Zondervan Inspire

Hardwired to Seek God

This is the message God conveyed through Moses, the prophets, and finally through Jesus: No human being or material thing can satisfy our deepest longings because God has hardwired us for himself first. Just as birds are hardwired to fly south for winter, we were hardwired to seek God. We will never find the life we long for apart from him because he is the Source of all we love.

If we put other things, no matter how good, in the center of our lives, they become rival gods that lead us to destruction — the loss of the life our thirsty souls crave. But when a new vision of God's goodness motivates us to seek him with all we have, everything else comes alive. All our pursuits for relationship, success, security, and purpose get rightly ordered and become life-giving in new ways.

From Soul Revolution: How Imperfect People Become All God Intended

by John Burke

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I Want to Be Heard

God wants us to talk to him, and we want him to listen. The Psalmist says, "I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me" (Psalm 77:1–2). In addition, God wants us to hear him: "Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live" (Isaiah 55:3). In order to connect with God and with each other, we must talk to God and to each other — and we want to know that both God and other people hear us, because being heard is a clue that we are fully known.

From The Seven Desires of Every Heart

by Mark & Debra Laaser

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A Prayer-less Soul Is a Christ-less Soul

If, as Charles Spurgeon says, "A prayer-less soul is a Christ-less soul," how many of us go through our day without Him? How is it that we profess to know the Lord, claiming Him as our friend, yet spend so little time communing with Him in prayer?

Our Lord Jesus set a beautiful example for us in communing with His heavenly Father. "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed" (Mark 1:35). Our Lord prayed often — at the beginning of His day, before many of His miracles, before His meals, and before and during His crucifixion, just to name a few occasions. He prayed for the lost, for His disciples, for His enemies, for the world, and for Himself. Many of His prayers are recorded in His Word to teach us how to pray, when to pray, and for whom to pray. If Jesus, the perfect Son of God, needed such times with His Father, how much more do we?

From Look Unto Me: The Devotions of Charles Spurgeon

by Jim Reimann

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Listen for the Living Voice of God

Through its posture of silent, attentive listening, the meditative approach to Scripture opens the reader up to the quiet voice of God. It sets a tone of humility and receptivity, rather than one of assertiveness and control. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German martyr, like many others, commended this approach. He claimed that it was the best way to wait for the Word to address us personally. In Life Together, his little classic on Christian community, Bonhoeffer warned against neglecting to listen for the living voice of God. The obscene alternative is just to prattle on in God's neglected presence. The Bible is a repository of God's past communication, and where God has already spoken is a logical place to look for him to continue to speak.

From A Little Guide to Christian Spirituality: Three Dimensions of Life with God

by Glen G. Scorgie

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Things that Matter Most

Some of us may find a particular environment — whether that is outdoors with nature, or in a church rich in symbols and beauty — conducive to communing with God. Others have a special place they return to for important times of prayer — a particular chair near the window, under a favorite Ponderosa pine on a cliff overlooking the ocean, or whatever. They find that doing so helps them to center in on their relationship with God. It requires self-discipline, adjusted priorities, and relinquishment of old habits to create space for God. It is difficult to make the necessary changes, but great is the benefit of stepping off the treadmill and attending to things that matter most.

From A Little Guide to Christian Spirituality: Three Dimensions of Life with God

by Glen G. Scorgie

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God's Perspective Changes Everything

Through prayer I discover things about myself and God I could not discover any other way. Prayer provides a mirror to my soul. Through prayer, my motives and attitudes are brought to the light. Through prayer, I can explore the source of my less-than-becoming behavior. Along the way I discover unsuspected roots of unforgiveness, agreement with things that simply aren't true, and places of woundedness that otherwise go unnoticed, and worse, unhealed.

Through prayer, I discover the shadows of my sin and recognize the luminescence of God's redemption and restoration. During prayer, my eyes shift from self-focus to God-awareness, and I find myself with a heavenly perspective that is not my own. Looking at life through God's perspective changes everything.

From The Sacred Echo: Hearing God's Voice in Every Area of Your Life

by Margaret Feinberg

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The Declaration of Dependence

 

Prayer must be a declaration of dependence — a heartfelt cry from a frail human being commissioned to speak in the name of the Almighty to be the agent of his working among strife-torn people. This agent must be painfully aware of his or her limitations of ability and suitability for such a task. Prayer must also be a litany of longing. The promise of overflowing blessing in John 7:37-38 is made to those who are "thirsty" — those who in recognition of their own needs are willing to freely confess them, are eager to address them, and are ready to take whatever steps will release the promised provision. And finally, prayer must also be an expression of expectation — a humble claiming of the immutable promise of blessing made by the Son of God and a settled assurance that the promised Spirit is resident within and is more than ready to accomplish that for which he has been sent in and through obedient, dependent servants.

From Flowing Streams: Journeys of a Life Well Lived

by Stuart Briscoe

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Repetition: An Invitation to Spiritual Awakening

As I grow in my relationship with God, I find that he often uses the repetition of a phrase or word or idea represented in Scripture not only to get, but also to keep my attention. And I'm grateful. While a single whisper usually leaves me unsure, the repetitive nature of a sacred echo gives me confidence that God really is prompting, guiding, or leading. The sacred echo reminds me to pay close attention; something important may be going on here. The sacred echo challenges me to prayerfully consider how God is at work in my own life as well as the lives of those around me. The sacred echo is an invitation to spiritual awakening.

From The Sacred Echo: Hearing God's Voice in Every Area of Your Life

by Margaret Feinberg

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Jesus Wants to Be Your Best Friend

Your faith may have grown stale and dry, but God wants streams of living water to flow from within you! He wants you to renew your first love and to walk in obedience to Him, realizing He is not only the God of the past and future, but the God of today.

I encourage you to kneel down and pour out your heart before the Lord. Allow Him to set you free from your secret sins that have bound you and held you back in chains. If someone has wronged you and you have not forgiven them, now is the time to forgive them from your heart. It doesn’t matter if people reject you and say you are worthless. All that matters is that Jesus loves you, and He wants to be your best friend.

From Living Water

by Brother Yun

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God Doesn't Waste Anything

Our days, months, and years are made up of both good times and bad. The tapestry of life's events makes up the very essence of who we are. Think about today and the difficulties you are encountering: The laundry is piling up. The roof needs fixing. Your kids aren't listening to you. Now consider some of the memories you're making today: Your baby took his first steps. Your daughter graduated from kindergarten, high school, or college. You got that big promotion. You finally started your own business.

Thank God for all your wonderful memories. Take the difficult things to God in prayer. Ask him what he wants you to learn from your present situation. God doesn't waste any of our experiences. He can use the good ol' days, as well as the not-so-great days, to benefit us, if we let him. The key is to remember things as they really were, to be content with things as they really are, and to trust God to take care of the future (see Ecclesiastes 7:10, 14).

From New Women's Devotional Bible

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