Feed Yourself First

Few people have learned to listen to God through His Word as well as George Muller. At age 35, Muller made a transforming discovery regarding his daily quiet time. "I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished."

Before this discovery, Muller habitually had begun his morning devotions with prayer and would spend almost all of his time until breakfast in prayer. But what was the result? His mind often wandered for the first 15 to 30 minutes.

Then Muller discovered that the most important thing he had to do was to listen to God speak through the Word. He began each morning by asking the Lord's blessing upon His Word. Then he read and meditated, searching every verse for blessing-not for the sake of finding something to share with others, but for the sake of finding God's message to him.

Muller observed that we are apt to read the Word thinking of others' needs rather than pondering it for ourselves. "Read the Word of God always with reference to your own heart, and when you have received the blessing in your own heart, you will be able to communicate it to others."

Muller turned the words into prayer for himself or others. As confession, thanksgiving or intercession mingled with his meditation, his inner man almost invariably was nourished. With rare exceptions, by breakfast time he was in a peaceful, if not happy, state of heart.

No doubt his feeding on the Word strengthened his faith to feed the 10,024 orphans in the orphanage he directed.

Dear Jesus, may food for myself be the object of my Bible reading.

"Happy is the person who finds wisdom and gains understanding. Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her" (Proverbs 3:13, 15 NLT).

Aletha