“The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary; He wakeneth morning my morning mine ear to hear as the learned.” Isaiah 50:4
In what has been termed, “The Lord’s Prayer,” found in Matthew’s gospel, we find a very important element to be prayed. The Lord Jesus instructs us, even commands us to pray, “…Give us THIS DAY OUR DAILY bread.” (6:11) It is true that the Lord is speaking here of that which is physical. However, in a larger and more important sense, He is speaking concerning that which is spiritual, His spoken word. This is borne out in Scripture a great many times. As to believing Him to give bread from heaven, both physical bread and his living word, it seems to be far easier to believe Him for bread on the table, than His word to our hearts every morning, ever fresh and new. And yet, His word is as fresh as the “fresh oil” of which the Psalmist speaks: “…I shall be anointed with fresh oil.” (Ps. 92:10) The anointing oil, which represents the Spirit of God, is that which was poured upon the head of the priest who had been set apart to serve God in that capacity. In Psalm 133, we find that this oil is poured upon him, and covers him from head to foot, being applied to the entirety of his being. That oil of the Spirit of God is always “fresh,” new in that it does not age, diminish in the essential quality of its holiness, or divine qualities, nor in its capacity to communicate to the believer the blessing and power of God. The word of God is always “new,” not in that the message is necessarily a new thing, or concerns a new subject, but that every morning it comes to the heart of the one who is truly seeking, and believing to receive it.
In David’s Psalm 63 verse 1, we read the testimony of David’s life, and HIs fresh, renewed relationship with God. He writes: “O God, Thou art my God; EARLY will I seek Thee: my soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee in a dry and thisty land, where no water is; to SEE Thy power and Thy glory so as I have seen Thee in the sanctuary.” David was a man who sought God “early,” the first thing. His seeking had an objective that was based upon the testimony of God through the scriptures, and centuries, up to that point in time. He knew that God could be sought, and certainly found. He also knew that in seeking Him early, in that undistracted and quiet aloneness, that the “Spirit of wisdom and revelation…” would be given to him, so that he might “see Thy power and Thy glory,” not only by perceiving it with his heart, mind, and soul, but believing God to reveal it “on earth as it is in heaven.” We see this principle applied in the life of Martha, to whom the Lord would say, “I am the Resurrection and the Life…” He then would tell her, “If you believe, you will SEE the glory of God.” Both David and Martha, living at different times, and certainly in different circumstances, believed the revelation, and then saw by faith the power and glory of God. For David this was the early pursuit of his life, to worship God first, with the anticipated result of receiving from God, from heaven, food for his soul, even bread from heaven, fresh news from heaven.
Many Christians do not believe that God will speak to them daily from heaven by His Spirit. And yet, Jesus speaks of daily bread, daily and early seeking of Him in order to “find” Him, hear what He says form the Scriptures, the writing it down to remember it. Jesus said of the Spirit of God, that “…He will teach you all things.” He also would “…testify of Me,” manifesting Christ’s life daily by His living words.
Dear Father, Grant us Christ’s freshness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.