Thursday, May 22, 2008

Welcome to Thursdays

Our travels together on Thursdays will be led by Lisa Leonard, but unfortunately she won't be available to join our journey until next week. Enjoy this devotional from Pearls of Great Price by Joni Tada (May 17th...)

Speech Writing

"And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times. Psalm 12:6

I read an article recently about the president's speech writer. It described the intensity and scrutiny that goes into writing a speech for the president. When crafting an important address, the writer goes to great pains selecting the exact verbs, adverbs, nouns, and adjectives. Every word is carefully scrutinized to fit the overall strategy of the administration. No word appears in a speech by accident. No pronoun is used carelessly. Each subject and predicate fits perfectly.

Now if a president goes to such lengths to handcraft every solitary word so that his message comes across clear and concise, when can we say about the Word of God, the Bible? Would there be any throwaway words? Any thoughtless expressions? Of course not. Everything fits perfectly. If a presidential speech writer sweats over every word, then you know the Holy Spirit has taken far greater pains with the living, eternal Word of God.

Friend, this is helpful to remember as we come to the Lord in prayer. First Peter 4:11 tells us that "if anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God." We don't need a speech writer to remind us of the importance of preparing our hearts before speaking, or of searching for his overall strategy before petitioning...or of weighting our words before offering them before the throne of the Almighty. Your words have power before the Lord---more power than you realize.

Surrender your soul, center your thoughts, ask the Spirit for help, weigh your words. Then pray with joy and certainty that God will take those words to accomplish his grand and glorious purpose!

Forgive me Lord, for rote, thoughtless, or distracted prayers. Thank you for the grace that though you are the awesome Sovereign of the universe, you are also Abba Father, and you treasure the words of your child."

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