In this episode of Pray the Word on 1 Corinthians 1:9, David Platt talks about how God is eternally faithful and that this is the focus in Christianity.
“God is faithful by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
– 1 Corinthians 1:9
I want you to just to think about this verse with me today. Let it drive us to prayer. The reality that God is faithful. I just think about your life. Think about how you and I have been the opposite of that unfaithful to God, unfaithful in a variety of different ways, but there is no unfaithfulness in God. He is perfectly, completely, eternally always faithful.
Lord, help us to live our lives abiding in You, the Faithful One.
1 Corinthians 1:9 Reminds Us to Abide in God’s Faithfulness
What we read in God’s word, He will be faithful too. We know that His purposes, He will be faithful to accomplish. This has been a huge just truth in my own life over the last six months or so. Instead of focusing in my life, which I’m prone to do on, okay, how can I have more faith, or greater faith, or better faith and just focusing on my faith instead to shift my focus to His faithfulness? That this is what Christianity is. It’s not about us mastering up faith. It’s about abiding in the faithful one, trusting in the faithful, one following the faithful one.
His faithfulness is the focus in Christianity, not our attempts at faithfulness. It’s His faithfulness. And because He is faithful, then we have confidence today to live in light of His faithfulness, because of His faithfulness, we want to live in obedience today because we know, we know His word. He will be faithful to it. So we want to follow His word, we want to walk in His word Focusing on His faithfulness, changes everything.
1 Corinthians 1:9 Leads Us to Pray for Strength
So we pray, God, all glory, honor, praise be to your name for your faithfulness. We praise you for your faithful love for us, your faithful provision in our lives, your faithful protection of us against sin temptation. No temptation seizes us today that is excepted that which is common to man and you are faithful and you provide a way out. So we praise you for your faithfulness, we lean on, we trust it, and we rest in your faithfulness.
Today, God, I think about all kinds of things that I’m wrestling through in, life and family and work. You are faithful. You are faithful to lead, guide, Proverbs 3, trust in you with all my heart, lean not on my own understanding, and all my ways acknowledge you, you will make my path straight, you will be faithful to that today. So God, I just pray that not just over my life, but over those who are listening right now, that we would be buoyed, strengthened, encouraged, emboldened by your faithfulness today, and that we would live our lives abiding in you, the faithful one.
Remember the Faithfulness of God
And as you are faithful to us, we pray that you would bear your fruit through us. We praise you as the God who is faithful, by whom we’ve been called, and in the fellowship of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Help us to live in this fellowship with you, the faithful one today. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
