What, then, is able to motivate us to Godliness? David cried out with uninhibited JOY and enthusiasm, ‘I delight to do YOUR will!’ Now, mind you, Psalm 40 is David’s testimony of public praise to the Great Elohim (God) Who had lifted him ‘out of the pit, out of the miry clay, set his feet upon a rock and put a new song in his mouth’! David’s unadulterated praise sprang out of entheos! (We get our English word enthusiasm literally meaning ‘having God within’.) David’s testimony is the one I want to follow! So then, one could say rightly: God’s TRUTH + my OBEDIENCE = Broken Strongholds/Answered Prayer/Realized Hopes/Renewed Existence
What good does it do to pray for the will of the Father to be done in (insert any situation) if I am not willing to follow HIM along the Narrow Way toward its fulfillment? A.W. Tozer says it best:
Have you noticed how much praying for revival has been going on of late -- and how little revival has resulted? I believe the problem is that we have been trying to substitute praying for obeying, and it simply will not work. To pray for revival while ignoring the plain precept laid down in Scripture is to waste a lot of words and get nothing for our trouble. Prayer will become effective when we stop using it as a substitute for obedience. Let a man set his heart only on doing the will of God and he is instantly free... If we understand our first and sole duty to consist of loving God supremely and loving everyone, even our enemies, for God's dear sake, then we can enjoy spiritual tranquilly under every circumstance.
Loving God supremely will manifest itself in loving others divinely and uninhibitedly because this PRIORITY RELATIONSHIP to the Father is the ROOT and all other earthly relationships is the FRUIT (either of a healthy or neglected root). Plants absorb nutrients and water through the root. A healthy root gives sustenance and holds the plant in place, thus protecting its vitality. Enthusiastic Love is what we really need (both within and without) and oh, how He supplies it! Friends, I don't know about you, but I do believe I am needing my roots done...
Wise Words: 'I can honestly say that those who pursue God's will for their lives don't always get what they want, but they want most of what they get.' - Zig Ziglar, 'Better Than Good'