"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." James 1:5

This is week three in our short series of being challenged to grow in the disciplines of our daily life with Christ. How are you doing so far? The past two challenges have been:

#1 Commit time each day to the study of God's Word.
#2 Begin forming regular prayer habits that will lead to a life of prayer.

I hope that by this point you are eagerly waiting for the next challenge. As you accept these, I truly believe you will begin seeing God working on you and transforming your life with Him. So let's get to it. The challenge for week 3: Connect prayer and the study of God's Word.

It goes like this: We want to know God more and we want to know His Word, so we open our Bibles, read, study, take notes, and discuss it. However, if we are honest, a lot of the time we don't understand what we are reading. First things first: if you feel like I just described you, you are not a failure! You are a human made in the image of God and you are in desperate need of the Spirit of Truth to reveal truth to your heart from His Word. God's Word is beyond our grasp without the Spirit of God enlightening us to God's truth.

Second, the verse above couldn't be more clear: if you lack wisdom, ask God! This week, as you continue to spend time in God's Word and develop habits that will lead to a life of prayer, begin incorporating prayer into your study of God's Word. When we don't understand God's Word, we can go to the Lord in prayer and ask for wisdom and understanding in His Word. This is not some new Christian, young believer practice. This is for every Christian, of every age, at any point in time. I literally do this all the time when I am studying God's Word. I'm not able to comprehend it, let alone do what it says, without the Spirit's help. This is why before his betrayal and crucifixion, Jesus said to His disciples, "It is good for you that I go." (John 16). Alright, let's get to work! Let's continue growing in these daily practices and disciplines, that our life may grow up in Him who is the head of all things, the Lord Jesus Christ!

As always, if you need or would like any help with any of these things, please reach out and let me know how I can help you.

Grace & Peace,
John
(You can reach Pastor John at jwhite@thevillagemi.com)