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Issue link: http://magazine.kcm.org/i/1525263
B V O V : 9 Those of us who consider ourselves "faith people" might assume that the Word could never make us hard. After all, we love the Word! We live by faith in the Word! We can't get enough of it. Even so, we need to remember what Jesus told the Pharisees: "You search and investigate and pore over the Scriptures diligently, but you don't come to Me so that you might have life." (See John 5:39- 40, Amplifi ed Bible, Classic Edition.) Shocking as it may sound, as believers we've sometimes made that mistake. Determined to master the prayer of faith, for instance, we've read every scripture about it we can fi nd. We've studied those scriptures. We've heard sermons galore on them. Many of us can even quote by memory the instructions Jesus laid down for us in Mark 11:22-24: Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. It's good that we know those verses. They're important. They reveal a spiritual law; but please note that, unlike religious laws, spiritual law isn't legalistic. It's not just something we're supposed to do because the Lord said, "OK, these are going to be the Keep Coming to Jesus "Asking for material things is a scriptural thing to do, but that's not primarily what prayer is about. Prayer is about people." Those of us who consider ourselves "faith people" might assume that the Word could never make us hard. After all, we love the Word! We live by faith in the Word! We can't get enough of it. Even so, we need to remember what Jesus told the Pharisees: "You search and investigate and pore over the Scriptures diligently, but you don't come to Me so that you might have life." (See John 5:39- Amplifi ed Bible, Classic Edition.) Shocking as it may sound, as believers we've sometimes made that mistake. Determined to master the prayer of faith, for instance, we've read every scripture about it we can fi nd. We've studied those scriptures. We've heard sermons galore for us in Mark 11:22-24: Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. It's good that we know those verses. They're important. They reveal a spiritual law; but please note that, unlike religious laws, spiritual law isn't legalistic. It's not just "Asking for material things is a scriptural thing to do, but that's not primarily what prayer is about. Prayer is about people." Prayer is about people." This article is an excerpt from the new book An Encounter With Him by Terri Copeland Pearsons. See ad at the end of this article. by Terri Copeland Pearsons