciples ask and I found that verse in Hebrews shed light on the way Jesus prayed. From that day on, I have made it my prayer to ask Jesus to teach me to pray like He prayed. And when you read Paul’s prayers for the churches we see the nature of his prayers just like our Lord’s. Do you want to pray like Jesus? Do you want to pray like Paul prayed? The answer might surprise you, it is meditating on the Word of God day and night as indicated in Psalm 1, that’s the key to changing the nature of our prayer life.
One last verse to know where our prayers should begin is Romans 8:26-27: “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God”. Prayer is being offered by the Spirit and by our Lord at the right hand of the Father, we join the Spirit and our Lord in prayer, unto the praise of His glory.
Tip: It is hard and close to impossible to consistently pray if you are not meditating on scripture, and you do not have a community (family, friends, co-workers) that you pray with. Find a community to pray with.
Donald Thampy serves as an Elder at GRC.