God
calls us to pray - ‘Devote yourselves to prayer.’ We are to pray with
concern - ‘watchful.’ We are to pray with gratitude - ‘thankful’
(Colossians 4:2). We are to pray for those who preach God’s Word. Thank
God for the past. Trust Him for the future. Remember - the important
thing is the ‘message’ (Colossians 4:3). The messengers are just ‘jars
of clay’. The message is the ‘treasure’ (2 Corinthians 4:7). The
messengers must not draw attention to themselves. They must direct
attention away from themselves to Jesus Christ - ‘We do not preach
ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord’ (2 Corinthians 4:5). We are to pray
that the message will be ‘clear’ (Colossians 4:4). Pray for good
preaching - preaching which does you good, giving you good cause to say
in your heart, ‘For me it is good to be near God’ (Psalm 73:28). Pray
for preaching which glorifies God.
"I am filled with the power of the Lord's Spirit" (Micah 3:8). This is what makes true ministry of God's Word so different from 'prophecy' that doesn't come from the Lord. Without the power of the Lord, there can be no Word from the Lord. We need the Word, and we need the power. "Let's go to the mountain of the Lord ...He will teach us His ways so that we may live by them" (Micah 4:2). We are taught by the Lord so that we might live for Him. Teaching and living - they belong together. We do not learn from God's Word so that we can amass more head-knowledge. We pray for a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ - a life-changing knowledge that gives us the strength that we need to live for the glory of God.
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