Genesis 2:20-25 – “But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called `woman,' for she was taken out of man."
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.”
I’m aware that not everyone yet sees the important spiritual applications of these recent prayer guides that speak of our sexuality. However, I must continue on until they do. The last guide emphisized that God’s first admontion to Adam and Eve was, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” Notice that God didn’t tell them to engage in: prayer, intellectual learning, industry, politics, or artistic expression. Obviously, all of these should have their place in our family life and human experience. And they are part of God’s command to fill the earth and subdue it, but these were not what God expressed first. God blessed the man and woman, and bid them to be fruitful and multiply, in other words, engage in and enjoy their sexuality. This was God’s first command for humans, and they were, no doubt, quite happy to obey. We would do well to understand that God was also pleased.
Picture, if you can, that moment when Adam and Eve first gazed upon each other. Adam didn’t look at Eve and say, “My, you are soooo spiritual!” Nor did he readily compliment her intellect or sensibility. Not on your life! Adam and Eve first revel in something that some Christian theologies have sadly and incorrectly thought of as quite base and ungodly. They are spell-bound by each other’s bodies – their flesh. Adam’s first exclamation as he saw Eve for the first time was, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” He could not help but recognize that God had made Eve just for him. She was beautiful, and Adam knew instinctively that this partner was created exactly right for him. GREAT JOB GOD! Adam was the only creation without an appropriate mate before Eve, but her existence now exposed the naked truth (sorry!) that Adam was made for Eve and Eve was made for Adam. God had formed it in their flesh, as part of His perfect design.
C.S. Lewis said, “Christianity is almost the only one of the great religions which thoroughly approves of the body – which believes that matter is good, [where] God Himself once took on a human body.” “The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.” Satan can corrupt sexuality and the flesh and turn it into something ugly, but it is, at its core, something beautiful and godly. Therefore, the flesh is spiritual and we should appreciate and cherish it under the lordship of Christ. Think about it!
Thursday:
- Meet together with at least 1 or 2 other believers to enter the Throne Room of Grace.
- Join our 6:00pm Thursday night prayer team.
Friday:
- Ask God to increase your understanding and appreciation of His design for your sexuality.
- Pray for the Good News families of the week: Jim & Carol DeYaeger (Stephanie), Frank & Anna Diehl, Ruth Doolittle.
Saturday:
- Praise God for the sacred and precious gift of your body. Consecrate it to His glory!
Sunday:
- Thank God for the sacred and precious gift of prayer. Get your body to the House of Prayer!
- Join in with our Sunday prayer services to pray for God’s presence and blessing.
Monday:
- Ask God to strengthen your refusal to be influenced by the world’s models of sexual expression.
- Attend “In Touch” Prayer meeting at GNCC at 10:30am or join in prayer at that time.
Tuesday:
- Pray for a revival that honors God’s wonderful design and plan for human sexuality.
Wednesday:
- Ask God to unite your heart, mind, body and will, more and more with His own nature!
Prayer Challenge: Recognize that our bodies are a sacred creation and that God made us male and female so that we might glorify Him through sexual intimacy and procreation with our spouse. Cherish the gift of sexuality, and do not let the influence of the world pervert or corrupt God’s plan and purpose.