by David Scott Robertson
"Then He [Jesus] said to them, 'These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.' AND HE OPENED THEIR UNDERSTANDING, THAT THEY MIGHT COMPREHEND THE SCRIPTURES." (Luke 24:44-45, emphasis mine).
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In my Spirit-Filled Life Bible I have a bookmark on the page in which this text appears and I have boxed the verse in with a pen. Nearly every day before I read the Word, I go to this verse and pray that the Lord open my understanding that I might comprehend the Scriptures.
God is very apparently in the business of opening things…
- Jesus opened the eyes of the physically blind (John 9:17; Isaiah 35:5).
- God opened up the eyes of people who could see fine in the natural but failed to see supernatural provision (Genesis 21:19).
- Jesus opened the ears of the physically deaf (Mark 7:35).
- Jesus opened the mouth of the mute (Luke 1:63-64).
- Jesus opened the grave to give up its dead (John 11:34).
- The Lord opened the wombs of barren women (Genesis 29:31; 30:22).
- God opened the eyes of a skeptical servant to see angelic forces (2 Kings 6:17).
- The Lord opened the mouth of a donkey to rebuke a backslidden prophet (Numbers 22:28) then opened the eyes of the prophet to see the Angel of the Lord (22:31).
- God opened a path through the Red Sea (Psalm 106:9), opened up a rock that a river might gush out and refresh His people Israel (Psalm 105:41), and opened the doors of the heavens to rain down manna to sustain millions of people in a barren desert (Psalm 78-23-24).
- He's opened up the earth to swallow His enemies (Psalm 106:17), and promised to open up the windows of heaven to bless His faithful stewards (Malachi 3:10).
Revelation 4:1 talks about a door in heaven being opened and John being invited to "come up here…" That eye-opening experience is one that all true believers will also get to enjoy!
There were many more verses and examples I looked up in my research, but the point, I think, has been made: God is very apparently in the business of opening things!
What do you need opened that seems to be shut? Do you want, like me, for the Holy Spirit to "open your eyes" to understand the Scriptures more clearly? Do you want open ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church? Do you want a heart that is open and tender to the gentle wooing of the Spirit of Jesus? Do you want the Lord to open your mouth and fill it with good things to say? Do you want a broken relationship opened up that's shut down? Do you want something to open up in your job or new career?
I don't know what you need but I know that Jesus is the key that can open the thing that is locked.
Could the "grand opening" that you've been waiting for be just a short prayer away?
Why not pray it right now?
DSR
2/21/05