From the Word: Understanding the Vision (from Matthew 17:1-21)
“Then the disciples understood that he had spoken to them about John the Baptist.” (Matthew 17:13 NASB)

According to Your use of the word “vision” here (v9), it is not a dream or fantasy, it is a glimpse into reality that can only be seen by supernatural intervention. They saw You transfigured  - they saw who You really are in all your magnificence - because You allowed them to, because You provided them the opportunity.  They only saw You this way, as you really are, because You chose to reveal Yourself to them in this way.   And one interesting thing about this is that they did not process it correctly on their own (at least Peter didn’t).   So then, to understand a vision, not only do we need Your intervention - Your active involvement to see the vision - we need Your explanation to understand the vision.  The disciples understood because You explained it to them.  I will not understand spiritual truth without Your help.

Lord, what do You want me to understand on a daily basis? Since we have Your Word and Your Holy Spirit, we should be able to function in faith without the necessity of visions on top of Your revealed Word.   But if You know I would benefit from a vision, then I want to be open to it.  But I feel like there is so much in Your Word to understand! I must accept the fact that my understanding will always be inadequate, so I pray that I would be receptive to anything You want to do to give me greater understanding.  If there is anything hindering my understanding of who You are and anything else You want me to know, I pray that You would reveal it to me. Amen.

Please pray with us: As this is the post for “personal” prayer for us, would you join us in taking a minute to pray for one of our kids in college? Why don’t you pray for the one you know the best, or the one that you sense may need the most prayer right now? Each one of them has done quite well academically so far, but they are all coming up to the end of the semester very soon. Some specifics you could pray for them with us:

- to be able to focus their mind and creative energy on the end of semester/finals projects and to finish strong (one has a 40 page thesis to complete by next Thursday and has a laptop that is busted and is no longer portable, although it is still usable.)

- for efficient use of their time (one was sick for a few days last week and feels behind).

- and for each of us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) in the midst of the daily demands that could easily distract us.

Thanks!

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