Prayers For You

Father, we have been privileged to understand your system; the kingdom of God. In the times and seasons in which we are now, you are providing opportunities to your children to get closer to you and know you for who you really are to us. We say thank you for teaching us the many steps to take into living godly lives. We have come to an understanding that in order to live godly, it requires some purposeful actions on our part.

Father, this season, we have been enlightened about the significance of living purpose-driven lives, we have been reminded that our actions should be in line with what the Father approves and that will not only stay at a place godliness but we will increase in godliness.

Father, thank you for teaching us to be children who learn and come to a knowledge of the truth.

As we continue to grow, we will keep the faith, we’ll purposefully become vessels of honor. We will add value to others. We will develop a personal relationship with you to a place whereby we will have personal encounters and testimonies of our relationship with you.

Father, our desire is to pursue undivided fellowship with you and fellow brethren. We began this journey from salvation with the spirit and we will continue in the spirit. We choose to persist in prayers and the word and develop an uncommon desire to grow in the fruit and gifts of the spirit.

Father, thank you for the gift of life, for the privilege to be alive. For as long as we live we will use our lives to be blessings to the people around us, for your glory Father. Thank you.

Develop An Uncommon Desire To Grow In The Fruit And Gifts Of The Spirit

Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  Against such, there is no law.

1 Corinthians 12:8-10 (NKJV)

 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

So much needs to be said here about the fruit of the spirit and the gifts of the spirit which cannot be covered within 5minutes. However, I will say this, develop an uncommon desire to grow in the fruit and the gifts of the spirit. We had established that the godly lifestyle is the spirit led lifestyle. The spirit has so much to offer; in this case fruit and gifts. Set some time aside and begin studying on the fruit and the gifts of the spirit. There are 9 fruit and 9 gifts of the spirit. It is worth mentioning that Galatians 5:22 mentions “the fruit” of the spirit not “fruits”. Meaning with the spirit of God within you, you cannot have one fruit apart from the other. You might be more generous with some over others. All you need to do is continually work on them in order to get to a place of maturity. Amen.

For the gifts of the spirit, do not be ignorant about their existence. Paul in 1 Corinthians 12: 1 says this “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:” They are available for you. Note that it says gifts – so there is nothing you can do to get them but to live godly and earnestly develop an uncommon desire to receive them. Know about them in detail, desire to get them and the Father will honor your requests. Amen.

Your growth in the fruit of the spirit will benefit you. The gifts of the spirit given to you will benefit the body of Christ.  The fruit of the spirit, the gift of the spirit and the power of the spirit within you will together produce the anointing. Amen.

Persist In Prayers And The Word

Luke 18:1 (NKJV)

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart

Emphasis Mine

In this verse, Jesus was talking to His disciples. Encouraging them to always pray. “Always” here will mean to be consistent and persistent. Meaning to always pray even when there is no tangible evidence of the results you expect and to pray even when it is uncomfortable.

Why should we be consistent and persistent in prayers? We should because we trust His character as a never changing Father and we have chosen to live in obedience to His instruction given in Luke 18:1. The bible also records in John 17, Jesus’ prayer to the Father.

Prayers keep us in perpetual fellowship with the Father. It is a two-way communication with our Daddy.  Through prayers, we receive instructions and directions for the next assignment for our lives. One who chooses to live godly must settle it within them that godliness will require total surrender and complete dependence on God Himself on how to navigate through life.

The Word of God provides the language we use in communication with the Father. When we pray, we get into agreement with the Father concerning His word. For example, the word of God tells us that in everything, we should give thanks. So, when we give thanks (or say thank you, Father, in our prayers), we are agreeing with Him according to His word. Amen.

It can be quite challenging to be consistent and persistent in prayers without knowledge of God’s Word. Through the word, we have access to the knowledge of His promises, we receive encouragements through some of the characters in scriptures and more.

Do not relent; Persist in prayers and the word.  because these are the two most important aspects guaranteed to equip you to live a godly life. Amen.

Continue In The Spirit

A decision to live godly is a decision to live a Spirit-led life. Meaning, as a believer, the Holy Spirit now dwells in you. We are told in John 4:24 that God is Spirit, so, it, therefore, His offspring are spirit beings as well. As an unbeliever, the Holy Spirit convicted you of sin and as a result, you received the message of your salvation and became born again.

Our emphasis is this, you began in the Spirit, so continue in the Spirit. Paul, writing to the Galatians said this,

Galatians 3:2-4 (NIV)

Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ.  How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?

Always remember to tell yourself this truth “I began in the spirit; I will continue in the spirit”.

As already established, a godly life is a Spirit-led life, and your success in this new lifestyle of godliness is only guaranteed when you live as led by the Holy Spirit within you. Otherwise, you will wound up living in condemnation, depending on human effort to make changes in your life and more.

It is only by continuing in the Spirit that you can be guaranteed to enjoy blessings from the spirit such as the fruit of the spirit, the gifts of the spirit and more.

So, I encourage you to let go of human efforts, let go of the law, rather, continue in the spirit. Amen

Pursue Undivided Fellowship

As one who has decided to live godly, fellowship with the brethren is non-negotiable. In fellowship, we build healthy relationships and also learn how to reach out to others just like Jesus did. In fellowship, we learn from each other and grow spiritually to a place of maturity. When we fellowship, we are living in obedience to the word. Hebrews 10:25a encourages us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together.

In Galatians 2:12-13, a situation arose whereby Paul had to confront Peter because of what I will call a fellowship misconduct.

Galatians 2:12-13 (NLT)

When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile believers, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision.  As a result, other Jewish believers followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.

A little background on this story. In their days, Jews were circumcised and Gentiles were uncircumcised. In order for the Gentiles to fellowship with the Jews, they had to go through circumcision; all these were according to the law. Peter was an apostle to the Jews and Paul an apostle to the Gentiles (Galatians 2:8).

Peter (an apostle to the Jew) ate with (fellowshipped with) Gentile Christians (Christians because they are not under the law) but when Peter’s friends came, Peter stopped eating with the Gentile Christians because he was afraid of being criticized by people who believed in circumcision. So, as a result, Peter’s hypocritical action led others astray. Amen.

Our point of emphasis is this, pursue undivided fellowship. Fellowship with purpose and when you do, it will guide you and prevent division. When you fellowship with the brethren, encourage one another. When you find yourself in the midst of unbelievers, bring the message of salvation to them and anything else the Holy Spirit leads you to do. Be careful not to avoid unbelievers without giving them a chance to hear the message you have to bring. Do not be an eye-servant, if you do, you will lead many astray just like Peter did in this situation. Amen.

Know The Father And Live In Him

Knowing the Father is another step into living a godly lifestyle. It is impossible to be godly without knowing God Himself. One of the ways we get to know Him is by understanding what he expects from us.

1 John 2:3-5a

We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.  But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. 

 Emphasis Mine

-        Obedience is key to living a godly lifestyle. It is a very necessary part of the kingdom lifestyle. I will dare to say that your increase in godliness is determined by your obedience to the Father.

-        Obedience to the Word is proof that we know the Father. (1 John 2:3).

-        Obedience is an expression of our love for the Father.

-        Obedience is proof that we have faith in His promises.

Scripture says;

1 John 2:5b (NIV)

This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

Emphasis Mine

This statement is simply giving us a tool to do a personal evaluation. If at any given time you wonder whether or not you are living in God, ask yourself this question “Am I living as Jesus did?”

As a way of living in God, we must live as Jesus did. One statement that governed Jesus’ life here on earth is John 5:19 (NIV).

he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.

So, when you live as Jesus lived, you are living up to the standards of the Father. Amen.                                                                             

Have A Personal Testimony

John was one of the disciples of Jesus Christ and in writing the book of 1 John 1 you can sense his confidence as he talks about God the Father and Jesus Christ.

1 John 1:1 (AMP)

[I am writing about] what existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life [the One who existed even before the beginning of the world, Christ].

As one who desires to live a godly life or one who is living a godly lifestyle, how is your journey in the Lord so far? How is your journey in the kingdom so far?

Are you at a place where you can speak confidently like John did? Do you hear God for yourself? Do you see for yourself concerning the Word? Do you have tangible outcomes as a result of your new lifestyle? What is your testimony?

Personal testimonies of how the Word transformed or transforms you are very encouraging both to you and the listeners. It is a tangible evidence of what you have heard, what you have seen and what you are now experiencing.

As you desire to live godly, avail yourself to be transformed by Him, you will have a personal testimony to share with many just like John did and when he did, many joined him in fellowshipping with the Father. May your testimony cause others to join the kingdom because the purpose of a testimony is so that others hear the goodness of the Father and have fellowship with Him. Amen.