1 Thessalonians 2:13 – “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.”
“Father, may You be glorified as Your people come to Your Word and receive it as such. May we not come to the Bible as a quick fix for the day. May we not come to Your Word as a bandaid for our ills. Keep us from coming to the Bible as we would a philosophy book, science text, or history volume.
“Father, first of all, may we actually come to Your Word, today and everyday. May we read and meditate on Your Word, today. May our Bibles not be dusty. May our Bible apps not be unused storage space on our devices. May we come to Your Word.
“Lord, may we not only come to the Word, but may we come with a right attitude. May we receive it for what it really is – The WORD OF GOD. This is Your Word. May we receive it as such. Open our hearts to understand the authority of Your Word. It is the voice of the Shepherd leading the way. It is the Word of the Father to guide. It is the Word of the Comforter to encourage and lift up. It is Your Word, not the word or opinions of men.
“May we see that this is Your Word, which is at work in believers. It is through Your Word that You sanctify us. You have made Your promises known in Your Word. You have made the Good News of Jesus known in Your Word. It is through Your Word that You produce and strengthen faith. It is through Your Word that You provide comfort. It is through Your Word that You convict of sin and turn our hearts back to You. It is through Your Word that You protect us from Satan’s schemes. It is through Your Word that You remind us of our hope.
“Father, forgive us for our failure to come to the Word. Forgive us for our coldness when we come to it. So often we have treated the Bible as a piece of literature to be pondered, lectured, and debated. Forgive us! Turn our hearts to You.
“May we come to Your Word to know and love You, Father. May we come to know, love, and follow You, our Lord Jesus Christ. May we come to commune with You, Holy Spirit our Comforter.
“In conviction that the Bible is Your Word, we come now with listening ears and submissive hearts. We come to this means of grace, today. Enable us to understand it, then to trust and obey You. Amen.”
(1 Thessalonians 2:13; John 17:17; Titus 1:1-3; Romans 10:17; Psalm 19:7; Ephesians 6:10-20; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
Unless otherwise noted the Scripture quotations are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright (c) 2001 by Crossway, a ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Bible Living Blog 