Apprehending New Life in Christ

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COMMUNING WITH GOD As we become informed believers through the knowledge of God’s Word, we learn to turn the truths of His Word into prayer. In doing so we are agreeing with Him. Our trust in Him is strengthened as we receive the benefits of knowing the truth. For example, if we become anxious or afraid, we turn to the Word where we find these words: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:6, 7). As we pray and believe this to be God’s truth to us, we allow it to perform its work in us. Knowing the truth then makes us free. In this instance, free from anxiety and free to allow the peace of God to rule our hearts. The Word is a guide in helping us praise the LORD. Psalm 111 gives us one example. The first three verses declare: “Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them. Full of splendor and majesty is His work, and His righteousness endures forever.” Praising God through His Word is a wellspring that will never run dry. Prayer is a way of yielding ourselves to Christ. The Spirit of God helps us to pray. Even when we don’t know how to pray He intercedes to God for us. It is the intercession of the Spirit that brings to us the thoughts of God. “Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God that we might know the things freely given to us by God” (1 Cor 2:11, 12).