Never underestimate the part that curiosity plays in prayer.

Prayer and relationship will become a continual feast of surprises if you keep your heart hungry and expectant.

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I want to continue talking about from yesterday when we talked about the importance of staying curious in prayer, how much that can play in to deepening our relationship with God, and again, bring something, another picture that we see in Exodus. Throughout the Scriptures, a recurring theme relating to the word of God is a picture of fresh bread, a picture of bread that we eat that nourishes us, that strengthens us. I mean, Jesus himself spoke of himself as being the bread from heaven. John 6:51 says, I am the living bread which came down from heaven. And so in speaking about again, we began this series really talking about how the pattern flows from presence. The pattern flows from the place of God’s presence in the place of his speaking. And so here we have Jesus saying that he is the bread that came down from heaven. Here we have presence. God’s presence is our strengthening and our sustenance. It’s the one essential, if you like. Just as bread is the staple of our natural diet, so God’s presence and word are the foremost need of our spirit. And then elsewhere, Jesus refers to the word of God, the Scriptures, as being like bread.

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Matthew 4:4 is one example of that. It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. And so here we have the place of speaking again, the proceeding word, the ramen word of God, the spoken word, God speaking to our hearts. And of course, the written word from which and through which he speaks. Faith comes by hearing, hearing God speak, and hearing comes by the word of God. So that written word tunes our ear, tunes our heart, aligns our heart with his voice so we can hear it in the midst of all of the noise and everything else that’s taking place. So Jesus reference to bread coming down from heaven reaches all the way back to again, the wilderness journey of the Israelites. God supernaturally sustained his people for 40 years, sending food from the heavens every single day. It’s quite incredible when you think about it. Exodus 16 and verses 14 and 15 in the Amplified say, Behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a fine, round and Flake like thing, as fine as a Hoar Frost on the ground.

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When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, Larna, okay, we know this. We’ve heard that this kind of bread from heaven, if you like, was called Larna. Now, the interesting thing is that that word Larna literally just means, what is it? What is this for? They did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, this is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. The people called the bread from heaven a picture of the words proceeding from God’s heart and mouth to ours. They called it manner, literally translated, what is it? In a curiosity, we’ll always ask the question, what is it? In prayer, God can speak in many ways, Sometimes verbally, Sometimes from his words. Some he’ll highlight something or highlight something in the scriptures. Other times it might be a sense or an inward prompting, sometimes a picture or a vision. Often the images and impressions that we receive or kind of that light that shines on a particular scripture Won’t tell the whole story. God the Holy ghost leads us on, urging us to enter into a conversation with him. And this is where understanding the significance of I guess if you like eating Mana, Gathering Mana is helpful for us in the prayer closet when God speaks, when God highlights something, when God shows you something, I urge you and this will lead you to places that are quite wonderful.

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Ask, what is it, Lord? What does that mean? Tell me more enter into that conversation. He calls us deeper into the revelations that he wants to reveal to our heart. But childlike curiosity is needed to discover the full extent of what he’s showing or what he’s saying. He’s always ready to expand on what he shows. And often I think he even deliberately gives just a glimpse to see if our heart is indeed hungry enough to hear and follow him. What is it, Lord? What is it? What do you mean? Show me more, tell me more? Like the birding Bush we must turn aside to hear more. We need to as the proverb says, Incline our ear. We got to lean in like the manner eating people of God. We need to be feeding on God and on God’s daily speaking to our heart and ready to enter into that curious conversation, always asking, what is it, Lord? Tell me more? Lead me on? Take me deeper? Show me what do you mean? Unfurl this, unpack this? Unwrap this? Let me inside, Lord open my eyes to see the truth in what you are saying? Never underestimate the part that just simple childlike curiosity plays in prayer.

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A prayer and relationship in this way become a continual feast of surprises and if we will only keep our heart hungry and expectant.

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Thanks for listening to today’s episode.

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Hopefully it was a blessing to you. If it was do, please consider leaving.

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A rating and a review on whatever platform you are listening on.

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I also would love to encourage you.

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To check out my new book, faithful creative. We’ve got a package of resources Designed specifically to encourage you in your Christian creative call. You can check that out at faithfulcreativebook.com and if you choose to pick it up, Use the promo code podcast 50% off so you’ll get it for half price. Have a great rest of your day.

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And God bless Jesus first. Everything else follows.