Pray to walk in obedience

We pray to walk in obedience. Many years ago, when our family was young and recently saved, we had a mentor who taught us a great deal and we dearly loved and honored him. Dr Guy Duffield once preached a sermon that I have never forgotten about “Long Obedience in the Same Direction”. That statement intrigued me, quickened me, and convicted me. I have always kept it in my heart and remind myself often—long obedience in the same direction.  Webster’s Dictionary of American English (1828) has an interesting observation of obedience: “Voluntary obedience alone can be acceptable to God.” God desires us to obey Him, yield to Him, submit to Him, surrender to Him—not just because He commands it, but to obey Him because we absolutely love Him and desire to honor Him with our obedience. Jesus Himself, connects loving Him with obeying Him in John 14:13. If we truly love our Lord, we will choose to obey Him. We learn in Romans 12:1 that when we truly obey His Word, we are offering our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. Offering our bodies to God, is yielding our will to His will. Laying down our wants, our demands, our wishes is submitting to God. It is saying: “Not my will, but Your will be done.” Let it be so with us dear Lord.  We are enlightened in Jeremiah 7:23 that if we choose to obey His voice and to walk in His way, He will be our God, and we shall be His children and it will go well with us all the days of our lives. Why would we want to gamble with our lives by not obeying? James 1:22 says that if we do not obey His Word, we deceive ourselves. Jesus, we ask for a heart-felt desire to obey your Word, the will to set our face like flint, and to ask the Holy Spirit for the strength to obey.  We are called to walk in obedience to the Lord, so that we may live, possess, prosper, and enjoy a long life in Deuteronomy 5:33. Is this not our heart’s desire? Why would we want to be stubborn and stumble through life, continually hitting our head against a block wall, all because we do not want someone telling us what to do? My wife has said many times: “Stubborn people are stupid people.” May we humbly, willingly, and earnestly yield our way to God’s way and live a life of possessing, prospering, and exciting, fun filled longevity.  We are told in James 4:6-7 that God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble—therefore, submit yourselves to God. Don’t you think Scripture instructs us to obey and submit ourselves to God for good reason? God told Abraham in Genesis 22:17-18, that He would incredibly bless and abundantly multiply him – all because Abraham obeyed God’s voice. Let us choose, by and act of our will, to gladly obey His wonderful Word.  How do we do this? Let’s do what Jesus did – He abided in His Father’s love because He kept His Father’s Word (John 15:10). Thus, may we joyfully and intentionally obey Him, so we may dwell in His never-ending, never-failing, unstoppable love.  Oh Lord God, we humbly lay down our lives, our will, our way, and ask the Holy Spirit to search us, empower us, enable us to walk in obedience to You, which is pleasing in your sight. To say no to our flesh, and yes to you. To spend precious hours in our Father’s presence as you did Jesus, falling in love over and over again with the Lover of our soul. May we gladly choose obedience so as to please You and spend our lives in Your love, abiding in Your presence.