"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
The simplest way to know more about God and his love is by praying and meditating on the Word. They are two essential things in the Christian walk, especially prayer.
Praying is talking to God, keep that in mind. The veil was torn and granted us free access to talk to God anytime and anywhere ourselves, without relying on priests. Because we are made priests and temple of the Holy Spirit.
"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
1 Peter 2:9
We have gained this great privilege that our ancestors did not have. We live in grace through faith, not under law. We have a lot to be grateful for and give Glory to God!
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast."
Ephesians 2:8,9
'I don't know how to pray.' I didn't know either, so I'll teach you what I learned. Praying is talking to God, in short, it's having a conversation with Him. You can tell your problems, difficulties, be grateful for the good things or simply worship Him.
Remember, in the end always pray in the Name of Jesus, it is because of Him that our prayers are heard and answered, through the Sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross that we can boldly come to God's Presence.
"And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."
John 14:13-14
'What is worship?' For me, worship is praising and admiring God for all that He has done and is doing for us. Here's an example of a worship prayer: 'The Lord is wonderful! Thank you God because you are so good to me.'
In the dictionary, the meaning of adoring is: the action of loving intensely, immensely or passionately. Precisely one of the greatest commandments in the Bible:
"Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’"
Matthew 22:37
There are several ways to worship, such as: praying, praising, dancing, talking about how good God is to someone, taking care of your body, loving your neighbor regardless of how he treats you. Yes, obeying the commandments is a form of worshiping Him.
You must be all excited thinking 'from today I'm going to change my life, I'm going to be someone else!'
This is true, but don't forget that for you to be able to do the right thing you need to pray asking God for it, without Him it won't work.
I speak from experience, back when I had not yet accepted Jesus, as I grew familiar with the church environment, every time my emotional problems got out of control I would run to God asking for help, as soon as I received it… shamelessly, I pretended I didn't need Him.' That was not God, nor do I believe in Him.'
Several times I needed help again and I cried out to Him, in His immense mercy God helped me even though I didn't give Him due credit. One day I felt extremely ashamed because God treated me so well and I was blatantly despising Him. One night, crying, I promised I would change.
And what happened? Try as I might, I couldn't fix my flawed personality and character. I was creating an endless cycle of praying, promising that it would be the last time, I would fix myself, then I apologized for not doing what I said. Looking back, it looked like one of those bad relationships where an ex keeps begging to get back.
It's not that I didn't want to change, I was committed, no matter what I did to be better, it went wrong. Until one beautiful midnight (don't notice I always pray in the middle of the night when I'm in trouble) , I prayed crying 'God change me!' From that day forward, little by little, I really changed and became a better person.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
John 15:5
'Uh, why?' I recently discovered the answer through Joyce Meyer. If I changed alone, the glory would be mine, not God's, that would be a full dish for my pride, which, modesty aside, continues to be one of my biggest flaws.
"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."
Proverbs 16 :18
Feeding my pride in dire need of a strict diet would take me farther away from the Presence of God. Certainly, the first thing that would come to my mind would be: 'What do I need God for? I'll manage on my own.'
"But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends."
2 Corinthians 10:17,18
We are 100% dependent on God, we have a hard time admitting it because of that little monster, pride. We think that depending is bad, it makes us weak or incapable. I won't deny it, depending on people is bad, not everyone is as responsible as they should be.
Now, depend on God? It's Wonderful! Who created the heavens and the earth, everything that your eyes can see and even you, provides your daily bread, your strength, your health… to begin with, He was the one who gave you life!
If you're going to trust someone with all your heart, trust Him! Don't put your complete trust in people, they are imperfect, they will let you down. God is perfect, love, good and his mercy endures forever, He never makes mistakes! There is no one more worthy of our complete trust than Him.
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."
Proverbs 3:5-7
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