chapter 11
"And now remember one thing more: It is Jesus who said this."
If you are anything like me, than this chapter challenges my mind and my flesh. I want to remind Andrew Murray of all of the times that I did not get what I received, when I exerted faith and was failed, when I believed for things and was left wanting. But, I would be having that conversation with the wrong person, because as Murray points out, it was JESUS who said it. Jesus, the one who is full of grace and truth, the one who is the kindest person in the world, the one who died for me (and you) when I was yet a sinner. He is the one who spoke these words that confuse my mind but excite my spirit.
As our fast begins today, this is a brilliant reminder: Jesus is to be our focus, Jesus is to be our goal, Jesus is to be our Lord, Jesus is to be our everything. Lord, please help us to move past any and every distraction, and allow us to live in the purity and simplicity of devotion to Jesus. Amen.
‘Believe that ye have received, and ye shall have.’ Between the have received in heaven, and the shall have of earth, believe: believing praise and prayer is the link. <--Boom time
ReplyDeleteClay, you (and that Murray fellow) hit the nail on the head with this one. "All things whatsoever.’ At this first word our human wisdom at once begins to doubt and ask:
ReplyDeleteThis surely cannot be literally true? But if it be not, why did the Master speak it, using the very strongest expression He could find: ‘All things whatsoever."
I've done the same thing many times- "surely he didn't mean that!" "What else could he have meant" "We must have missed something"
While my wisdom and intellect may never fully understand what Jesus meant, devotion to Jesus is all that really matters.
I am reminded how I at times limit the power of prayer when I offer to God a request that is safe from disappointment. Murray discusses how we avoid danger by adding in clauses to explain when and how we receive the answers to our prayers. However, I think the real danger lies in trying to live life without the faith to pray empowered prayers that will see answers come.
ReplyDeleteOkay, so I am a little confused. In this chapter, Murray talks about and challenges how we often come up with excuses to qualify God's promise to give us whatever we ask such as "He'll answer if expedient or if it's according to God's will" - thus encouraging us to expect Him to really do whatever we ask if we have faith. On the other hand, he says later when talking about God refining our faith that "we wait for the leading of the Spirit to show us whether we are asking the right thing and in the right spirit" - in which case if we are not asking the "right thing" then we will not receive and thus could say we did not receive because it was not according to God's will. Which seems contradictory to me, though I know that's probably not what he's saying. The best thing I can come up with is that Murray is saying that we shouldn't just pray and if we don't receive, use the excuses that "It's not God's will" or "It's not expedient" and stop praying. But instead, we should keep praying until God does the change in us to be praying for the right thing out of the right spirit and thus receive what we ask when He has changed what we are asking. Does that make sense? So God would rather change our hearts and requests so that He can do the right thing that we ask our of the right spirit instead of us praying the same not-right thing and Him changing the way He answers it, making it so He doesn't actually do whatever we ask. ??
ReplyDeleteI think I'm going to start praying for immaculate conception and just see what happens.
ReplyDelete