Day 29: 31 Days of Prayer

July 29, 2010

Morning

Psalm 16:11 (NIV) You have made known to me the path of life…

Finding the “path of life” seems difficult. Proverbs 14:12 (NIV) There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. Our thoughts and feelings may tell us the path we are traveling is right, but at the end of that path is destruction and death. What seems all right can really be all wrong. Israel tried “doing what is right in their own eyes” during the times of the Judges (Judges 17:6, 21:25). The result was utter chaos and foreign domination. From time to time they would cry out to God for deliverance. God would deliver them. Then they would go right back to their own way.

David found a better way to live. Certainly, David asked God for deliverance. But He also asked God for direction, then listened when God gave it. When David listened to God he found himself on “the path of life.” This is the witness of Scripture. Psalm 119:2 (NIV) Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. James 1:25 (NIV) The man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does. We should follow David’s example, saturating our minds with the truth of God, attaching our emotions to the concerns of God, and surrendering our will to the will of God. When we do that, we like David will find ourselves on the “path of life.”

Why is the “path of life” difficult to find? The difficulty is not knowing God’s will. The difficulty is wanting God’s will. When you want God’s will only, when you come to Him without a personal agenda, then you will know God’s will. Here’s what you must do to walk the path of life. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Meditate on the phrases that include trust, lean not, and acknowledge. When we incorporate those principles fully in our lives, God will make our paths straight. We will find ourselves on the path of life. Ask God for his help.

Evening

When God wants to shows us the path of life, He leads us to His Son, Jesus Christ. Scripture defines eternal life like this: John 17:3 (NIV) Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. Jesus is the way, truth, and life (John 14:6).

Jesus describes the “path of life” in very simple terms. Matthew 4:19 (NIV) "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." Here it is: 1) Come to Christ as your Savior; 2) Follow Christ as your Leader; 3) Sit under Christ as your Teacher, so He can make you into what He wants you to be; then, 4) Join Christ as a fellow Missionary, fishing for men. Simple? Yes! Too difficult? No! Do I want to do it? This is the real question. But this is the path of life. Mark 8:35 (NIV) Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.