Fresh Mannaby Pastor Tim BurtIn my last post, "Part Four: Godly Relationships Need "The Manna Factor" I shared with you that God wants to speak to us daily and that He wants to accomplish this by speaking to us through His Word. He called it manna. I laid out the scriptural references for it. To learn this truth and practice it is to learn one of the most explosive, life-changing truths after getting saved! I want to bring this series on Godly Relationships being enhanced through the practice of getting fresh manna from God to a conclusion today. Though I could write a book on the subject, I've given you enough to go forward and experience this for yourself!
So far you've learned that we can only meaningfully invest ourselves in a limited amount of relationships. And since we are children of God, God should be a part of those relationships. But, that can be awkward unless you have a plan for that to happen. When you learn to get manna for yourself you can easily teach others how to do so. You can ask a few close friends if they will you your manna buddy where you can share manna with each other. Or you could form a small group with a few people from church once a week and share that day's manna and why it spoke to your heart. You'll begin to see God open each of you up to be more transparent about what God is speaking to you and dealing with you about. You'll learn to be more transparent with each other leading to greater trust and deeper relationships. And when you learn to take the verse that God has spoken to you and pray it over yourself and others, you'll finally learn to a pray in one of the most significant ways possible. Praying scripture—praying out the word of God is learning to pray the will of God. And you know what God says about that don't you? He says...1 John 5:14-15 (NIV) "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of Him." When you learn to pray your manna—God's Word—especially the word He is leading you to focus on that day, we will see more miracles and answers to prayer than you've ever seen before. (It's for that reason I encourage everyone to journal their daily verse and prayer requests to God.) When you look back and see how many prayers God has answered in your life, your faith in God and prayer will grow exponentially .So let me reinforce what Manna isn't! It's not a Bible study. It's not someone teaching you the Bible. It's not someone preaching at you.Manna is a verse, part of a verse, or a few verses long. It is the scriptural promise or thought that can sum up your time in the Word. It's a verse that speaks to your heart about something in your life or that God is wanting to do in you. It might be about your character, or needs in your life, or direction He wants to give you. But it speaks to you. I'll give you an example: Maybe you just read all of Psalm 18 that morning but what spoke to you the most was verse 2. “The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.”Manna typically focuses on a promise. What has God done for you? What is He saying He will do for you? Who are you in Him? What can you expect in faith from what you’ve read? This is your manna to hold on to, write down, and meditate on for the day. Consider it God's leading for your day—preparing you for what’s coming in your day. But not only you, but for someone weary in your life.Now, let’s say you are sitting next to a co-worker of friend that expresses how stressed out they've been feeling. You might express, “I’m really sorry to hear that. Can I show you something I was just reading today? Open your Bible (or Bible app) to your manna verse. Show it to them. Ask them to read it out loud. Explain what it means. Maybe, (if you feel comfortable enough) you say, Can I pray for you? And you pray that manna over them!Lord, I pray for Lizzie right now. She’s stressed out with all that’s going on in her life. Please be her rock and fortress and savior and place of protection. Help her and shield her today in Jesus name. Amen” You didn’t have to think of what to say to her. You had if from your manna that morning that God said was also for the weary. You touched her heart and even more importantly, God touched her heart. She won’t forget it! You’d also walk away from this experience feeling closer to God and used by Him. How to you think that is going to affect you?You can teach this to your closest friends and ask them if when you get together, can you take a few minutes to share manna with each other. You'll bring God into your relationships in much more meaningful way.
Husbands and wives, friends, people from church in a small group... there are so many places you can practice this. Renee and share our manna before we pray together in the morning. I am in two different men's groups each week. We all share manna together and God has turned these men into some of my closest friends. And I've watched how they've matured in God through the process! There are so many applications but the bottom line is, it's God's plan.You want God to order the steps in your day and life. You want to be led by His spirit. You want to be used of Him. This is part of the way He says He wants to equip you daily! So think and pray about this . Walk down this road and watch God work in a new and profound way! It will change your life and relationships in the most powerful and wonderful way! And so, If you want to learn more about how to share manna in a zoom group sometime in the near future, let me know and I'll contact a group of you to help you and answer your questions. Just let me know through FreshMannaFeedback below!Isaiah 50:4 (TLB) "The Lord God has given me his words of wisdom so that I may know what I should say to all these weary ones. Morning by morning He wakens me and opens my understanding to His will."In His love,Pastor Tim BurtIf Fresh Manna is a blessing to you, I'd love to know. Click here: FreshMannaFeedback
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