Three Things I've Learned About Developing Faith- November 4, 2016

By personality, I am not an individual who goes to the Lord often and asks’ Him to increase my faith. In the early part of my walk, growing in faith was not something that was attractive to me. I wanted more knowledge, a deeper prayer life, to experience the Holy Spirit in worship- but faith was not something I often asked the Lord for. To be honest, I think it is because in a lot of ways I didn’t feel like I needed faith. I believed I was the type of woman who trusted God easily and for the most part, I did and I still do. I trust that God will open doors for me, I trust that God will assist me through the process of completing my degree. I used to feel that trusting God was easy, until he begin to put things in my life that were harder to trust Him for: like growth in my business, expansion in my family’s ministry, healing in my body, and money. Especially money.

 I’m a hard worker and I have often prided myself on my hard work taking me where I desire to go. Now don’t get me wrong, hard work is Biblical. The Bible is very explicit that faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26). We have to work for and prepare for what we pray for. However, in some ways I was more self-reliant on my hard work taking me where I wanted to go than God reliant. But at some point in every Christian’s walk, we experience challenges and our faith grows through trials. In the process of God growing my faith, I’ve learned a myriad of things. Here are three simple tips on how to grow your faith.

1.      Faith come by hearing: The Bible says that “faith comes by hearing” (Romans 10:17).

Meaning we develop our faith by the consistent hearing of God’s word. If you are not consistently indulging in the word, either by reading, watching or listening to it, your faith is not growing.

2.      Be prepared to grow through challenges: You develop faith by being challenged. If everything was easy breezy we would have no need to trust God right? That being said, you have to expect that you are going to go through various things that will cause you to have to exercise your faith muscles. Maybe it’s being single at 35 and wondering where your Boaz is. Maybe it’s the loss of a best friend to cancer. Maybe it’s a rough patch in a relationship. Maybe it’s a decision you made out of obedience to God that seems as though it is going haywire. Whatever it is, faith is developed out of the difficult parts and you have to be prepared for that.

3.      You must be patient to see the result (and you have to be willing to trust the result): Seeing the fruit of faith takes patience. Sometimes a few moments, sometimes a lifetime. And while I have yet to meet a person who loves developing patience, it is a vital part of the faith component.

Developing faith is simple, but certainly not easy. It takes humility, trust and a lot of patience. But the result of waiting until you see something blossom through in faith is sure to be nothing short of remarkable.

XOXO,

Myah Lonye’

What are the different types of prayer? (Part One)

 

                                                                             Photo

Prayer should be an awesome experience. Prayer is the most intimate way in which we can communicate with God, but prayer is also a strategic way to experience supernatural power here on earth. There are several different types of prayer that are mentioned in scripture. When used appropriately, they have real life application results.

Here are the types of prayer:

Corporate Prayer- This is when believers come together and pray in a group.  (See Matthew 18:20)

Prayer of Petition- This is when a believer comes before the Lord and asks for what they need.   (See Philippians 4:6)

Prayer of Repentance- This is when a believer confesses to the Lord that they have done something sinful and they repent and request forgiveness from God.  (See Psalm 51)

Intercessory Prayer- This is when believers pray for other people (anyone outside of themselves). (See 1 Timothy 2:1)

Prayer of Thanksgiving- this is when we come to the Lord and we thank Him for who he is and what he has done. In this type of prayer where we honor him for everything He is and we show how grateful we are. (See Hebrews 13:15).

Heart Check

·         What type of prayer do you use most often?

·         What type of prayer do you use the least?

·         Sketch out a plan of how you can use all five prayer types at least one time per week.

What Should I do during my prayertime and How long should it be? (Part One)

                                                                                Photo

Hello! I hope that you are feeling refreshed and ready to learn even more about how to grow in intimacy with Christ though having a daily prayertime. If you did not read yesterday’s post be sure to check it out here. Today we are going to discuss part one of what to do during a prayertime, when to have it, and how long it should be.  One of the questions I get often in ministry is “when should I have my prayer time?” To be honest, the best time to have your prayertime is definitely first thing in the morning, however, if that does not work for you, that is okay too. The reason it is beneficial to have your prayer time first thing in the morning, is because one of the benefits of having a prayertime is guidance. Certainly, the best time to get guidance for your day is in the morning, before your day begins! I would encourage each of you to have your prayertime in the morning.  In Psalm 57:8 and Psalm 63:1 the Psalmist David discussed how he met with God early in the morning. God delights in being your first thing.

With that said, I don’t want any of you to become legalistic about your prayertime experience. Like I said in the last post, having a prayertime is all about building relationship. God created you and He knows you. He understands your schedule, He knows if you work, parent, go to school, etc. He gets it, and he wants you to steward your responsibilities well. So he understands when you have prayertime seasons that are shorter, at night, or while partaking in other activities (working out, showering, etc.) There are some days when I have not had the opportunity to spend time praying or reading my word and I will bring God with me on my workout, by praying as I exercise and listening to worship, a teaching tape or the Bible on Audio. If you desperately want to have a prayertime but are short on time in the morning, spend time praying in the shower or listening to a podcast or Bible on audio while you get dressed. You can even pray during your morning commute. Though God is amazing and flexible, do remember that true intimacy will only occur if you also mix in quality time designated for him. Imagine if you tried to build a relationship with someone, but only talked to them as drove to work or went for a run. Though you could get to know them, after a while the building of intimacy would cease to exist unless you begin to spend quality, focused, alone time with that person.

Heart Check

·         How often do you have your prayer time first thing in the morning?

·         If you do not have it first thing in the morning, what keeps you from doing so?

·         How would you rate your “quality” time with God?

·         Are there ways in which you could increase your quality time with God?

What is a Prayer Time and Why Should I Have One? (Part Two)

                                                                            Photo

I hope that you found part one of this two part series to be beneficial. If you are just tuning in or would like a refresher, you can check out part one by clicking here. Okay, let’s jump right in.

Here are a few other motivations for having a prayertime.

Intimacy

Most Christians say they want to be closer to God and this is an excellent goal to have. In fact, until the day we leave this earth, it should be a goal of ours to know God more intimately than we did the day before. No one ever “arrives” when it comes to knowing God. We can all work to know Him more deeply. One of the best ways to know Christ is to spend time with Him daily. Having a relationship with God is just that, a relationship. The more we spend time with someone, the more we know them and the more they know us. Though God already knows everything there is to know about you, the more time you spend with Him, the more he will reveal himself to you and the more he will reveal, who you truly are to yourself as well. The word says, “draw near to him and he will draw near to you” (James 4:8). So if you want to know the Lord, spend time with Him, talk to Him and Listen to Him on a regular basis, and pretty soon, the two of you will be intimate friends.

Obedience:

There are certain things that as believers we are called to do. Not having a daily prayertime in and of itself is not sinful, however, in Joshua 1:8, the Lord commands us that we should meditate on the word “day and night.” When we do not, we are committing what is called a “sin of omission.” The sin of omission can be defined as “a sinful failure to perform an action.” James 4:17, is a great example of the sin of omission and how it translates into disobedience. It says: “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” We know that it is right to spend time with the Lord, not doing so is disobedience, and thus a sin.

Holiness

The Word tells us to be “holy as I am holy” (Leviticus 20:26 and 1 Peter 1:16). Knowing that the Lord is holy and we have a responsibility to be like him reinforces our need to have a daily prayer time. If we do not know his character, we cannot act like him. If we do not know his word it is impossible to be able to live up to his standard of holy conduct.

To defend the Gospel

In our current world, there is a general disdain for Christianity and many things associated with God or holiness. Many people feel that holiness living it “too extreme,” “unrealistic” or “judgmental.” If you are a follower of the Lord, you have a responsibility to be able to give a biblical defense on why you believe what you believe and why you live your life according to a standard of holiness. The word says “Always be ready to give a defense for the faith that is within you” (1 Peter 3:15).

I hope this post encouraged you.  For further growth, don’t forget to work through the Heart Check questions at the bottom of the page.

Until Next Time,

Myah

 

Heart Check

How can you center your life around daily fellowship with the Lord (rather than centering the Lord around your life)?

When you look at the motivations of prayertime (Intimacy, Obedience, Guidance, and to defend the gospel) which area(s) are leading your desire to have a consistent quiet time with the Lord?

 

 Sin of Omission definition: https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=sin+of+omission

 

 

 

 

What is a Prayer Time and why should I have one? (Part 1)

                                                                  Photo

More than likely, if you have been navigating though your Christian walk for any length of time, you have probably heard others discussing the idea of having a “prayer time or “quiet time.”  Maybe your church leadership gave you thorough guidance on how to have a daily prayer time and you have been faithful to it ever since. Maybe you heard about the concept in passing, but never had anyone tell you how to have a prayer/quiet time of your own. Or maybe you have tried since the beginning of your walk with Christ to have a prayer time and you find that you struggle with consistently having one. Whatever your experience is in the realm of quiet times and prayer times, I hope that this post is helpful for you.

First things first: what is a prayer time or a quiet time, exactly?

Outside of lingo, there is no difference between a “prayer time” and a “quiet time.” The ultimate goal is the same- to draw you closer to Jesus and to help you know Him more intimately. The terms are often used interchangeably, but don’t worry, for the sake of your spiritual growth, they mean the exact same thing. I typically use the term “prayer time” more than not, so for the sake of this blog post, that is what I will refer to it as from here on out. As a believer in Christ, we each have a responsibility to seek the Lord in prayer, bible reading, and worship. Having a definite prayer time helps you establish just that. Your prayer time is your opportunity to seek the Lord and talk to Him (through worship and prayer) and for Him to talk back to you (through prayer and the Word).

Why should I have my prayer time?

Having your prayertime has many benefits. Matthew 6:33 tells us to seek first, the kingdom of God and His righteousmess and all these things will be added unto us (paraphrase). Essentially, if we put God first, we get an extra dose of favor, abundance, and blessings. Though the material rewards are vast, there are much greater soul benefits that should motivate you to have a daily prayertime. 2 Timothy 3:16 tell us that all scripture is profitable for teaching, correction, training, and reproof (paraphrase), thus if you read the word it will provide these things for you. It’s important that we spend time with the Lord daily so that daily, His word can teach us, correct us, train us, and reprove us.

See part two for deeper motivations on why we should have a prayer time.

Until Next Time.

XOXO,

Myah

                                                                    Heart Check

What are your thoughts on having a daily prayertime with the Lord?

Do you currently have a daily prayertime?