Last year, I received an answer
to my long time prayer - spiritual growth.
You see I've been a Christian since second year college, but it was only in 2018 that I learned to fully surrender everything to God. Finally I received power from the Holy Spirit to say no to sin, to spend quality time reading the Bible and to serve and engage in the church community.
I am at my happiest in almost 9 years of accepting Jesus as my Lord and savior.
To grow spiritually in faith must be in every believer's desires. We have to aspire to be more like Christ in the way we live. As we walk deliberately with Him our faith grows.
If you want to grow spiritually this 2019, today let me share the things that worked for me last year. It is my hope that as you set goals in areas of your life such as finances, travel, etc. you will also take time to ponder upon growing in faith too.
Pray
And we are confident that he
hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he
hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we
ask for.
1 John 5:14-15 NLT
Sincere prayer is powerful
communication tool to God. Through prayer we can talk to God anytime, anywhere.
This 2019 put prayer as part of your daily rituals. Start and end your day with
a prayer. Prayer is a good way to spend time with God and it is free. You can
pray even in the midst of fulfilling a task like walking, washing the dishes or
during your commute. Make conversing to God a habit and not just when you have
something good happens in your life.
If you haven't experienced growth
in your spiritual life, I urge you to pray for it. It worked for me, there's is
no way it cannot work for you too. In the right time, God will surely bless you
with spiritual intimacy to hear His plans and promises for your life.
Commit to a daily quiet time with God
Quiet time is an hour (or more) a
day spent in prayer, private meditation, worship of God or study of the
Bible. It is your own date, alone time
with God.
According to Jerry and Becky
Evans, author of Quiet Time: A Guide to an Effective Time Alone with God,
Quiet Time is a time of
encouragement, strengthening, and insight to the Christian, and "spiritual
food" for a person’s soul. They suggest that it is a "time of
complete focus on God" that "continues throughout a person’s entire life.
Source Wikipedia.
Daily Quiet Time is a great way
to grow spiritually this 2019. It is in here that we experience intimacy with
God by reading His very words. We begin to get to know Him, His promises, His
commands, His warnings, His ways, and more. Almost every person in the Bible who was used by God have spent time with Him from Noah, Abraham, Daniel, Paul).
Personal alone time with God prove to be a great source of strength making sure
you are fully nourished by His Words.
If you haven't experienced growth
in your spiritual life, then maybe you are not spending quality alone time with
God. Starting one is easy. Do not stress on finding the best or the right way
to do it. Just sit down, take a notebook, say a prayer and read a chapter from
the Bible. At the end of your reading write down your application in the
notebook. Meditate on what you have learned from the Word you just read and
apply it to your life.
Related read: How I Study the Bible Using S.O.A.P. Method
Have a devotional book
Devotional books are publications which provide a specific spiritual
reading for each calendar day. They are good materials to have in preparation
to your quiet time or morning prayer. Here are some of the most recommended
devotional boos to own:
- Trust God Day by Day by Joyce Meyer
- Better Than Jewels: A Weekly Devotional by Rica Peralejo
- My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
- The One Year Daily Devotionals
Currently I am using Jesus Calling by Sarah Young and it has been
life-changing for me. It has helped me dive deeper into the scriptures.
You can easily get these devotional books at leading boosktores or
better yet visit OMF Lit Store in Greenbelt 1.
Related read: Christmas Gift Ideas for Christians
If you haven't experienced growth in your spiritual life, try starting
your day with a devotional book of your choice. Read what is written for the
specific day and ponder upon how it applies to your current situation. Some
devotional books offer Bible verse references, use these verses as part of your
Bible reading.
Keep a faith journal
A faith journal is a good way to organize your prayers, notes from
your quiet time and devotionals. The content of your faith journal depends on
you. It can hold your prayers, affirmations, favorite verses from the Bible,
gratitude list, your love letter to God and more.
I use my faith journal to keep my prayer list, my Bible reading
schedule, my sermon notes and my quiet time study using S.O.A.P. Method.
Keeping them all in a binder notebook helped me go back and forth to what God
is telling me. It definitely helped me remember the faithfulness of God in
every areas of my life.
If you haven't experienced growth in your spiritual life, I encourage
you to keep a faith journal to record your walk with Christ. Journal or writing
may seem like a daunting task but I promise you it is a worthy habit to do
especially as Christians.
Surround yourself with Godly people
Another factor that helped me grow spiritually last year is being
surrounded by Godly people. The church community where I am currently in has
been nothing but good influence in my spiritual journey. Knowing that I have people
who will listen to me, pray for me and be there for me made all the difference.
I am not alone in my walk with Christ.
If you haven't experienced growth in your spiritual life, allow
yourself to be with other believers as well. It's good to have wise counsel who
can provide godly advice, correct you when you are backsliding and mentor you
in spiritual maturity. If you are attending church at Victory, I highly
recommend being part of a Victory Group.
Invest in studies, conferences and other church programs
Studies, conferences and other church programs are good ways to grow in faith this 2019. You can see more spiritual growth and change in your walk with Christ when you are gathered with other believers, studying with them, listening to talks and being filled with the Word.
One of the most memorable church programs I participated last year was
the Purple Book Class.
Purple Book is one of the many discipleship classes available in
Victory Makati. It promotes biblical foundation, strengthening one’s knowledge
on different important topics in the Bible.
My experience joining Purple Book Class was a blast. I enjoyed every
meeting. I didn’t know it would function just like a normal class where we
would elect officers, take exams, memorize verses and more. We even had a
graduation ceremony at our last day of class.
I learned a lot during the classes and most were new to me.
●
What
happened during The Fall (Genesis 3) and its significance.
●
The
sovereignty of God providing us with free will.
●
The
cost of following Christ which is absolute surrender.
●
The
importance of devotion.
●
How
asking questions could change the way you study the Bible.
●
We
live to be extra generous. Genuine generosity means us trusting God will
provide.
●
The
the gospel must not stop with me, I am called to share the gospel to others.
●
And
many more.
Overall
Spiritual Growth takes time. It does not happen overnight. Be patient
with how God will move in your spiritual life. Always remember that everything
happens according to His timeline. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can be
spiritually disciplined and grow our walk with Jesus. It is really more of how
bad do we want it. Do you want it?
Hope we both grow spiritually this 2019.
Do you want to grow spiritually this 2019?
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