Got this from a devotional I get. I found it very time appropriate.
I just posted something yesterday on men speaking about Jesus, but not
FOR Jesus. And then I read this and it turned the tables back on me!
You see, all to often I will jump on facebook (the public platform God
is using me on) and write something WITHOUT being told by the Lord to do
so. And that is WRONG. For then it is just me speaking. And there is
no benefit in that.
Sure, I can share my ideas and opinions.
But the only time my posts and writings will have an impact on someone
is if the Lord has commanded it (which He often does).
I need to be more careful when speaking on the Gospel and/or doctrine
(Gospel for the lost, doctrine for the church). I run the risk of doing
harm when I speak in my own power. If it's not Spirit driven, it is
powerless!
Anyways, here is the devotional. It's A.W. Tozer:
Prayer: Long Before the Lord
"But when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded."
—Exodus 34:34
It is written of Moses that he "went in before the Lord to speak with him...and he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel." This is the Biblical norm from which we depart to our own undoing and to the everlasting injury of the souls of men. No man has any moral right to go before the people who has not first been long before the Lord. No man has any right to speak to men about God who has not first spoken to God about men. And the prophet of God should spend more time in the secret place praying than he spends in the public place preaching....
One swallow does not make a spring nor one hot day a summer; nor will a few minutes of frantic praying before service bring out the tender buds or make the flowers to appear on the earth. The field must be soaked in sunshine over a long period before it will give forth its treasures. The Christian's heart must be soaked in prayer before the true spiritual fruits begin to grow. The Root of the Righteous, 121-122.
"Lord, it seems like much of what we've been emphasizing all year requires that we slow down from our frantic pace. It takes great spiritual discipline to 'spend more time in the secret place praying than we spend in the public place preaching.' Quiet my heart today, slow me down I pray. Amen."
(Prayer of the writer)
Anyways, here is the devotional. It's A.W. Tozer:
Prayer: Long Before the Lord
"But when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded."
—Exodus 34:34
It is written of Moses that he "went in before the Lord to speak with him...and he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel." This is the Biblical norm from which we depart to our own undoing and to the everlasting injury of the souls of men. No man has any moral right to go before the people who has not first been long before the Lord. No man has any right to speak to men about God who has not first spoken to God about men. And the prophet of God should spend more time in the secret place praying than he spends in the public place preaching....
One swallow does not make a spring nor one hot day a summer; nor will a few minutes of frantic praying before service bring out the tender buds or make the flowers to appear on the earth. The field must be soaked in sunshine over a long period before it will give forth its treasures. The Christian's heart must be soaked in prayer before the true spiritual fruits begin to grow. The Root of the Righteous, 121-122.
"Lord, it seems like much of what we've been emphasizing all year requires that we slow down from our frantic pace. It takes great spiritual discipline to 'spend more time in the secret place praying than we spend in the public place preaching.' Quiet my heart today, slow me down I pray. Amen."
(Prayer of the writer)
