Bit and Bridle
“Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.” - Psalm 32:9
"Prayer call, prayer call," I said loudly, announcing my prison dorm's daily gathering of corporate prayer. As the few men gathered, one got distracted when the officer opened the door and ran out into the hallway to do something, one who was prepared to go to work could think about nothing else, and yet another took his time putting his shoes on, tucking his shirt in, then combing his hair. To say I was frustrated as I watched the man with his mind on work trying to flag the officer by waving his hand as the evening speaker gave the word is an understatement.
I was so upset at this common occurrence that I was ready to take a step back from our daily prayer gathering I was sure God led me to start several months ago. I was ready to give up on the men who were never ready when I called. Some were like stubborn mules!
The next morning in prayer before work I was confessing my frustrations at the throne of grace. Then God’s Spirit impressed Psalm 32:9 upon my heart. “How many times have you strayed in heart, mind, soul, and strength (Luke 10:27) and I have had to drag you like the horse or the mule to get you near to me?”
Jesus says in John 6:44, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.”
As I prayed about the prayer circle, thinking about giving up, I broke down in tears as God said, “What if I had given up on you? How many times have I tried to gather you like a hen gathers her chicks and you were not willing (Matthew 23:37)? How many times have you made a pretense of seeking me, but you would not come to me so that you might have life (John 5:40)?”
How many times throughout your life's routine do you feel the tug of God the Holy Spirit on your conscience calling you to pray, study the Word, or attend a gathering of fellow brothers and sisters in Christ? As I felt the flesh resisting even writing this devotional, I ask: Did you respond to the tug of the Spirit willingly or did you make God drag you?
Jesus whom we are called to be like says in John 6:35, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”
As I pray, we will not play the horse or mule, but will come willingly to Christ who fulfills, I will humbly and obediently water and plant in these devotionals, and trust God to give the increase.
Jesus also said to, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s (Matthew 22:21).” This devotional, prayer, reading of the Word, and gatherings of the church family are all things of God. They should not be a formality, an afterthought, or secondary. They should be first.
Fear God as you remember that He said, “My spirit won't always strive with man (Genesis 6:3).”
