"On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.' But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified." (John 7:37-39, NKJV)
A river runs through you...it's true! What does this river do? It's powerful. Refreshing. Fast. Slow. Shallow. Deep. Tranquil. Exciting. Going Places. Taking you places.
Yes, we have a river running through us, Jesus said so! When we are filled with the Spirit we receive rivers of living water! "He cried out, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in Me....'" (John 7:37-39, The Message)
So, what does this mean in real life? It means once you believe in and receive Jesus and are filled with His Spirit — a river is downloaded to your innermost being! It's important that we allow that river to really run through us — to refresh us and splash on others!
There are many ways to let this river flow. Let's look at two specific ways to yield to the Spirit and His river: Pray and Sing! (For those of you who already know and do this…here's a bit of encouragement. For those who are new to this type of thing…here's a bit of instruction.)
Pray: Pray from your heart, not your head. Pretend no one is listening but God. Don't try to impress anyone with your prayers…we don't have to sound professional or holy…just heartfelt! There is a huge prayer river inside of us and we all need to spend more time letting that river flow. There's no telling what God can and will do if we will give Him more time in prayer. Praying His Word. Praying for others. Declaring and decreeing His Word. Let the river of prayer flow like never before! Pray in English. Pray in tongues. Pray!
Sing: Sing it out! We don't have to sound amazing…in fact, most of us don't! God loves our joyful noise anyway! There is a song in our hearts. Singing from the river inside of you is fun! There is a melody that flows like a river in the heart of every Christian. We just need to let that river gush out through singing and making a melody to the Lord. How? Easy! Start singing any words that are pleasant to your spirit in English and in your spiritual language. It just starts with a phrase...what phrase is rolling around in your heart? Sing it out! And then see what comes next...more words will follow — that's the river beginning to rumble. Here's a song that came from the river in my heart years ago…
God Has A Word For The Weary
God has a word for the weary; God has a word for the weak
God has a word for the weary and His word is simply: SPEAK!
Don't be silent, don't be silent
Don't doubt, don't pout
Don't be silent — don't you doubt and don't you pout
But let the weak speak...let the weak speak,
Let the weak say, "I am strong."
God is not wrong.
Let the weak and the weary, let them not become bleary.
But let them speak and sing the Word.
Sing the Word, sing the Word...declare what you know
And you'll find God is with you from your heart as you go.
Sing it out, sing it out — sing it loud, sing it strong.
You may not even know what to say, but that's okay
The words will come, just speak and sing it now.
God has a word for the weary and God has a word for the weak
And this is His word are you listening?
His word to you is SPEAK!
So, today, get started praying and singing from your heart and let that river really run through you!
Say It: “Father, I am thirsty and I come to You and drink! You said 'out of my innermost being rivers of living water' would flow. I believe You! I ask You for grace to help me tap into that river in a new and fresh way. Holy Spirit, help me to yield to You in prayer and singing so that this river of living water comes out and refreshes me and splashes on everyone around me! In Jesus' Name. Amen."
