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—Nourishment—

Aug 28

My Reflections from My Utmost for His Highest

Luke 11:1

". . . one of His disciples said to Him, 'Lord, teach us to pray . . .' "

Chambers tells us that prayer, for the natural man, is not a normal part of life. And He has heard it said that a person's life will suffer if they do not pray. But He questions that with this statement: the Son of God in him is the One who will suffer without prayer.  

We can either starve the Holy Spirit or feed the life that came to dwell within us. 
Prayer is His nourishment. 

Some of us may think prayer is only a way for us to make our requests known to God. But the biblical purpose of prayer is for us to get to know Him. A lot of the time God is just there—ignored. I hate to admit it, but that is how I lived for 68 years... mostly ignoring Him.

Some may feel it is demeaning to always be praying and requesting assistance from God. Or the self-sufficiency of our lives leaves little room for prayer because we are so busy getting things done in our own power we do not have time to request help from above. That was me for 68 years.

It is usually not until we have consulted everything and everyone else, and have come to our wit's end, before we finally consider the throne of grace as an alternative for help. We have come face to face with something that we cannot handle and we cry out to Him for help. And He is there. He has always been right there. But we have been so self-sufficient we did not need to ask Him for anything. That was me also, coming to my wit's end in December 2025.

Now we are here at His feet—with hearts in need of healing,with problems we lay before Him,with cares and burdens we can no longer bear under our own strength. And He gathers us in and gives us hope, strength, love, mercy, healing, guidance, provision, refuge, and grace. He does not scold us for waiting so long. 
He simply loves us. 
That is His nature: Love. 
That is how He treated me in December 2025. 

And Chambers explains that God has established things so that prayer, on the basis of redemption, changes the way a person looks at things. 

Redemption is us being redeemed by God:
He sent His only Son to die on the Cross of Calvary to reconcile us to Himself. 
He purchased us with the sacrificed life of Christ. 
He paid everything to rescue us from eternal damnation. 
He restored us and gave us a new life when He sent the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to live within us. 

We were guilty of sin, of which the penalty is death, and He covered the cost of our sin. 
We were separated from Him by a huge chasm and He made a bridge. 
We were bound and chained by the sin in our life and headed to hell—but He made a way. 
We were lost and He paid the price to bring us home.

And when we bow our head to pray—to talk to Him, to build a relationship with Him—He has only love for us. You cannot help but be affected by this when you are in His presence. 

We are but dust in the wind, yet He finds us significant enough to establish a plan to save us. 
God incarnate suffered and died for us. 
He sent us the Comforter. 
We need Him—and He wants us to want Him. 
To Love Him. 
To Pray. 
To establish a relationship with Him.  
And when we do. . . it changes us. 

Prayer changes us on the inside. The Holy Spirit works miracles in our inner nature when we pray. We nourish the Holy Spirit and in turn He nourishes us. Prayer changes us and then we make changes in our lives because of the inner renewal of our spirit. We nourish the life of God in us and He in turn works miracles in us. 

What else can I say, I am living proof of what prayer can do. I woke up this morning and before leaving my bedroom I turned to Him in prayer and reestablished my surrender in a deeply meaningful way. And I am sitting here with tears streaming down my face as I write this message. The Lord does such wonderful things to your heart... I cannot explain. I do not know how or when it takes place, it just happens. 

But a heart can get hardened by this world so very easily. All it takes is a few days away from God and the darkness creeps right in. You do not notice it really. But it shows up in your actions and reactions. Your attitudes and your mercy—or the lack of it—extended to others. Do not let the darkness in. Stay close to God. Stay in constant contact with the only One who can and will supply all of your needs and will keep your heart protected. 

Nourish the Holy Spirit within you with prayer. Do not let Him go hungry for God. Unceasing prayer is good nourishment for both you and Him. Just turn to Him at any time and all times for constant contact. The reality of your spiritual life depends upon it. The reality of your natural life rests in it. The cares of this world will sweep you away if you do not have a lifeline to God. 

Prayer is your lifeline to God. 

In Chambers' words: "Children exhibit a magnificent boldness," so... 

". . . become as little children. . ." (Matthew 18:3).

Establish your lifeline. 

Keep it in constant repair and maintenance mode. 

Guard it. 
Protect it.

Nourish it.

And with all things of the Spirit—from yesterday's message— 

"Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. . ." (John 12:35). 

Breath Prayer

Lord, You are here

And I take refuge under Your mighty wing

Selah,

Walking in the light that He gives,

~ Quil

Supporting Scripture References

John 15:4–5 — “Abide in Me… for without Me you can do nothing.”
Galatians 2:20 — “Christ lives in me…”
Romans 8:9–11 — The Spirit gives life to our mortal bodies.

Luke 11:1 — “Lord, teach us to pray.”
James 4:6 — “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Psalm 10:4 — “The wicked… does not seek God; God is not in all his thoughts.”

Revelations 2:4 — “You have left your first love.” 

Isaiah 53:6 — “All we like sheep have gone astray.”

Psalm 107:27–28 — “They reel… at their wits’ end. Then they cry out to the Lord…”
Hebrews 4:16 — “Let us come boldly to the throne of grace…”
Psalm 46:1 — “A very present help in trouble.”

Psalm 91:1–4 — “He will cover you with His feathers… under His wings you will take refuge.”
Isaiah 41:10 — “I will strengthen you… I will uphold you.”
Matthew 11:28–30 — “Come to Me… and I will give you rest.”

Ephesians 1:7 — “In Him we have redemption through His blood…”
Colossians 1:13–14 — “He delivered us… and redeemed us.”
1 Peter 1:18–19 — “Redeemed… with the precious blood of Christ.”
Romans 5:10–11 — “Reconciled to God through the death of His Son.”

Romans 6:23 — “The wages of sin is death…”
Isaiah 59:2 — “Your sins have separated you…”
John 8:36 — “If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.”
Luke 19:10 — “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Romans 12:2 — “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
2 Corinthians 3:18 — “We are being transformed… by the Spirit.”
Psalm 51:10 — “Create in me a clean heart…”

Hebrews 3:13 — “Lest any of you be hardened…”
Psalm 73:2–3 — “My feet had almost slipped…”
James 4:8 — “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

1 Thessalonians 5:17 — “Pray without ceasing.”
Philippians 4:6–7 — “In everything by prayer… and the peace of God…”
Psalm 62:8 — “Pour out your heart before Him…”

Matthew 18:3 — “Unless you become as little children…”

John 12:35 — “Walk while you have the light…”

Psalm 91:4 — “Under His wings you will take refuge.”
Psalm 17:8 — “Hide me under the shadow of Your wings.”

†