Wednesday, August 10, 2011

"When you pray...." Homily on the Lord's Prayer, Part 4: His Truth (as preached by an orthodox rebel)

"Give us day-by-day our daily bread...." Luke 11:3

"It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'" Matt. 4:4

There are many provisions that God gives to His children, but none is more precious than the truths of His word. If there is one thing that we are in continual need of, it is a continual dose of reality. Everyday our hearts and minds are pulled apart by a million different distractions, overclouded with terrible fogs and distortions of the world. Our fears would slay us and our anger consume us and our doubts paralyze us. Left to our own meager wit and wisdom, we will get along fine for a few steps; but once the way becomes shrouded in a horror of great darkness, we will long for the joy of the psalmist: "Thy word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path" (Ps. 119:105). The way is dark, but there is light given to us day-by-day if we will but ask for it.

When you pray, ask often and always for the daily bread of God's word, a regular dose of His truth and reality. The living word is the voice of God that speaks order into our chaos, and whether we are on great journeys or taking small steps, there will be light. When the sun fades, there will be the moon; when the moon fades, there will be the stars; and when every star fades behind dark clouds, there will be flashes of lightning with every storm. Furthermore, at all times God Himself will be your every-present fireside in the wilderness, speaking His truth to the darkness without and within. There is no escaping this provision. Every sentence, phrase, and word that you take from Him will sit in your soul like an undying ember, whose fire the Spirit will ignite in due time.

-Jon Vowell (c) 2011


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