721 N. Memorial Drive, Lancaster, OH 43130 // Main Service: Sunday 9 & 11am // Movement Youth Sunday 5:30pm

Be Faithful

This week, we have been looking at the importance of being persistent and purposeful in our prayer life. When we take time to engage with God in a purposeful way, it always leads to communion with Him. Let’s start our time together by talking to God.

God, I am thankful that I have the opportunity to be in a relationship with You. Thank You for desiring to connect with me and caring about what I am going through. Help me to be intentional about connecting with You so that I can become more like You. Remind me that You are the source of life, and my purpose comes from You. Amen.

Romans 12:12 (NLT)
12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.

In a world that tells us to let our emotions dictate what we do and to follow whatever makes us feel good in the moment, today’s scripture offers a different perspective. How do you respond when you are going through trouble? Do you allow your emotions to dictate your response in the highs and lows of life? We are blessed to have Scripture as a guide for how we should live. Today’s verse gives clear instructions for us to be faithful in prayer, no matter what we are facing.

If our only reason for praying is to bring our list of requests before God, we may get frustrated when it feels like God isn’t doing what we want Him to do. This can lead to losing hope that prayer changes anything. This incorrect perspective can drive us to stop praying and look for other solutions that don’t satisfy. The truth is, the purpose of prayer isn’t just bringing requests to God. The purpose of prayer is to have a relational connection with Him. When this is our perspective, prayer becomes communion with God. And communion with God is what sustains us in the highs and lows of life.

It is through spending time with God that our hearts align with His. Through communion with Him, we become more aware of who He is and recognize areas in our lives that He desires to change. This comes by being faithful in our prayer lives. We can’t allow our circumstances and emotions to dictate if we pray—instead, we must let our prayer life and communion with God dictate how we react to our situations. So how do we start engaging in prayer and developing a rhythm of prayer? Over the last several weeks, we have received very practical teachings at The Tree Church on how to implement prayer into our lives. I encourage you to visit The Tree Church website and access those teachings. You will be encouraged and given practical steps to take.

Take a few minutes to evaluate the rhythms of your life. Are you making it a priority to spend time in communion with God? Is your schedule and routine drawing you closer to Him?

After reflecting on these questions, consider what would need to change in order for you to have a consistent time of communion with God. Are you willing to make those changes? After reflecting, spend 4-5 minutes asking God to help you make these changes.

Be encouraged that when we make time to be in God’s presence, He is always faithful to engage with us. He desires for us to come to Him in all seasons and situations, and He will give us what we need.

No Comments


Recent

Archive

 2024

Categories

Tags