“But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty that makes him understand.”
-Job 32:8
What a phrase, “The breath of the Almighty in man.” As I read this verse, and this is a Elihu speaking to Job, he’s basically rebuking Job’s three miserable comforters for all the things they had said wrongly, or applied wrongly, and Elihu is pointing out here that in order to have understanding, we need the spirit of God to work in us. We need the breath of the Almighty in us in order to have knowledge, in order to have understanding. And as I read that phrase, well, you can’t help, can you, but to think about a place like 2 Timothy 3, talking about scripture, how all scripture is what? “It’s God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”
Like the Word of God is God-breathed. It’s the breath of the Almighty and the Word of God is necessary for knowledge and understanding in this world. So I just want to encourage you and lead us to pray in gratitude. When it comes to the gift we have in God’s Word, and God’s spirit in us to open our eyes and our minds to understand his Word, to be led, to be guided by his Spirit in us.
According to his Word to us, we need this on a daily basis. There’s a reason why the Bible talks about God’s Word as being our daily bread, our sustenance, day-in and day-out. We have no understanding, no knowledge, there’s no way we can walk through this dark world apart from the light of God’s Word and meditating on it. Joshua 1, “Day and night, day and night, and being careful to do according to all that is written.” And it’s “a lamp to our feet,” Psalm 119 and “Light to our path.”
Job 32:8 Praises God for His Word
So God, we praise you for your Word. We praise you for breathing it into life, for inspiring by your Holy Spirit. Those who have written down your Word, that we might have this revelation of who you are and how you work and what you’re doing in the world and how you love us and promises to stand on, and commands that lead to life. We praise you for your Word. We praise you for scripture that is God breathed, and we praise you for your Spirit in us, even now, as we pray and all day long as we go, as we love the fact that your Spirit dwells in all of us who have put our trust in Jesus and experienced your salvation.
That you’ve not only forgiven us of our sins, you’ve filled us with your Spirit and we have knowledge and understanding about life, and what’s good for us and what’s good for others, and what’s glorifying to you. And we have revelation about who you are, all glory be to your name, for your God-breathed Word. So help us we pray to meditate on it day and night, all day today, and be careful to do it according to all that is written in it. Lead us by it, by your Spirit. Through your Word that we might have understanding and knowledge and we would live with wisdom today.
Job 32:8 Leads Us to Pray for Those Around the World
And God, as we pray all of this, we pray for people around the world who don’t have your Word in their language, for people who right now don’t have access to your Word. We pray for the Jogi people. Hindu men and women and children and Bangladesh. Out of close to a million of them, no known followers of Jesus. God, we pray that your Word would spread to the Jogi people of Bangladesh. That you would help us to get your Word.
Bless the work of Bible translators and all the efforts that are being done right now through so many different means to get your Word translated into every language in the world. Help us, God, to do that in our day. We know that’s achievable. That we can be a part of seeing your Word going to every language. Through the means you’ve given us, resources, technology. God help us to be faithful in spreading your Word to the nations. Right around us today that others might be led by your Word.
This Verse Reminds Us that God’s Word is Our Light
God, we praise you for it. It’s a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. In the middle of a dark and fallen world of sin and suffering. We need your Word and we praise you for it. We praise you for the breath of the Almighty. That we find every single morning when we open up your Word.
In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
