The life of God is difficult and by no means it is easy for persons to live it. At times people feel as though we cannot get through the day without God and without his grace. When we speak of God’s grace it is his mercy that we all have. In this article, we will speak about ways to live a Godly life.
We firstly look at daily living and what are some of the things that believers could engage with God such as keeping him first in our minds, reading the bible and meditating on its words. In the Fasting and prayers section, we talk about ensuring greater communication with God. Communication is key as God wants to talk to us and have fellowship. This communication is a dialogue between God and his people.
In the Tithes section, we speak about giving to God both financially and from your talents is another area that persons will see blessing from God. In the Attitude section, we look at how a positive attitude will allow us to live more of a Godly life. In the Fruit of the Spirit section, we discover how we could use the Fruit given by God to ensure that we have a model of how God wants us live. For those persons in marriage, the section on marriage identifies how to honor God and live in marriage.
Daily living
Each day spend time with God and put him first, in Jeremiah 29-12 it says “then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you”. This is important to ensure that each day is spent with the Lord. There is also a concept of using the two chairs from the book by Beaudine (2016), in this book an experience of prayer entails both the traditional prayers as well as speaking to God in a one-to-one manner. Beaudine shows us how to interact God by having an interaction with God in such a way to that we have a one and one conversation with God not limited to only making petitions to God. This relationship is characterized by talking to God and listening to what he says similar to how persons interact with friends.
Reading the bible and meditating on its words is one method to understand the word. The bible says in John 1:1, that the word is God and in that respect, persons are to ensure that they study the word of God. In Philippians 4:6, the bible states: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God”, this demonstrates the need to continually pray and bring your requests to God.
In that light studying, the bible is important to know and understand the word. It is through the word of God we receive the guidance needed for our day-to-day living and to keep us in check with God’s ways. God’s word has documented experiences for most issues such as depression, marriage, life, attacks of the devil, temptation, and other experiences. By using these examples in the bible we are able to model it in our own lives. For example, in temptation, Jesus says to rebuke the temptation and fix your eyes on God, we should also meditate on God’s words during this time.
Prayer and Fasting
Prayer is important in four ways, firstly God wants us to pray and to talk to him. Jeremiah 33:3 says “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know”. Prayer is not supposed to be a one-way discussion but rather a conversation or dialogue with God. By talking to God we are able to grow our relationship. Sometimes, for little things we feel that we shouldn’t bother God but even with the little things God wants to be acknowledged. As an example, if we are going to buy something such as groceries which is considered small and petty, God would like to be acknowledged and consulted.
Secondly, Jesus modeled prayers for us to follow. In Luke 5:16, it states that, “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed”, so the guidance is to seclude ourselves to come into his presence. In Colossians 4:2, the bible speaks about devoting ourselves to prayer and being watchful and thankful.
Thirdly God rewards those for earnestly seek him and while he may not answer all prayers, we have to trust in God that he knows what is best for us. As examples of God rewarding people who seek him: Moses prayed and there was the parting of the Red Sea, when Hezekiah prayed to God and he delivered the nation from Assyrian and when King Solomon asked for wisdom.
Fourthly remembering that God is the treasure helps to keep focus on God (Badhal, 2016). By placing focus on God and acknowledging him we show God the respect that is due. Constantly remembering that God is a great treasure allows us to reverence and keep Him in a place of high esteem.
A template that could be used is to focus on five areas in our petition prayers namely:
· Adore God – thanking him for his love and explaining how much we love him
· Confession – any sins we have to confess about
· Thanks – all the things we have to give God thanks such as life
· Supplication – all the things we wish to petition to God, it is important to include a reminder of all the things that God has promised.
· Miracle – reminding God about all his miracles
Writing and keeping notes of all prayer requests is an excellent method to reference later on to demonstrate all of God’s goodness in fulfilling our needs and petition (Gumbel, 2011). It is also written that we should be bold as shown in Heb 4:16 when the Lord says:“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Fasting is the practice of voluntarily reducing or eliminating your intake of food for a specific time and purpose (Warren, 2019). Warren (2019) and The NIV Bible (2019) describe the reason for fasting including demonstrating the depth of your desire when praying for something, it releases God’s supernatural power and lastly gives us a personal time for prayer with God.
Tithes
In the Bible, we are encouraged to donate the first part of our resources to God and this is an expression of honor and gratitude to Him. In Proverbs 3:9-10 the Bible speaks about “Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine” and this is one of the reasons that it is important to tithe. Another reason for tithing is to provide a regular reminder of our dependence on God. Tithing allows us to remember that God is the source of all our blessing and it allows us to demonstrate our gratitude for God. Another reason is to store up the treasures in heaven as described in Colossians 3:1–2 “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven”. Lastly tithing evaluates our missional heart by supporting the local and missionary field (Cranston, 2021).
The Institute in Basic Life Principles (2015) gives a guideline on what we could do for giving tithes. Firstly, it speaks to giving on an established schedule, secondly giving to the local church, thirdly 10% of your gross income and lastly give with a cheerful heart.
God has given each of us talents in some form. We are called to use the talent for the kingdom, for example, if you have a talent of singing, you could use it in church. By using your talents we are able to fulfill God’s purpose on earth and help us to use the talent. Using our gifts and talents for God’s purposes involves discovering your personal vision and understanding your comparative advantage (Whelchel, 2018). Similar to financial contributions, we should give our talents in the world for the fulfillment of the kingdom.
Attitude
Our attitude to life and the world is important to determine if we have a happy life or if we live unhappy. This section looks at some traits that will be beneficial to persons to incorporate into their daily living.
In the world, there is a lot of blame game or if you did this then some other action may or may not have happened. God’s plan and purpose in our lives is so well planned out that the blame game or the action game. For example, in the case of Joseph, God had orchestrated, and although Joseph had many perils such as being sold into slavery, being wrongfully jailed, and being forgotten by the chief cupbearer, in all God’s plan reigned supreme. Joseph went from those trials to later being the Prime Ministry of Egypt and it was all part of God’s plan in order to build his character and save his people. If we continue to ask ourselves “what if” there will be only worrying, and God wants us to trust in him. The action to consider is instead of casting blame or worrying about if I had made another choice. Place God at the forefront and know that he has predestined your life. You should simply place your trust in him and let him lead your life.
The honoring of your parents as this is the only commandment with a promise of long life. Our parents are only here for a short time, and we cannot rewind the time we have with them. It is critical to ensure that we show honor to them by taking them out, by spending time with them, listening to their wishes and showing gratitude for them.
Blessed is the peacemaker not blessed in the right (Osteen V. , 2019), in Mat 5:9, Jesus says that “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.” It is critical to note that it doesn’t talk about persons being right, persons who control the situation or persons who are insistent on their way. It gives a promise of blessing to the person who no matter if they are wrong or right in a situation, they keep the peace. There is also an honor of being called the children of God for those persons who live by this principle.
Put God first (Osteen J. , 2021) as we take care of our spiritual self, we must develop a relationship with our Creator. He wants us to know our purpose and He wants us to make Him part of our lives. As such, we should begin each day by taking time to thank God and put him first through the day, read the scripture, meditate on His promises and fill our mind’s with thoughts of faith, hope, and victory.
Pride and jealousy are other areas in which we all have to review and keep in check. In the business world, this could have negative outcomes as we are jealous of what another person has or achieves (Fuller, 2021). God shows us that we are all running our own race and we should not look at other persons and be jealous of what they have. Pride is another negative attitude that causes us to put ourselves over another person.
We must always trust in God and place him at the forefront (Walker, 2019). We should have a positive attitude and trust in God. Psalms 91:2 says: “…He is my refuge and fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” And this should be in our hearts always keeping a positive attitude and looking to God to supply our needs.
Fruit of the Spirit
The fruit of the Spirit is an excellent model for persons to live by as described in Howard (2021). namely looks at peace with God, Joy is one area that adds for a healthy lifestyle. In Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit", we see how the joy creates a positive attitude and leads to an overall happier person.
The spirit of peace within us is an ability to feel at rest and a sense of love and overall peace with our God. To achieve this peace we should choose to rejoin in God and who He is, bring all our worries to him in prayer. Fill our mind with his Word and God’s truth, and lastly concentrate on the things of God (Howard, 2021).
Marriage
King Solomon according to the bible use to rise each day and speak the blessing over his wives. In the same way, in marriage, it is critical to speak a blessing of your spouse each day (Smalley, 2012). Spouses are also supposed to be friends and helpers, and it is important to not try to change your spouse into what you believe is best. You should appreciate the difference and learn how wonderful it is to be different.
In marriage, the bible says that two become one so sharing things is important and it allows us to share each other’s burdens. That is all part of being a helper for your spouse. Praying and fellowshipping together will ensure that a marriage is stronger (Van Antwerp, Jr., 2010).
Works Cited
Badhal, R. (2016). IPA Abundant Life Tabernacle Sunday Church Sermon. God is your Treasure. Princes Town, Trinidad.
Beaudine, B. (2016). 2 Chairs: The Secret That Changes Everything. Worthy Books.
Cranston, J. (2021). 4 Reasons Why Tithing is Important. Retrieved from https://www.lowcountrycc.org/blog-posts/four-reasons-why-tithing-is-important
Fuller, S. (2021). The Bible and Jealousy: How to Fight the Fight of Faith. Retrieved from LIVING BY FAITH BLOG: https://livingbyfaithblog.com/2012/04/17/the-bible-and-jealousy-how-to-fight-the-fight-of-faith/
Gumbel, N. (2011). Why and How Do I pray? London: Alpha International.
Howard, K. (2021, March 01). What Are the Fruit of the Spirit? Retrieved from Crosswalk.com: https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/what-are-the-fruit-of-the-spirit.html
Institute in Basic Life Principles. (2015). Why is tithing important? Retrieved from Institute in Basic Life Principles: https://iblp.org/questions/why-tithing-important
Osteen, J. (2021, May 03). Sermons Online. Retrieved from Put God First: https://sermons-online.org/joel-osteen/daily-devotional/put-god-first-202005030105
Osteen, V. (2019, March 26). Be a Peacemaker. Retrieved from Joel Osteen: https://www.joelosteen.com/inspiration/blogs/2019/03/26/15/55/Be%20a%20Peacemaker
Smalley, G. (2012, January 1). Blessing your Spouse. Retrieved from Focus on the Family: https://www.focusonthefamily.com/marriage/blessing-your-spouse/
The NIV Bible. (2019). The NIV Bible. Retrieved from 10 Biblical Purposes for Fasting: https://www.thenivbible.com/blog/10-biblical-purposes-fasting/
Van Antwerp, Jr., R. L. (2010, November). Keys to a Godly Marriage. Retrieved from OCF USA: https://www.ocfusa.org/2010/11/keys-godly-marriage-2/
Walker, M. (2019, August 28). What Does “Trust in the Lord with All Your Heart” in Proverbs 3:5 Mean? Retrieved from Christian.com: https://www.christianity.com/wiki/bible/what-does-trust-in-the-lord-with-all-your-heart-in-proverbs-3-5-mean.html
Warren, R. (2019). DAY OF FASTING AND PRAYER.
Whelchel, H. (2018, April 10). Do You Know the Purpose for Your Gifts and Talents? Retrieved from https://tifwe.org/the-purpose-gifts-and-talents/
