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| The Christian Life: How much do we read the Bible & Pray to God? |
| Sunday, April 29, 2007 |
Hey everyone, I'm Brian Seay and I am new to the
RUnderground writing staff and I'm really excited
to be a part of it. I remember  my friend
Blake Fought would tell me repeatedly to write for RUnderground and I always told him I will but I never got a chance to. And before he passed, he told me he would like for me to write an article about my walk with God and how I became a Christian. Well in this article I have not wrote my testimony but someday, God willing, I will so I hope you all look forward to that.
This is the start of a new series of Christian articles that I felt that I should do, just giving brief messages [well they are not really that brief!] on how our Christian life should be, by pairing it up to what the Bible says. The picture that you see in the right-hand corner pertains a lot to the Christian life and which you will see throughout these series of articles. Unsurprisingly these series of articles will be titled "The Christian Life". Faith comes by hearing and it comes by the Word of God which means reading the Bible.
The first message should convict every Christian (and even myself for that matter). First of all, honestly how often do we read our Bibles? The answer should be daily but most of the time we don't. We wonder why problems come up in our lives and the question to ask should be "Am I reading my Bible daily"? Every single day, we as Christians should read our Bibles. Of course there are days in which we are busy but just spending 5-10 minutes reading a few verses of Scripture won't hurt. Just by reading those verses, it will change your day. The Word of God is so powerful, ONLY if you put His Words into effect. Just reading the Word but not putting His Word into action is useless. Many Christian friends told me that it's a process and not an overnight thing. Putting the Word into action will not take overnight but it will be a process. Spend time memorizing Scripture. Apply them to your day and throughout your life. There shouldn't be any excuse for why we aren't reading the Bible daily. This is how we grow. Hebrews 6:1-3 says, "Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying against the foundation of repentence from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits." It's time to leave the baby stage and grow into adolescence then into the adult stage and go on from there.
How much do we pray? My prayer life can be much better though. We don't have to schedule an appointment to meet God because He is always with us. Jesus Christ died on the cross and the veil was torn so we have full access to Him. We can talk to Him throughout the day. The Bible talks about "pray without ceasing".
Augustine talks about praying without ceasing which brings light of how we should do this:
"There is a different kind of prayer without ceasing; it is longing. Whatever you may be doing, if you long for the day of everlasting rest, do not cease praying. If you do not wish to cease praying, then do not cease your longing. Your persistent longing is your persistent voice. When love grows cold, the heart grows silent. Burning love is the outcry of the heart! If you are filled with longing all the time, you will keep crying out, and if your love perseveres, your cry will be heard without fail."
Here is another quote about prayer from German Lutheran Theologian Johann Arndt [author of True Christianity]:
"Prayer is a conversation with God, a piece of the inner, spiritual life, the characteristic and mark of a faithful Christian's heart, a continual movement of the Holy Spirit, a work of divine healing... the Holy Spirit moves through prayer, tears, holy meditation, heartfelt sorrow for human misery, pleas that sins or the punishment of sins be set aside, intercessions for all men and for those in authority, prayers for knowledge and understanding, consolation, relief in tribulation, protection, strengthening of faith, patience, and all needs; and through prayer and thanksgiving for the goodness of God, by which God may be praised, given homage and honored in words and blessings. Prayer occurs in secret, in a little chamber, in the heart, in all places, in all occupations, or openly in the congregation in the confession of faith to the honor of the name of God and in thanksgiving for all blessings ... All must be done in spirit and on truth, in the depth of the heart, without hypocrisy ... Prayer is an indicator of a true faithful Christian, a powerful living witness of the Holy Spirit... Prayer is a precious work and the highest honor, to be offered to God alone. It must be done in the love of God and the joy of faith with total resignation to God's will and certain expectation of divine help. Prayer strengthens, unites people with God, and brings them into the community of angels."
So are you reading the Word daily? Are you praying to God daily? The conviction should be kicking in. But conviction is good because it's from the Holy Spirit. John 3:17 says, "For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved." God sent His son Jesus to save the world from darkness [from sin] so we can have eternal life with the Father, have life with abundance on this Earth, to free us from the shackles of sin which was a slave to us, and to have hope in our lives. |
posted by Brian Seay @ 4/29/2007 01:39:00 PM  |
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