How to Grow in Faith, Prayer

 Talk to your Father.

How do you overcome the world? How can a newborn child of God grow in faith, knowledge, and wisdom? This is what we will discuss. Prayer. First, let us pray.

Heavenly Father, we come before you with thanksgiving and praise. We love you and thank you for everything from life itself to life everlasting. As we enter your word today, we ask for eyes to see what the world cannot see. Ears to hear the things of yours that the world cannot hear, and a spirit to understand what you wish us to learn here today. We ask this in the name of Yeshua, Amen!

We read this in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Wait what? “Rejoice evermore?” “Pray without ceasing?” What does that mean? How can I pray without ceasing? Exactly how long is that? And as for “rejoice evermore?” Yeah ok. I lost my job, and I will rejoice, right? I mean, I do go to church. I pray the way Jesus taught me to pray. Do you know people like this? Have you been like this? You have people who go to church every week. They do what Jesus said to do. They pray the "Our Father" three times. They are saying the prayer that Jesus Himself taught us to pray? Right?

Well, no. Not exactly. Did Jesus give us the "Our Father Prayer" in Matthew 6? Of course. But what was He telling us? You see, He was teaching us how to pray by showing us the formula. He never intended for us to simply repeat it, hoping that God would hear us and do whatever we asked. In fact, right before He gave us this example, He said this.

"But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking."

He goes on to say, not pray this prayer, but

"After this manner, therefore pray ye."

He tells us that this is the formula. This is an example. "After this manner," or, to resemble in appearance, character, behavior, etc., or, to follow as an example. Keep in mind, He just said, "when ye pray, use not vain repetitions." So was Jesus telling us, 'Say the" Our Father Prayer' and all will be well? No. He was saying, This is how you should pray.

Some people think about prayer as holier than anything, a grand procedure that one must be skilled with the knowledge of how to do it. Well, no. All we need to do is follow Jesus' formula. God already knows what you are going to say before you say it.

God is your Father. He is there when you wake up. He is there when you eat breakfast or don't. Shower and get ready? He is with you. Go out the door? He is with you. Work, school, or play? He is with you. It is not a part-time, only in Church on Sunday concept or idea, or thing. He is with us always. In all things. During all things. He is there. He is God.

Do not ever forget this. Yes. Of course. He is always there, parting seas, calming storms, healing sickness, and casting demons away out of your life, carrying you even if He must. He is also there at all other times. Read the Word. Pray, and always think about Him.

Then, of course, and sadly, you have what I call “foul weather children of God.” I’ve been one. Death in the Family? "GOD?!?!?" Loss of a Job? "GOD?!?!?" Loss of a House? "GOD?!?!?" Sickness and disease invade your home? "GOD?!?!?" Dark clouds coming?? "GOD?!?!?" Trying to walk on water, and start to sink? "GOD?!?!? SAVE ME!!!!"

All is going well? Everyone healthy? Got that new Job? Got married? Birth of a child? Healed from sickness? Beautiful sunny days? Where is your cry to God? Where is your Thanksgiving?  Where is God? Oh, He is there. Where are you?

Jesus tells us to be ever vigilant. Spend time with your Father. Ask Him to give you the strength to overcome. To be steadfast. He wants a relationship with you. Walk with Him. Talk with Him. One of the best things you can do next to reading the Word is prayer.

God is there with you in the good times. He wants you to celebrate with Him. He wants a one-on-one relationship with you. Just like your earthly Father. He wants to be your Heavenly Father. Just like your earthly Father, He wants to be there to celebrate life's good times with you.

Yes. He will be there in the bad times. He will be there when you lie down. He will be there when you get up. If you are His child, He will be meeting your needs every day. He will bless you daily. He will teach you, lead you, love you, always, in all things.

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4-7

Have you ever been touched by that "peace of God, which passeth all understanding"? If not, there is no describing it. There is nothing to compare it to. You have to experience it yourself. I have been touched. I have experienced it. Better than any amount of alcohol. Better than any kind of drugs. It just is the Peace of God. The Joy of our Lord. You can find it in no other way, save spending time with God.

If you have never done this, try it. Do not think about prayer as holier than anything, a grand procedure that one must be skilled with the knowledge of how to do it. It is not this way. It is simply a conversation. Talk to God. Get up and say your 5-minute obligatory prayer in the morning. How about on your way to work? At work? How about something you see that you would instantly want to share with someone? Share with Him. "God? Did you see that?" Or "Father, can I please get through this meeting today?" Or something like "God, thank you so much for this coffee. It is really good." Any and everything is worthy to share with God, and to also help you remember, HE is always with you.

“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” Colossians 4:2

Remember, all that you have, ever had, or ever will have is from God. As the Word tells us, all good things are from Him.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” James 1:17-18

Are you a child of God?

“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” Romans 8:16-17

We will wrap it up today with this, from our Lord Himself.

"But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.”

Remember, we talked about this before. It does not have to be “the end times” for today to be your end time. Your last day. No one knows the hour or the day.

“For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth.”

However, we have the advantage. We know what is next. We know that death is not the end. Just a transition into the next existence. Which is forever.

“But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man." Luke 21:31-36

If you have never tried this, go ahead and do it. Say your morning prayer or your nightly prayer—whatever you are used to doing. Then, try doing the opposite as well, not instead, but in addition. If you start your day with prayer, also make a habit of thanking God for the day at the end. If you pray at night, consider waking up earlier if needed to pray in the morning and thank God for another day.

If you are going through your life and you see someone whom you think needs a blessing, bless them, but also pray for them. It can be something as simple as “Father, please be with them.”

Another reason, and one Jesus was trying to convey here, is this. If you are praying or talking to God daily, where is your mind? Are you focused on the world? Or are you focused on God? Exactly. So if you are focused on God, the world seems less and less important.

As you grow in faith, you grow out of the world. You grow stronger, wiser, and you will have less fear in your life. Nothing will seem overwhelming when you know, not think, but rather know that the creator of the universe and all that is in it is now your Father. If God is for us, who can be against us? The answer? No one and nothing.

Now I hope you are reading the Word. I hope you will try to pray more. What is next? Well, repentance. I know, I know. This is one of those messages that makes people angry. However, that does not mean it is not true. Join us next time for our conversation on true repentance and what that means.

Have you "put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him."Colossians 3:10. Then start to grow in the faith. Read your Bible; if you do not have one, get one. Pray and spend time with God.

Want to talk? Want more information? Want to just say “hi”? The email, if you wish to contact me, is truthbygod1@gmail.com

May the comfort of the Holy Ghost and the peace of our Lord Jesus be with you all. May God bless and be with you always.

Until next time, be blessed, be a blessing, and Jesus is Lord!