For the longest time, I would go through the motions and expect for God to do a work in my life. I would expect something amazing to breakthrough, but nothing would happen. I began to feel discouraged. Does God not care for me? I am sitting here waiting on Him, and He knows it. Why is He not moving in my life?
In order for God to do something for us, we need to seek Him. God is not pushy when it comes to relationships. We have to decide that we are not satisfied with going through the motions. It is up to us to make the decision to pursue Him.
Below are five important steps I applied to my lifestyle to seek God and to find my praise:
1. Study The Bible
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” -- 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)
“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” -- John 15:7 (KJV)I know what you're thinking, how can a mom possibly study with kids around? Us moms can barely read a text message; how could we possibly be expected to study the Bible? Well, I found the solution simple, really. I made a point to wake up before everyone else in the house. Set an alarm if you need, and get in the routine of waking up earlier than the whole household. It's a sacrifice, but no one said living for God would be easy. We have to forget about our flesh and get up out of bed. Once the kids wake up, there will be no time for anything else. Find some devotionals to read or just flip through your Bible until something pops out at you. Maybe you will find something you never knew was in there and it will cause you to question things. Use that as an excuse to study it in depth and find out what that verse is all about. There are so many things in the Bible that just grab my attention and cause me to desire to live a holy lifestyle. God's word has been given to us as a guide and as a believer it is very important to not only know His word but to live by it. We need to have truth planted inside our hearts so when we face times of trouble, we can recall scripture that remind us God is with us. We must also be ready to be a witness at all times. If someone questions our beliefs, we must know the Bible in order to back up everything we believe and stand upon. How can anyone take us seriously if we do not have scripture to back us up? Stay spiritually fed.
2. Pray
“Pray without ceasing.” -- 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (KJV)This is a given. Prayer is very important in our walk with God. We must be able to find some time in our day to just sit and talk to him. I was recently inspired by Lee Stoneking’s testimony. When he began living for God, he would pray every day until he prayed through and began speaking in the Holy Ghost. Praying through to a breakthrough everyday… can you imagine the kind of advancement that will take place in your walk with God? Lee Stoneking shared that he wanted to pray so much that it would get God's attention. I want God's attention. I want Him to know I desperately need Him in my life. Our prayer life is vital to our relationship with God. Yes, I am repeating myself, but we really need to grasp this. Again, prayer is extremely important! Let's compare it to a long distant relationship. A relationship is hard to keep when two people don't see each other much, but if they speak on the phone every day, their relationship will stay strong despite the distance. That's how it is with God when we converse with Him every day. I'm not just talking about little prayers throughout the day like "God, help me right now" or "Jesus, please do this." I am talking about on our face in a designated area in our house kind of prayer. I am talking about pouring out our hearts to God each and every day. The Bible says to pray without ceasing. If we want God to give us our praise back, we need to search for it! We need to show God that we want it and show Him we are serious about living for Him. If we pursue Him, He will pursue us.
3. Give Thanks
“To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.” -- Psalms 30:12 (KJV)My wonderful Pastor's wife gave all of the women who attend our prayer meetings a prayer journal. She told us to write down our prayers so that we can keep a record of the ones God has answered. I decided to highlight the ones God answers. When I flip through my prayer journal, I can see all the prayers God has answered. I'm not just talking about big things, I'm talking about the little things here and there that we forget about. Let’s take one minute out of our day and thank God for something we have. I usually write down in my prayer journal one specific thing I am thankful for. Sometimes we don't thank God enough for all He does for us. He has given me much more than I deserve, and I am truly thankful for every blessing, no matter how small it may seem.
4. Worship
“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.” -- John 4:23 (KJV)There is nothing like worshipping Jesus. I love being in His presence and just pouring out my praise on Him. Here is where I found my praise. After I completed each prior step, I was amazed by how easy it was for me to worship! If you want to run the isles or just fall on your face worshipping, do it! You have the freedom in Jesus to worship however you feel.
When these steps are applied DAILY, we will have no problem finding that praise! You will get your joy back! You will be super mom!
I want to challenge each reader to repeat these 4 steps for just one week. If you miss a day, start over. No skipping days. Consistency matters! Watch how much you grow. Watch how amazing you will feel. I promise you, you will not want to stop after that first week. Implement these four steps into your day-to-day life and you will be blessed!
From Momverbs with much love!
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