#16 My Heart Undressed | Everything Changed
JANE PHINNEY: There is spiritual peace, rest, renewal, teaching, & oftentimes, great conviction when the Truth is voiced with my lips in reading & prayer.
SELF-EMPOWERED RESOLVES
I’m not one for making self-empowered resolves. As I see it, that’s a sure recipe for disappointment. I prefer instead to make plans & then let God direct my steps in the details. Ninety-nine percent of the time, any given day doesn’t go like I thought it would. Usually, my timing is off & God knows that. He sees the people that I didn’t consider when I made my original list. When I keep this perspective, it helps me not waste emotional energy by being inflexible about things I can’t control in the first place. I haven’t always viewed life like this. Don’t get me wrong. Lists help me remember & I like checking them off like anyone else. But I used to be set in my ways, working myself into a frenzy to accomplish specific goals in a designated time frame.
Spiritually, it was my habit to search for one specific verse to pray for my family at the start of each new year. I don’t know when I happened on this idea originally. My guess is that it was suggested in an article or book that I read. I’m not implying that there’s anything wrong with praying one verse for an entire year. But I had turned the search into legalism. Then one day, the good Lord surprised me with a verse that changed my life, not just the upcoming year. I was reading Luke 24 when it hit me & I was stopped cold in my pursuit. You’re likely familiar with that feeling. All the lights turn “on” in your head & your mind connects with a concept that you never understood before. It was so simple that it was phenomenal! Clearly, it was meant for me -- to change my thinking.
Jesus was speaking to His disciples after His resurrection, proving to them that He was Who He said He was. In their human skepticism, they were startled & afraid at His initial revelation. My Bible highlights His words in red. It caught my attention because right in the middle of verses 44-49, is verse 45, in black. It states, “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” That might not trip your spiritual trigger, but it was hard-hitting to my soul. Right then & there, I knew this verse would forever, on earth, be significant in my spiritual walk. I immediately prayed, “Lord, you did it for the disciples. You can do it for me too. Please open my mind to understand the Scriptures.” I highlighted the verse & wrote “My prayer” in the margin.
I’ve continued to pray that prayer for 25 years. I’ve never asked for another new year’s verse because God has answered that prayer over & over & over! I’ve always loved the Word. I grew up reading Bible stories from a children’s book that I had until a few years ago, when I passed it on to one of my daughters. I like to read…period. But truly, this long-ago prayer, continues to change my life, today. It’s God’s work for certain & I can’t lay claim to understanding it from a human standpoint. But from that day forward, the Scriptures became alive to me, in a completely new way. I continue to have an increasing intimacy with the Lord, through His Truth-bearing Words. It never ends, this side of heaven, but is ever-expanding & increasing. “Every time you read it as you get older, it means something different…I’ve finally come to a place where I could read it for a thousand years & find something new.” (Dennis Quaid referencing the Bible in World magazine, Sept 2024, page 73)
The only way I know how to explain my experience is by referencing First Corinthians 2:11-16. Those who believe Jesus Christ & have confessed Him, receive the Spirit who is from God. The Spirit enables us to know the things freely given to us by God. The Spirit teaches & interprets spiritual things to us, bearing witness to God’s infallible Truth…and we are changed by His supernatural work in our souls. No manmade 1-2-3 formula. No human credit possibilities. The Bible is a never-ending treasure of Truth, sanctifying us on the journey toward Home. Throughout our lives, no matter how old we are, we will never outgrow our need for daily mercy & grace. When I read the Bible, I ask God to show me Himself so that I can know Him better. I read expectantly, until my soul is satisfied & refreshed. I call these moments that God ministers to me, my “ah-ha” moments. Although that exchange is quite indescribable, you recognize His presence.
This long-ago prayer, that changed everything, also helped me realize that I can be confident that I am praying God’s will when I pray Scripture. His will is revealed in His Word. If you don’t read the first, you won’t know the second. The Lord God Almighty is not a slot machine. We don’t get to pick and choose, & as our Creator, He establishes the boundaries. Some foundational verses that I pray for family in addition to Luke 24:45, are Luke 18:1, 2 Thess 3:5, & 3:16…for starters. I pray for understanding, wisdom, protection, & humility. Psalms & Proverbs are rich with Truth & comfort to pray over people facing any life situation. And there is spiritual peace, rest, renewal, teaching, & oftentimes, great conviction when the Truth is voiced with my lips in reading & prayer. It’s wonderful to be surprised by the Lord in the discovery of new lessons in old, familiar verses. Some days life can look messy & feel suffocating. I remain a work in progress and I am SO GRATEFUL He doesn’t give up on me!