Greetings, so good to see you today, and I very much look forward to this lesson with you.
We know by now that, as Christians, we are at war with our flesh and that it is imperative that we become good at fighting and defeating it. God has given us many resources to fight gluttony and laziness, to overcome our flesh, and to live in victory. Today we want to discuss possibly the best tool God has given us to fight the flesh.
You’ll remember that we went through some lessons on praying God’s Word back to Him in Weight Loss Bootcamp. This is part of a battle strategy that the Lord taught me when I was reading through John 15 and came to this verse:
"If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." John 15:7 (NIV)
So, God has given us the very words to pray to Him. He has given us His Word, and that Word is to remain in us so that we can “ask whatever you wish” and know that “It will be done for you.”
Question 1. Have you developed the habit of praying God’s Word back to Him? If so, how has that been going for you?
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Praying God’s Word back to Him has become transformational to me. I have every confidence that, when I pray God’s Word, He hears and answers. So, I love to make this part of my daily routine.
I usually combine this with physically writing out the Scriptures. I got this from Deuteronomy 17:18-20 (and from my good friend, Alex, a mentor with Setting Captives Free), and I use a note-taking app (Notability) on my iPad to write out the Scriptures and then pray them back to God. Try it, and see if this method doesn’t reignite your spiritual passion for God’s Word, for when you write it out longhand, it takes time, and you use that time by meditating on what you are writing.
Today, let’s continue this method of study and pray through Romans 4:1-8. I’ll do the first verse and then ask you to alternate the verses in this passage with me:
"What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter?" Romans 4:1 (NIV)
My prayer: Father in Heaven, help me utilize Paul’s approach to going to the Old Testament for illustrations of gospel truths. Lead me to study Abraham and David, Moses, and Jacob, even going back to Adam and forward to Malachi to learn the gospel lessons you would have for me. Even now, I see that Paul is about to illustrate a truth from the life of Abraham, and Oh Lord, I’m so eager to learn what You will teach me through this. Help me right now to have ears to hear what I’m about to be reminded of or learn.
"If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God." Romans 4:2 (NIV)
Question 2. Here is your opportunity to pray God’s Word back to Him, using Romans 4:2 as your guide:
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