Day 2
“For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.”
1 Corinthians 11:26
We sometimes forget the power of speaking to our lives. We are taught from an early age the importance of attitude, and the power of going at things optimistically. When we grow older we find the spiritual truths behind these early lessons.
I can remember reading The Little Engine That Could when I was little. You’re probably familiar with the story - a train engine overcomes a seemingly impossible task by saying over and over to herself “I think I can - I think I can - I think I can…” The book apparently left an impression because I also remember an instance when (still little) Mom asked from the top of the stairs for me to toss something up to her. I thought back to the book and said “I think I can” to which Mom replied, “don’t say ‘you think you can’, say ‘you know you can’”. I said “I know I can” and tossed whatever it was up to her. She caught it and said “see, you can do it”. She was right, I could, and I would think back to that lesson on the power of attitude and speaking on many occasions.
Our attitude or thoughts, what we say and what we believe are all connected. There is formative power in speaking to ourselves, and we do so with words but also with actions. We can build a belief within ourselves by the things that we do and it has incredible effects on how we live.
We were created this way, and it is for the Lord’s glory and our benefit. “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim…”. Communion is one of those things the Lord has established for our own benefit. What you are proclaiming when taking communion, you are proclaiming to yourself. It is a reminder, for you, of what the Lord has done in you.
Every time you participate in the action of communion, you are giving yourself the opportunity to powerfully illustrate the work of Christ in you. Every time you participate in communion, you are building up your faith. When the Holy Spirit reveals to you what communion is really about and what it means for you; chain-breaking, bond-snapping, life-giving power is released.
Understand, it’s not simply the physical act of eating and drinking the elements that carries this power - you can eat and drink from 100 communion cups and it will do nothing for you. The power lies in what took place a couple thousand years ago, the gospel event that these elements represent. It is the proclamation you are making over yourself when you realize what it means to be a partaker of His life - body and blood.
Each time you participate in communion, you are remembering what He’s done, proclaiming what He’s done, and acknowledging the fact that the life you now live is no longer your own. It all belongs to Jesus.
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Galatians 2:20
