March 26, 2019
Isaiah 55:6-9 New Living Translation
Today is the eighteenth day of our 40-Day Lenten Series, “Praying for a Kingdom Heart.” Lent should be a time of prayerful reflection, repentance, and restoration as we draw closer to the heart of God. I am very proud of those of you who have been reading the devotions and allowing the Word of God to settle into your souls. Reflection that leads to repentance and restoration begins in our thoughts as we meditate on the Word. Remember, humanity thought it was foolish to acknowledge God, so “he abandoned us to our foolish thinking” (Rom 1:28). The Lord transforms us from being foolish children of the world into children of faith in a loving God by saving us and changing the way we think (Rom 12:2). Christ is Truth and our Source for Wisdom. Therefore, the believer’s minds can become a great battlefield between truth and deception. The enemy is a liar and he will not give up working against your devotion to God or your quest for Truth. Knowing or identifying Truth is essential to winning the spiritual battle. Don’t ask the world about who God is and what pleases him; the world has been abandoned to foolish thinking. Go to the Word and see what it reveals about God’s character and expectations for his children; pray for Wisdom as you read. Scripture is the story of God’s self-revelation to the world; it is the Wisdom people need to move beyond foolish thinking into faith living and enjoy his holy presence. Have you found yourself wondering if your thoughts about God and his ways are based on Wisdom?
As humans, we should never be so foolish as to think we have a handle on God’s thoughts and presume to understand his ways. However, we can know his heart for us as his children; he affirms us with his love. Trying to fit an infinite God into our human thoughts is ludicrous. Trying to live our lives according to our flesh or according the culture is equally ludicrous. Apply the Word to your life and look for the fruit of the Kingdom to manifest in you. God’s children are known by their good fruit (love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control). When the believer bears Kingdom fruit it is a revelation of God’s presence in us…and God smiles!
During Lent, we will be using the acronym P.R.A.Y. as we pray for a Kingdom Heart. P=praise, R=repent, A=ask, and Y=yield. May God bless you as you spend time in God’s Word and in prayer today.
Isaiah 55:6-9
6
Seek the Lord while you can find him.
Call on him now while he is near.
7
Let the wicked change their ways
and banish the very thought of doing wrong.
Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them.
Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.
8
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
9
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
Prayer: Lord, I praise you for speaking through your Word in order to reveal your heart to me. I repent of trying to use my foolish thinking to understand you or your ways. I ask for an abundance of wisdom to be imparted to my thoughts and an increase of faith to help me live as your daughter. I yield to your thoughts and ways. In Jesus’ name. Amen.