Scripture: "The Word of God is living and active."—HEB. iv. 12.
I find it a great help to use much of God's Word in my prayers. If the Holy Spirit impresses a certain text upon my mind, I take it to the Throne of Grace and plead the promise. This habit increases our faith, reminds us of God's promises, and brings us into harmony with God's will. We learn to pray according to God's will, and understand that we can only expect an answer when our prayers are in accordance with that will (1 John v. 14).
Prayer is like fire. The fire can only burn brightly if it is supplied with good fuel. That fuel is God's Word, which must not only be studied carefully and prayerfully, but must be taken into the heart and lived out in the life. The inspiration and powerful working of the Holy Spirit alone can do this.
By thoughts such as these we gain a deeper insight into the value and power of God's Word, as a seed of eternal life. We are all familiar with the characteristics of a seed—a small grain in which the life-power of a whole tree slumbers. If it is placed in the soil it will grow and increase and become a large tree.
Each word or promise of God is a seed containing a divine life in it. If I carry it in my heart by faith, love it and meditate on it, it will surely but slowly spring up and bring forth the fruits of righteousness. Think over this until you gain the assurance: although my heart seems cold and dead, the Word of God will work within me the disposition promised in His Word.
The Holy Spirit uses both the Word and prayer. Prayer is the expression of our human need and desire. The Word of God is the means that the Holy Spirit teaches us to use as a guide to what God will do for us, and the demonstration of the secret working of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, by which God Himself fulfils His promise, and gives us what we could not obtain without the help of the Spirit.
