And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with Him, then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat…and He spake unto him.
—Numbers 7:89
In regard to the connection between prayer and the Word in our private devotion, this expression has often been quoted: “When I pray, I speak to God; when I read the Bible, God speaks to me.” This verse in the history of Moses is one in which this thought is beautifully brought out. When Moses went in to pray and to wait for instructions, he found One waiting for him. What a lesson for our morning watch!
A prayerful spirit is the spirit to which God will speak. A prayerful spirit will be a listening spirit, waiting to hear what God says. In true communion with God, His presence and the part He takes must be as real as my own. We need to ask how our Scripture reading and praying can become true fellowship with God.
Moses separated himself from the people and went to the place where God was to be found. Jesus has told us where that place is. He calls us to enter into our closet, shut the door, and pray to the Father who is in secret. (See Matthew 6:6.) Any place where we are really alone with God can be for us the secret of His presence. To speak with God requires separation and a heart in full expectation of meeting God personally. Those who go there to speak to God will hear the voice of One speaking to them.
Prayer and the Word are inseparably linked together; power in the use of either depends upon the presence of the other. The Word gives me matter for prayer, telling me what God will do for me. It shows me the path of prayer, telling me how God wants me to come to Him. It gives me the power for prayer, the assurance that I will be heard. And it brings me the answer to prayer, as it teaches what God will do for me. Prayer prepares the heart for receiving the Word from God Himself, for the teaching of the Spirit to give the spiritual understanding of it, for the faith that is made partaker of its mighty working.
Prayer and the Word have one common center—God. Prayer seeks God; the Word reveals God. Make God the object of your desire. Prayer and the Word will be a blessed fellowship with God, the interchange of thought and love and life, a dwelling in God and God in us. Seek God and live!