A Vital Prayer Life
E.A. Johnston emphasizes the necessity of daily, fresh communion with Jesus to sustain a vibrant and victorious Christian life.
In this devotional sermon, E.A. Johnston calls believers to cultivate a vital prayer life by daily seeking fresh encounters with Jesus. Drawing from personal experience and the biblical example of manna, he highlights the dangers of relying on past spiritual highs. Johnston encourages Christians to commit to consistent quiet times to maintain a vibrant and victorious walk with God.
Full Transcript
Our chief aim in life should be to sit at the feet of Jesus. Jesus declared to the world what he had learned from the Father. We should do the same.
As Christians, that's our duty. Let me say this, if more Christians sat at his feet, less Christians would fall on their face. We should sit every day at his feet in a quiet time.
It's something we should do every day. Let me give you an example. I came off a week of spiritual highs.
Every day I felt like I was on top of Mount Sinai and the presence of God. I felt like I was in that cliff to the rock with God walking by me and allowing me to see his backside. You know those experiences, those spiritual highs, but what comes after the spiritual high, right? You can't stay on top of the mountain forever, right? Well, at the end of the week I was very fatigued, 16-17 hour days, very fatigued.
I normally get up at 445 in the morning to have my quiet time and that Friday morning I was rushed. I rushed my quiet time. I rushed to my office at work and I was in the flesh all day.
I fell, I fell in my walk. I fell in my walk, I'll say that. Well, as I was driving home I was praying and I said, Lord, why did that happen? Why did I fail so miserably today after being in your presence so strongly throughout the week? How did that happen, Lord? And it was as if he spoke to me.
You know how he speaks to you in a quiet place in your heart that no one else speaks to you, the quiet place there. He spoke to me and he said so clearly, he said, you cannot face today, let alone this hour, on yesterday's experience of me. You must seek and meet me every day.
Then a text came to me in the Old Testament so vividly I thought about the Israelites and the manna and how God ordered them not to store up the manna because what happened when they stored up the manna? It got worms in it, didn't it? And that voice came to me again and that voice told me, unless you seek me afresh every day, your Christian walk will have worms in it, worms in it. And that's a problem with a lot of preaching today, it's got worms in it.
Sermon Outline
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I
- The importance of sitting at the feet of Jesus daily
- Jesus as the ultimate teacher revealing the Father
- Christian duty to learn from Jesus continually
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II
- Experiencing spiritual highs and their temporary nature
- The danger of relying on past spiritual experiences
- The necessity of fresh encounters with God each day
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III
- The lesson from the manna in the wilderness
- The problem of storing up yesterday’s spiritual manna
- The warning against ‘worms’ in one’s spiritual life
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IV
- Practical call to daily quiet time with God
- Avoiding spiritual fatigue through consistent seeking
- Living a victorious Christian life by daily renewal
Key Quotes
“Our chief aim in life should be to sit at the feet of Jesus.” — E.A. Johnston
“You cannot face today, let alone this hour, on yesterday's experience of me.” — E.A. Johnston
“Unless you seek me afresh every day, your Christian walk will have worms in it.” — E.A. Johnston
Application Points
- Commit to a daily quiet time to meet Jesus afresh each morning.
- Avoid relying on past spiritual experiences to sustain your faith.
- Recognize the importance of continual spiritual renewal to prevent fatigue and failure.