Sleep is important

“It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep” (Psalm 127:2). God blesses his sons with (and in) sleep. It’s a time to restore and heal; to relinquish worry and stress; to, quite literally, leave everything to him. We should appreciate it fully, be thankful for it, accept it wholeheartedly. We’ve all felt the results when we don’t: racing hearts; pounding heads; clouded thoughts; a lack of productivity, creativity, patience; a compromised resistance to sin. We are never the husbands, fathers, friends, bosses, employees we must be when we sacrifice sleep. Okay, so what do we do? Fight for sleep. The struggle is hard but worthy. Minimizing it is neither responsible nor manly. We’re designed for sleep.

Choose each day

We need God’s grace, and we want to be reminded that we can choose to set our mind on God or we can choose to set our mind on self. If we awaken and allow our thoughts to be consumed by self or with our circumstances, what will we feel in the end? Discouraged! By contrast, if we choose to pray and seek the Lord instead, there can be peace, hope, and renewal. Remember, you can choose each day whom you will serve. And though it will take a moment-by-moment reorienting of your mind throughout your day, this choice begins first thing in the morning.

But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord .”
Joshua 24:15 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/jos.24.15.NIV

Start the day with God

It seems that most people usually spend a few minutes gathering their thoughts for the day before they get out of bed in the morning. In these moments it can be a temptation to choose to think first about our day, our schedule, what we need to do, who needs to be where, etc. Before we know it, we can fall prey to the lies of the enemy and begin dreading our day or feeling overwhelmed by it, and then try to tackle it as soon as our feet hit the floor.

We would begin by thanking the Lord for the gift of a new day and acknowledge that He alone is sovereign, that He alone is in control—not us. And then by His grace we would put aside our thoughts, our concerns, and our agendas and draw near to God by spending time in His Word and in prayer. No matter how much we think about our day or our agenda, the reality is that the day belongs to the Lord. If we start each day intentionally acknowledging this and acknowledging who we are in Christ, this practice could easily transform how we think about and live out the rest of the moments in the day. 

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
Romans 8:14 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/rom.8.14.NIV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22‭-‬23 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/gal.5.22-23.NIV

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
Colossians 3:2 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/col.3.2.NIV

Pray to God as father

Fatherhood means access. In other words, I’m invited. It also means acceptance—I’m welcomed. Furthermore, it means attention—I’m heard. Do you see how praying in the context of the child–Father relationship puts the whole thing on a different footing? 

Notice that there are no singular personal pronouns in the prayer. It’s all ‘our’, ‘we’ and ‘us’. Many of us were brought up with a very individualistic view of faith and Scripture. It was all about me—that Jesus died for me, God has forgiven me, I’m bound for heaven, etc. When we read Scripture in the light of community, we realize that most of it is addressed to us corporately. Obviously that doesn’t take away from the personal, because the corporate is made up of individuals, but it should affect the way we believe, live and pray. 

Choose each day

But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord .”
Joshua 24:15 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/jos.24.15.NIV

We have a choice to make every day, every morning when we wake up. Will it be God or will it be self?

It is amazing how quickly we can make ourselves, our schedules, or our to-do lists first in our thoughts and priorities. How often do we think of ourselves first and then maybe later at some point give a passing thought to God whom we proclaim as Lord and Savior?

Live life we deserve?

We often live the life we feel we deserve, ignoring the fact that through God’s grace… we deserve so much more. God felt your life was worth dying for... are you living in accordance with that sacrifice?
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
James 1:22 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.1.22.NIV

The Lord's Prayer..,.index prayer

The point of the index is to act as a pointer to the substance.  That’s exactly what index praying was all about. The rabbis would provide the points for prayer, like an index, and the people would fill in the substance—their own prayers. This is the method Jesus was teaching in this prayer. Can you now see the Lords Prayer is like that? And what an index of titles! 
1. Worshiping the Father 
2. God’s kingdom 
3. God’s will/guidance 
4. Our daily needs 
5. Forgiveness/relationships 
6. Spiritual warfare 

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
1 John 5:14‭-‬15 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/1jn.5.14-15.NIV

Surely I must have been praying according to his will if I was praying the prayer he gave. 

3D praying

Prayer can be showy. You've probably been in prayer gatherings where someone prays a long prayer using flowery language. Prayer is not entertainment; it's a time of fellowship with God. I know you can pray anywhere but there is something about having a place where we pray regularly. As I grew in my new-found zeal for prayer I began to find myself really looking forward to my prayer times sensing I was really meeting with the Father. The room in which I prayed became synonymous with those times and I would go to the room expectant that I was going to meet with God. The result was that I approached my personal prayer times with faith. Praying for a long time, using many words or repetition doesn’t mean we are more likely to get God’s attention. I really don’t know why we feel that God will hear us more clearly like that. This Scripture makes it clear that it’s not about words, length or repetition, because God knows anyway. It’s about quality—the right heart attitude, concentrating on what we’re doing, trying to live a life that doesn’t contradict our prayer life—not quantity.  Let me explain 3D praying to you. The three Ds stand for Desire, Discipline and Delight. First, and you cannot bypass this starting point, there needs to be Desire. Desire to be a person of prayer. Without that desire, nothing will ever change. You can’t force the desire, but you can ask God to plant that in you by his Spirit.  Second, it requires Discipline. Actually, you could double the D and make it daily discipline. This is the hard part, as you’ve probably already discovered. But I want to assure you that as you face the discipline it gets a lot easier; you’ll find the third D eases it considerably.  The third D is Delight. Yes, truly prayer has become a delight for me: spending time with the Father, opening up my life with its ups and downs, hearing what he has to say to me. What’s not to like! That means that I can look forward to praying; making my way towards the place where I usually pray I’m actually expectant that I’ll meet God during that time. What a change! It’s delightful. 

Too busy not to pray

It was the great Protestant Reformation leader Martin Luther who said: I have so much to do today that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.

I love the irony in that quote. Usually, the first thing to nix from the agenda when we’re short on time is prayer. 

It’s the easiest thing to hit the “Esc” tab on. Usually, the repercussions aren’t immediately evident. 

But slowly time without Jesus leaves us drained. It starts chipping away at our souls. 

I don’t know how long exactly you and I need to spend with him. But we do need to spend enough time to be filled with the Living Water before we can pour out. 

Jesus tells Martha that her sister did the one thing that is needed.

Maybe that can be our prayer this morning. A prayer from Psalm 27: 4

One thing I ask of the Lord. This is what I seek. That I may dwell in the house of the Lord forever. To gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and behold Him in His temple.

It’s only when we fix our eyes upon Jesus that we can value ourselves the way He values us.

Only then can we rest and not strive. Only then can all our work be as worship unto Him. Whether we work out of swanky corporate offices or if we are scrubbing poop stains off a baby’s onesie, all our work can be worship when our worth is rooted in Jesus.

Lean In

Father God, remind me today that only one thing is needed - and His name is Jesus. Help me to pursue Him. Help me love Him more completely. But, first, help me bask in His lavish, extravagant for me. My soul finds rest in God alone. In Jesus name, Amen

Multi tasking not the way forward

Yesterday, we looked at how being a slave to busyness can sap us of energy and restfulness. But we’re not merely busy. We’re also hopelessly distracted. 

We’re a generation that’s so plugged into our gadgets that we wander around in a state of “device delirium” – a state of being where everything and everyone else is perceived through a haze of sorts. 

A 2016 New York Times article says that the average Facebook user spends 1 hour a day on social media. One hour a day of the time we’re awake is a whopping 1/16th of our waking hours. 

It’s not just sucking up our time, social media is actually causing us to question our worth. It’s reinforcing that we matter only when others say we do. 

The culture tells us we don’t really count till we wear as many hats as possible and wear ourselves down in the process. 

We think that multitasking is the modus operandi today. But consider Ephesians where it says God has prepared good works in advance for us to do. He doesn’t want us to put our finger in every possible pie. He wants us to be intentional about following Him in the work He has appointed and prepared for us to do. In that calling, we find purpose and freedom. 

Jesus doesn’t place demands on us. He comes alongside us. All He wants is for us to abide in Him. 

Lean In

Father, let me not function blindly under the false assumption that I have to multitask and be all things to all people in order to matter. Help me quieten my heart so I can hear Your voice saying, “This is the way, walk in it.” Help me thrive in the fullness of life You have for me. Help me not to confuse that with a full life. Amen

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10 NIV

https://ephesians.bible/ephesians-2-10

Too busy?

but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:42 NIV
https://luke.bible/luke-10-42

We seem to derive our value from asserting that we’re just so much busier than the next person. Our over packed, overwhelmed schedules actually give us a sense of pride, even a sense of identity.

When the fast food chain Chick Fil A decided that it would stay closed on Sundays, everyone was shocked. Sunday was the day that fast food restaurants made the most money.
Today, the company generates more revenue per restaurant than any other fast-food chain in the US, and it's only open six days a week. God honors us when we honor Him with our time.

If you and I are too busy for prayer, then we are simply too busy. If we are too busy to read the Bible, then we are simply too busy. Maybe you and I should reorder our priorities so we make time for the things that are important and not merely what’s urgent.

Help me realize that being too busy to spend time with You actually depletes me and drains me of life and energy. Help me, Father, to always prioritize time with you. Amen

Not in our own strength

Jesus responds to Martha’s little outburst with gentle, measured, wise words. 

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,

Luke 10:41 NIV

https://luke.bible/luke-10-41

Let’s note firstly what Jesus doesn’t say. He doesn’t dismiss Martha’s work as being wrong. Hospitality is important. Jesus and his disciples had just been on a long trip. They needed to be fed – and Martha was doing just that.

To all those “get it done” people who thrive on checking off their to-do lists, God loves you and loves your work ethic. He wants you to work hard and do whatever you do with excellence and for His glory. It’s only when we become consumed with “doing it all” and want all the credit that God becomes a useful add-on rather than the core of our lives.

When Martha asks him, “Lord don’t you care?” Jesus doesn’t respond by saying, “Of course I do. Mary, go help your sister out.”

Instead, in essence, Jesus responds by saying, “Come to me; sit at my feet.”

When we doubt whether He cares, the solution is very simple: go to Him. Spend time with Him. Shut out everything else and turn your eyes upon Jesus. He wants to carry our burdens for us. The invitation is always open. 

Lean In

Heavenly Father, Thank You for the open door of prayer always set before me. Thank You for the invitation to lay my burdens at Your feet. Help me to always remember and value that invitation. I don’t have to do this on my own. What a relief! What a friend we have in Jesus! Amen

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28‭-‬30 NIV

https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.11.28-30.NIV

Listening

She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.

Luke 10:39 NIV

https://luke.bible/luke-10-39

The verse from Luke we just read says that Mary listened. In the cacophony of today’s world that can be one of our biggest challenges - to truly listen. There’s always another beep or buzz distracting us from what matters. The “have to’s” are relentless in their demand. They are a constant drip, drip, drip on our souls. Till we are bone dry and parched inside.

When Mary turned her gaze to Jesus, everything else faded. I don’t know about you, but I often come to him with one eye on the clock or my phone. And then I wonder why I didn’t hear from Him that day. 

Listening involves drawing close to Him. Listening involves an intentional shutting out of distractions so He can hold our thoughts and our hearts captive. Listening involves being still enough to hear God whisper. 

We have to choose whether we prefer the cacophony or whether we choose to shut everything else out to hear Him speak. He longs for us to draw close so we can hear Him when He whispers.

Lean In

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

John 10:27 NIV

https://john.bible/john-10-27

Lord, there are so many things in my day that clamor for my attention. Sometimes, the din is overwhelming. Sometimes, though, the noise is from within me – a cluttered mind drowning out Your voice. Help me to listen for Your whispers. I need You, Oh I need You. Amen

Mary annoints Jesus

She was unreserved in her love for him. She worshiped him. Not a casual, what’s-next-on-the-agenda worship. But an extravagant worship where she didn’t count the cost. It was a reverential worship, an extraordinary worship, perhaps even an irrational worship. She didn’t look at the clock or her wallet or at people around her who were wagging their fingers in judgement. Instead, she looked at Jesus. She allowed him to fill her vision and eclipse everything else around her. 

Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Galatians 1:10 NIV
https://galatians.bible/galatians-1-10

Be still.....Mary and Martha

In contrast to Martha’s looking at the people in the house, her to-do list and her own sense of fairness, Mary was sitting down on the floor, looking at Jesus.  Her whole posture was one of humility. Her body language reads: “I need Thee, oh I need Thee,” rather than, “I got this.” In that humility of trusting God rather than her own abilities, Mary took the pressure off herself.  She was embodying Psalm 46:10 - “Be still and know that I am God.”  What does “be still” mean?  The Hebrew for “be still” translates to let go of your grip, to make oneself weak. What a freeing idea! In our complete dependence on a God who won’t ever fail us, we find freedom.  Mary modeled a restful worship as she settled down and settled in or abided with Jesus. She abided in the Vine and realized that apart from God she could do nothing.  What is it you and I need to let go of? Could it be our tight grip on our schedules? Could it being saying “yes” all the time so we have only leftovers for God?  We have to be still so we can know that He is God. And we are not. 

Earning approval?

Like Martha, we may find ourselves striving in our faith walk. We may have unintentionally subscribed to a brand called performance-driven Christianity. We subconsciously buy into the idea that we can earn God’s approval. We may believe that we’re working hard for God’s kingdom, when in reality our ministry has become more important than the Messiah.

We forget that Christ died for the ungodly, for the broken, for the bruised, for those who don’t have it all together. Scripture says in Romans 5:8 that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. 

Still sinners. God doesn’t need for us to be perfect. He doesn’t want us to present a clean slate to Him. He is in the business of taking the broken pieces of our lives and melding it together to create something so beautiful that He calls us His “treasured possession.”

If you’re thinking, “I’m not good enough for this whole Christian thing,” you’re absolutely right! The truth is, none of us are “good enough.” We’ve all sinned and fallen short of God’s standard of holiness. Recognizing that we’re not ever going to make it on our own merit is the first step to finding rest for now and for all eternity. 

Take your mess to Him. Take your brokenness to Him. It’s not too much for Him to handle. 

Life aim

so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
Colossians 1:10 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/col.1.10.NIV

Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.
Philemon 1:7 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/phm.1.7.NIV

Life aim

so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
Colossians 1:10 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/col.1.10.NIV

Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.
Philemon 1:7 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/phm.1.7.NIV

You already possess

Have you ever been in a rush to go somewhere, but couldn’t find your keys? You pat down your pockets. You check your purse. You search in between the couch seats, on the kitchen counter tops, and through all your drawers. Only to discover… they were in your hand the entire time!

How frustrating and tiring it is to search for something you already possess. And yet, many Christians live like this. They’re searching for peace, power, victory, and spiritual success, not realizing that God has already blessed them with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places. 

Moving kingdom

Branding iron.....God placed the Holy Spirit on us as a seal—a permanent mark of ownership. We have transferred kingdoms and now belong to God

Like a letter .....He registers the letter and seals it—indicating that He is its owner and the only one qualified to open it. In the same way, believers are sealed by the Holy Spirit. 

Paul also says the Holy Spirit is God’s promise to us—acting like a pledge or down payment for the rest of our inheritance. God placed a little bit of heaven in you now by giving you Holy Spirit as a first installment on a bigger purchase. 

It’s like buying a house.......
We put a down payment on the house as a promise that we will make the rest of the payments on the mortgage until the house is ours. It’s a promise of future redemption. 

Or it’s like an engagement ring....... It’s not the whole thing, but it means there's a big day coming. The engagement rings points to a lifelong commitment. It's a pledge—a down payment. The Holy Spirit is the down payment of your inheritance of eternal life, and He was given to you in anticipation of eternal life with God that is to come.

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 1:13‭-‬14 NIV

https://bible.com/bible/111/eph.1.13-14.NIV

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Ephesians 4:30 NIV

https://ephesians.bible/ephesians-4-30

Redemption

Redemption is not an original Christian concept. The word itself means “to buy or purchase.” In the ancient world, this term was used frequently in the context of slavery. A person who wanted to purchase a slave would go to the slave market and redeem one. Often times, the term connected a slave with their freedom. That is, a slave could be redeemed once a price was paid in exchange for their freedom.  Scripture says that we were slaves to sin, but Christ redeemed us. But what was the price? It wasn’t silver. It wasn’t gold. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t any monetary amount. It was the precious blood of Jesus Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. The payment for our release was the life of the sinless Son of God. His death fulfilled God’s plan to adopt us as children, and secure our eternity in Heaven. 

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.  In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 1:7‭-‬12 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/eph.1.7-12.NIV

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:32 NIV
https://john.bible/john-8-32

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
1 Peter 1:18‭-‬19 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/1pe.1.18-19.NIV

Chosen

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:8‭-‬9 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/eph.2.8-9.NIV

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
1 John 3:1 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/1jn.3.1.NIV

We live in two realms

If you need $1,000, and you have $1,000 in your bank account, then you do not need to go beg for that money. Why? Because it’s already yours. All you must do is withdraw the money that has already been deposited into your account. Paul says everything God is ever going to do for believers He has already done. He’s blessed them with “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” That is, he has deposited spiritual blessings in every believer’s account. Not only that, but Paul will go on to say that believers are seated with Jesus in the heavenly places. It’s like a video teleconference where you’re in two places at once—seated physically in one place but operating in another. Believers are present in two realms at the same time: physically on earth but operating from heavenly places.  But what are the “heavenly places”? They comprise the spiritual realm where God and Satan battle for your allegiance. We live in the physical realm with our problems, needs, struggles, and sins. However, the authority and power to address our problems proceed from the spiritual realm. We must understand an important principle: everything that happens in the physical realm originates in the spiritual realm. This means that our problems are never merely physical in nature, but they always have spiritual implications. The problems are the visible fruit, but their root is always spiritual in nature.  So if we want to fix our physical problems, we need to look for spiritual solutions, which means we must have a spiritual worldview. God wants our position in heavenly places to dictate our actions on earth. Only by operating from a spiritual perspective will you have access to God’s kingdom power and provisions to deal with life in the physical realm. And remember, we do not need to beg for it because God has already deposited it into our accounts! What are some issues or problems you have personally faced (or are facing) in which you were tempted to overlook the invisible, spiritual causes of the problem?

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
Ephesians 1:3 NIV
https://ephesians.bible/ephesians-1-3

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
Ephesians 2:6 NIV
https://ephesians.bible/ephesians-2-6

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 6:12 NIV
https://ephesians.bible/ephesians-6-12

Temptation

The enemy is not after your relationships, money or your wealth but He is after your Identity and Purpose! He hates and trembles when a child of God discovers their true self and steps out to accomplish a heaven ordained mission. Remember Jesus in the wilderness? Right after heaven was opened, and Jesus was introduced as the ‘Son of God’, launched into public ministry, the devil came and challenged his Identity. He tempted Jesus to deviate him from the very thing that Jesus had come to fulfill on earth. Satan promised pleasure, power and fame but Jesus stayed focused on heaven’s assignment. Christ knew where He had come from and what He had come for! Today, like Jesus, will you stay focused on who you really are and what you are called for? Because heaven is behind you and Holy Spirit will help you to overcome evil. 

Priorities

It’s not the wealth of life but the depth of life that matters the most. When you seek God’s kingdom first and His righteousness, all these things will be given to you! Health, wealth and all that you need, God will provide. If we prioritize God and his Kingdom above everything else, guess what? We become Heaven’s responsibility! God becomes the source of our security. His wealth is at our disposal, to use for His glory! And it is greater than all of the human wealth and wisdom put together on this earth. 

Obedience Inspired by Faith

Obedience to God unlocks understanding. What are you waiting for? Sometimes we wish that God would show us the entire picture before we can obey Him. Have you restricted your walk with God to only what you understand? Guess what?! Our minds can never fully grasp what God wants to do through our lives. Our logic would never dare to go there. But faith will! Obedience inspired by faith unveils the hidden things of God. Your knowledge and intelligence will only accomplish the dreams and destiny designed by man. But your Faith and Obedience will get a hold of heaven’s plans and God-designed destiny for you. Abraham’s extraordinary faith and act of obedience to God connected him to a supernatural plan of heaven. 

Do you want to live for something greater? What is stopping you from believing and obeying? Fear? Doubt? Anxiety? This will only cripple you. Today, let me challenge you to replace it with Faith, Strength and Courage. It liberates you! You are called for something greater. I pray that you walk in extraordinary faith believing only in the One who has called you and in simple obedience to the One who knows you. For obedience inspired by Faith will take you where your knowledge and intelligence would never dare to go.

Be available

Let me give you the most important key to hear from God: BE AVAILABLE .By now we know that God is still able to speak, but are you available to hear from him? Allocate time and space in your daily schedule to hear from God. Be available to hear from Him!

‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’
Jeremiah 33:3 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/jer.33.3.NIV

Start each day right

We need God’s grace, and we want to be reminded that we can choose to set our mind on God or we can choose to set our mind on self. If we awaken and allow our thoughts to be consumed by self or with our circumstances, what will we feel in the end? Discouraged! By contrast, if we choose to pray and seek the Lord instead, there can be peace, hope, and renewal. Remember, you can choose each day whom you will serve. And though it will take a moment-by-moment reorienting of your mind throughout your day, this choice begins first thing in the morning. So as you enter into this daily choice, trust in the One who created the new day and you. He will provide the grace you need to make each new day His.

But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord .”
Joshua 24:15 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/jos.24.15.NIV

Imagine don't doubt

You have to believe and banish doubt. Doubt your doubts and believe your beliefs. The problem we have today is we do the exact opposite. We believe our doubts and doubt our beliefs. 

 Instead you need to say, “I’m not going to allow fear to dominate; I’m going to allow faith to dominate. I’m going to trust in God. All things are possible with God.” Then your imagination talks about the good things that can happen and moves you forward.

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

James 1:6‭-‬7 NIV

https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.1.6-7.NIV

Dream big

God wants you to dream big. He wants you to use the imagination that he gave you because dreaming big honors God. It shows faith. It shows trust. You should base your dream not on what you think you can do, but on what you believe God can do. Write this down: Let the size of my God determine the size of my goal. God’s dream for my life is bigger than my dream.

God's dream for your life

If you want significance in your life, if you want satisfaction in your life, if you want fulfillment in your life here’s what you need to do: Stop following your dream and start following God’s dream for your life. If you can’t imagine your calling, if you can’t dream God’s dream, you are not living the abundant life. You’re just existing.
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,
Ephesians 1:18 NIV
https://ephesians.bible/ephesians-1-18

Faith

Hebrews 11 begins by defining faith as the “confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see” (Hebrews 11:1 NLT). Faith is a way of seeing. God says whatever you hope for — whatever you think might happen — when you believe that it will actually happen, that’s faith. It’s the evidence, or confidence, of things we cannot yet see. God gave you two ways of seeing. First, you can see through your physical eyes. And second, you can see through the imagination in your mind. You can picture things in your mind, you dream them, you visualize them. When you can’t see something physically you can imagine it in your mind. The Bible says you need to focus on the things that will last — those things that you can’t actually see with your eyes. In order to do that you have to imagine them. Imagination shapes your life and is essential to living by faith.

Imagination

You are most like your Creator when you are being creative. Does that make sense? You are most like your Creator — God — when you are being creative. And God gave you the ability to create with your imagination. When you use your imagination for good and for God, God smiles. 

Keep hungry

  God Hunger John Piper said, “If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great.” We all have a spiritual appetite as part of our makeup as human beings. In fact, this yearning for spiritual fulfilment is a constant in our daily life. The question is, where is our hunger being directed? If we are not hungry for the presence and purposes of God, then you can be sure we are hungry for something else. People chase after many things in response to this hunger: financial security, career success, the praise and affirmation of others, relationships, and more. But only Jesus can impart the abundance of life we crave. The more hungry for God we are, the more alive we are. The revivalist John G. Lake said that the most powerful prayer any Christian can pray is, “God, make me hungry for you.” We are all a product of our spiritual appetite and none of us is greater than our prayer life. There is a healthy restlessness that each of us should embrace – the restlessness that longs for heaven, for a deeper knowledge of God’s presence; the restlessness that marks us out as nothing more than pilgrims, passing through this temporary place and heading for our true destination. Bill Johnson writes, “Never stop looking for His ‘new thing’. The moment we think we have arrived, we will fall. The moment we lose that hunger to travel to find Him, the willingness to wait in line to hear Him, a humility to encounter Him in a package that offends us, we’re in danger of missing His next move. Wise men still travel.” Stay hungry for God!

Thankfulness

  A Deeper Sense Of Thankfulness A spirit of gratitude and thankfulness is surely one of the great keys of the kingdom. The beginning of man’s rebellion against God was the lack of a thankful heart. Do we genuinely desire and long for God, or for other things? The truth of the matter is, if we are not content and grateful for what we have and who we are, then we are not loving God as we should. As Francis Schaeffer put it, we are “coveting against God.” A thankless spirit wants things now. Rather than being impatient, we need to learn to love the journey we are on more than the point of arrival; to learn to embrace trust rather than control. There is a supernatural power in expressing our thanksgiving to God that brings divine multiplication. Murmuring and moaning put our focus on lack. Thanksgiving is aware of abundance. Each day we have is a gift, not a right. Our attitude towards life, towards our God, will determine the quality of the “soil” of our life and whether God can plant seed there that will lead to an abundant harvest of blessing. We can choose unbelief, murmuring and complaining against God, which leads to anger and anxiety. Or we can choose thankfulness, which leads to peace and rest. Entitlement breeds envy, greed and restlessness. Gratitude waters the garden of our heart with wonder, joy and faith. The grass is not greener next door – it’s greener where we water it! Let us unwrap the gift of “today” with the childlike humility and awe that God’s gift deserves. Thankfulness results in a willingness to surrender to God’s will for our lives, because we trust Him to be who He says He is for us – the perfect Father. If we want two good indications of how much we are really trusting God, we should pay attention to our levels of anxiety and anger when things don’t go our way, and to the steadiness of our stream of thanksgiving, whatever the circumstances.

Our calling

  Called To Purpose God has called each of us with a specific purpose and given us the grace necessary to fulfil it. Some people speak about the subject of “calling” as though it is very mysterious and difficult to discover. Not so, because the Bible is very clear about our fundamental purpose on earth. Thomas Merton wrote, “Before the Lord wills me to do anything, He first of all wills me to ‘be.’ What I do must depend on what I am.” First and foremost God has predestined us to conform to the image and likeness of His Son, Jesus (Romans 8:29). “Success isn’t a place to reach, but a state of being,” writes Steve Backlund. Alongside this, God has set in a place a “prosperous” plan for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11) and preordained our days (Psalm 139:16). A recent piece of research from medical practitioners indicated that the majority of their patients suffered from a profound lack of purpose in their lives. In other words, apart from continuing to do the expected things – family, work, social life – their lives had no overarching goal; their goals were pretty meaningless. This in turn had an effect on their health and wellbeing. We realize from the Bible, however, that God has given each of us the opportunity to walk in His perfect plan for our life, bringing heaven to earth and living purposefully. “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” (Romans 8:15-16) “We love Him because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) This means that our primary calling is rooted in our identity – to become a beloved child of God. Rooted in that place of love and acceptance, we are given the “greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:38) to worship and love God with every breath we breathe. Only then can we begin to fulfil the second great command to love our neighbor as ourselves. If you are searching for your “calling”, focus on the high calling of loving God and enjoying Him forever.

Grace

  Entitled? In the beginning, in the Garden, we were not encumbered by the trap of comparison to others, or by feelings of insignificance, jealousy, envy, vanity or pride. Our focus and attention was fully upon God, our Father, and our glory covering was too thick for us to be aware of our nakedness. We were simply happy to be in a love relationship with our Father and one with another. This freedom is our inheritance in Christ today. But the orphan spirit of Cain still strives to come to the fore, to bring an “offering” better than Abel’s, and is consumed with the murderous thoughts of darkness. Orphans must succeed and prove themselves. Sons and daughters of God, however, stand approved by heaven, enjoying their relationship and working alongside their Father. In Matthew 20:1-16 Jesus told a parable about the master of a house who hired a number of workers for his vineyard. Some labored for several hours and others for a much shorter time, but they all got the same reward at the end. The workers who had toiled for longer immediately rose up with a sense of self-entitlement. “How come we didn’t get paid more than those others?” Jesus infers that it wasn’t that the master didn’t pay them a fair day’s wage, rather they had fallen into the trap of comparing what they’d received with what the others had received. Jesus’ simple, profound summary of this episode is, “So the last will be first, and the first last” (Matthew 20:16) The principle of the parable is that the Christian life is all grace from beginning to end. Jesus is the master in the parable, distributing grace generously to all. The workers who felt cheated received just as much grace as anyone else, but they measured it by worldly standards. We live in an upside down kingdom that makes little sense to the worldly wise. The principles of God’s kingdom have nothing to do with the principles of the world we’ve left behind. We must stop bringing all our “old ideas” to the table. There is nothing so wrong as the spirit which argues, “I have done this, therefore I expect something in return.” God is not a celestial vending machine. We cannot manipulate Him. No matter what we do, we can never argue for our entitlement. Rather, in His presence we receive all the reward we could desire and more. His presence is full of joy, peace and satisfaction. Let’s learn the art of thankfulness!

The Pressure’s Off

   The pressure to live well isn’t on me or you. Jesus did it all and He lives in us. Grace works as we yield to Him, living in and through us. Religion says, Do … achieve … earn your validation … justify your very existence … the pressure is on you to perform... Jesus says, Done … accepted … validated … justified … the pressure’s off! The daily lot of those driven by religion is striving, anxiety and, ultimately, exhaustion and burn out. The inheritance of the child of God led by Christ’s grace is freedom, joy and peace. Those who fall back on self-reliance and their own resourcefulness to navigate life, who have taken on the principles of the world, unwittingly or otherwise, will know the daily pressure to perform and be dogged by a constant sense of failing to reach an acceptable standard. For those who are dead to self, humbled and dependent, the pressure is off. Yet we so easily succumb to the trap of trying to resume control of our lives. Author Larry Crabb expresses it well: “We need to yield control over what happens in our lives and trust God to do whatever He thinks best … until we develop a taste for God we prefer a better life of blessings from God over a better hope of intimacy with Him … we prefer control over trust … you were saved by grace and you’ll grow by grace … the law imposed the intolerable pressure to live perfectly in order to live well. You now stand in the Law of Liberty. Stand tall. Live as free men and women.” When praying and reflecting upon His ministry in John 17, Jesus said to His Father “You have given me…” twelve times. Jesus’ humble dependence upon His Father is stunning and freeing at the same time. It reminds us that all we receive, we receive only by God’s grace. We live to play a role in God’s story, not He in ours. He is God, we are not. He is central, we are peripheral. It’s all about Him, not about us. There is freedom in this truth. The pressure is off!

Grace... undeserved favour

  Grace, Up Close And Personal Did we get into God’s kingdom by virtue of our own good works or merely through Jesus? The extent to which we understand our part in this process, I believe, determines the extent to which we will extend grace and mercy, both to ourselves and to those stuck in sin. The more we credit ourselves with inherent goodness, the less grace and mercy has a role to play! But the degree to which we become uninhibited receptors of God’s grace is the degree to which we can and will extend that grace to others. Pope Francis said, “The proclamation of the saving love of God comes before moral and religious imperatives.” In other words, when God looks at a person, He first sees someone whom He loves and wants unconditionally, before He is remotely concerned with their sin. Through the cross of Calvary God endorses, loves and invites every one of His children to heaven, before tripping over their sin, however vile it may be. But even this does not adequately capture Francis’ deeper insight – the priority of the person. This personalist with which God deals with us is one of the most radical aspects of the Christian faith. In every way that matters to God, human beings are completely equal and completely loved. They can’t be reduced to ethical object lessons. Their dignity runs deeper than their failures. They matter more than any cause. They are the cause. Grace is the empowering presence of God to do what only He can do. Grace doesn’t excuse sin – it empowers righteousness. Grace is unmerited favor. Let’s ask ourselves this question: “How much unmerited favor can I afford to pay out today? How deep are my reserves?” If we feel low on grace, we need only to return to the Source and ask to be refilled.

Orphan spirit

  Inside-Out We live in a world dominated by an orphan spirit. It teaches people to be defensive, self-reliant, self-sufficient. It militates against the vulnerability and dependence called for by Father God as we take on His kingdom values. We have been trained by an orphan world that says we must prove ourselves capable. This is a religious lie. We are not built for independence. In fact, the moment we decide to kill our independence, admit our own incapability, give up and look to the Father, is the moment of our greatest victory. Resolutions and commitments to change our behavior won’t work. Allowing God to change our heart – and the subsequent outworking of that change affecting our behavior – will transform us. Striving is the counterfeit of yielding. Religion attempts to transform us from the outside-in and does not work. The kingdom operates from the inside-out, and it does work, bringing about spiritual transformation. In order to give up our self-reliance and yield to God’s work in our life we need to learn humility. The orphan spirit is rooted in pride and control. It is offended by the prospect of making ourselves vulnerable. Yet, humble people cannot be humiliated or offended, because their self-focus has vanished, swallowed up by their love for God, themselves and others. Perfectionism and control tend to produce only shame and fear. But when we are justified by Christ’s perfection through faith in the finished work of the cross, He becomes our perfection. Suddenly, we are enough. We measure up. Slowly, our self-criticism and our judgment of others falls away, because we realize that everyone is significant. Let’s get rid of our pride, because God resists the proud. Let’s choose to go low and God will lift us up. Let’s embrace the inside-out working of the Holy Spirit in our lives and look towards the glory that God desires to bring through His grace.

May not be the answer you expect

  Surprising Answers 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 We don’t know exactly what Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was, but it was so bad that he cried out to God, over and over, for deliverance and for it to be removed. We might expect God to do a miracle and answer by taking it away. Certainly many times in Scripture we see examples of times when God answered prayers by doing miraculous works on behalf of his people. This is not what happened with Paul’s “thorn.” We know that something happens every time we pray. God always hears. He loves his children. He is all-powerful. So, what did God do in this case? What was the answer to Paul’s heartfelt prayer? Are you ready? Here it is. God says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). No thorns being removed. No immediate deliverance and spontaneous songs of praise for an undeniable miracle. Instead, God promises grace. God offers Paul power to make it through the torment of his thorn in the flesh. The thorn will stay, but so will grace. In this moment God says, “Let my presence and power be enough for you.” Paul’s prayers were answered, but in a way very different than he expected. He wanted the thorn gone. God said, “No.” The Lord of creation knew that what Paul needed was power in weakness and grace in the pain of life. Something happens every time you pray. It may be all that you hoped for and more. Or it may be different than you want—but exactly what you need. As we walk through life, praying with our eyes and lives wide open, praying for people and with people, praying for small things and big things, we can be assured that something good will happen every time we pray. Commit before God to seek and accept his answer for every prayer you make.

Pray with honesty

As I began praying the psalms and letting these ancient songs pray for me, honesty began to feel natural. Rather than being irreverent, my truthful prayers felt God-honoring. Instead of creating a sense of guilt, they freed me to pour out my heart and discover new depths of grace. At its core, prayer is an honest conversation with the God who is absolute truth. When our prayers lack honesty, they lack power. Praying with an open heart means recognizing that God already sees everything. Even what we wish was hidden. This frees us to express ourselves with intentional transparency because we know that God is sovereign and omniscient. He knows everything about us and he still loves us.

Three Lessons About Speaking to God

   John 14:9-14 When Jesus teaches about prayer in John 14, we should tune in and prepare to learn. His words are bold and epic. The promises seem almost too big to believe. Jesus says things such as, we will do the kind of works he has been doing, we will do greater things than what he had done, and we could ask for anything in his name and he would do it. This sounds like a blank check and an absolute promise. But when we look closer, we learn that God is inviting us to speak, listen, and trust his wisdom. What is Jesus teaching us about speaking to the God who is always listening? God invites us to ask. Since God is listening, he is ever ready to hear our prayers and receive our requests. But God is not a Santa Claus who waits for our list of the presents we want once a year. We are to ask with humility and wisdom. God wants to hear our desires and passions, but he delights when these are being shaped and formed by his presence in our lives and his will for the world around us. We are to do this in the name of Jesus. For so many of us, this means that we tag the words “In the name of Jesus” on the end of our prayer. But when Jesus calls us to pray in his name, he is calling us to pray as he would pray. Ambassadors do not say whatever they want and place the weight of a country behind their words. Instead, they are to faithfully represent the name and will of their country. In the same way, when we pray in the name of Jesus, we are declaring that our prayer is consistent with the heart of Jesus and the will of the Father. Our requests and the fruit of our prayers are meant to bring glory to the Father. When we pray, we should always be asking the question, would this bring praise and honor to the God who saved me? Will this prayer, if answered in the affirmative, lift up God and glorify his holy name? Before praying today, think about the requests you are going to bring to God. How can you offer your petitions to God in a way that is humble, Christlike, and God-honoring?

Hearing from God

You can develop a holy habit of hearing the voice of the Shepherd if you will be serious and intentional about this part of your spiritual life: Sit, kneel, stand, lie down, or take a walk in a quiet setting. Find a posture and a place that help you seek God. Remove distractions. Wait on the Lord and keep your heart open. Invite God to speak. Declare to him that you want to be ready to follow where he leads. Commit to do all you can, with his power leading you, to follow him. Identify the source. If you feel that you hear something, ask yourself, “Where is this coming from?” If you suspect it is coming from your own mind or from the enemy, set this message aside. But if you think what you are hearing is from the Lord, move to the next step. Test it against Scripture. The Holy Spirit of God will never lead a child of God to act in a way that is against what is revealed in the Bible. Take note of God’s peace. God is Sovereign Lord over all things, and when he is present, his peace is nearby. Get wisdom in community. Ask for confirmation and wisdom from godly men and women and invite them into a process of praying for and with you. Submit and obey. This may be a call to repentance, a direction for an important life decision, or a direction toward serving, giving, or reaching out to someone. Learn to recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd. As time passes, you will discover that you are hearing his voice with increasing clarity and confidence. Follow this step-by-step process as you seek to hear the voice of your loving Shepherd in your prayer time today.

Inspired to pray

Three distinct things that should inspire us to pray.
1. He carries us. Idols have no life, they must be carried, and they are actually a burden to those who believe in them and must tote them around. In stark contrast, our God carries us in our times of pain, loneliness, and brokenness. We have all had moments of loss, sorrow, sickness, and pain. In those times we rightly say things like, “If God had not carried me, I would have never made it.”
2. He sustains us. These are the times we keep walking on our own two feet, but the power and presence of our Creator helps us endure the challenges and weather the storms. In these moments we don’t need to be carried, but we absolutely need to be infused with his divine power and aware of his intimate presence. This empowers us to walk on and keep following him.
3. He rescues us. Because he made us and loves us, there are times when God simply delivers us from ourselves or the actions and harm others might bring upon us. I am convinced that on the other side of this life, we will see the countless ways God has intervened on our behalf, often without us having any idea. Of course, the greatest rescue is when Jesus died on the cross and bore our sins, shame, and the judgment we deserved. If we live each day with a deeply biblical and personal conviction that our Creator carries us, sustains us, and rescues us, we will be compelled to communicate with him. Prayers of praise will flow from our hearts and lips. Cries for help will be frequent, because we will know he loves to deliver us. Confession of our need and brokenness will be uttered. When our eyes are open to see the love and care of our Creator, prayer comes naturally and freely.

Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
Isaiah 46:4 NIV
https://isaiah.bible/isaiah-46-4

Praying with eyes open

Praying with eyes wide open can become a lifestyle. This means shifting our thinking about prayer and at times literally keeping our eyes open when we pray. By making this small shift, we discover we can pray at all times and in all places.

There are many and varied postures for prayer taught and modeled in the Bible. Closing our eyes is not one of them.

Pray continually...the presence of God

One Bible passage that troubled me for years and caused me to struggle is a seemingly simple two-word exhortation: “Pray continually” (1 Thess. 5:17). I wanted to obey God’s call and follow his teaching . . . but how? How was I to pray without ceasing? How could I stay aware of God every moment and communicate my love with every breath? How could anyone measure up to this spiritual expectation? After years of struggling with this passage, the Holy Spirit breathed a simple truth of understanding into my soul that changed everything. When the veil was lifted and I saw the real meaning of this passage, joy descended and prayers were expressed with a new freedom and passion. Here is what God taught me: It is not that we have to pray continually; it is that we get to pray continually! This is a paradigm shift of heavenly proportions. It changed everything for me, and I hope it is just as transformational for you. It is not that you and I have to pray every moment of every day. God will not be disappointed with you if you don’t pray all the time. The wonder and joy is that the Maker of heaven and earth invites you and me to commune with him at all times and in all places. When we are ready to communicate with the God of eternity, his eyes, ears, and arms are always wide open. Prayer, in its simplest form, is about being in the presence of the God who made us and loves us. It is about relationship. When we learn to pray with our eyes wide open, we will discover in new and greater ways that we are not alone. We sense more deeply and intimately that God is with us in the depths of pain, depression, sadness, and fear. He is also present at the heights of ecstasy, joy, and delight.

Gifts of the Spirit

When we create the hunger for things that are righteous in the sight of God,  and our purpose for seeking those righteous things is to help grow the church of God spiritually and numerically, then the Lord will grant our desires. It's a remarkable thing to possess the gift of the Holy Spirit. If you have a heart for serving people, you would be absolutely delighted when the Lord uses you to bring joy to people who come your way.  There are 9 spiritual gifts readily available for any child of God who is thirsty, hungry and desires for them. How do you feel when you see sick people? Do you pray for them? Do you desire to have the wisdom and knowledge of the Bible so you can help your church grow? If you see yourself hunger after righteousness then it's time to seek the gift of the Holy Spirit which is given to those who fervently ask the Lord. 

Abandoned

There will be times in life when you feel abandoned. The burden may seem more than is humanly possible to bear. We want to ask why these events happen, but why? isn’t the right question. The right question is, will you worship and follow God even if He does not meet your expectations? Will you follow Him even when you feel forsaken? Will you still pray?

Can you trust Him with all the challenging events of life and live in faith? Even in the midst of suffering and pain? We must come to the conclusion and understanding that the Lord uses all things to accomplish His purposes in our lives. The Lord even uses evil things that come from the evil one (Proverbs 16:4).

And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ).
Mark 15:34 NIV
https://mark.bible/mark-15-34

Unanswered prayer

But why doesn’t God just go ahead and answer our prayers? That’s a great question. God has an end game with us—an eternal, essential purpose. That purpose is oneness with Him and being conformed into His image. Above all things, including answering our prayers, He wants to draw us deeply into Him. Persisting in unanswered prayer is the training ground for increased faith. It’s the place where God extends grace to us, and it is the perfect soil for character building. Unanswered prayer leaves us vulnerable before the Lord, the ideal place for surrender.

If there is a sure prescription for failure in prayer, it is the attitude of “I want my answer, and I want it now.” Our love of ease, impatience, and spiritual laziness don’t contribute to persevering prayer.

Disunity

And the enemy schemes to create division in our fellowship with other believers because he understands that division will discredit the love of Christ. Disunity in the body of Christ will cause people to doubt if Jesus really is who He said He is, the Son of God. Much of Jesus’s prayer in John 17 addresses His plea to the Father for the unity of believers with them (the Father and Son) and with one another (vv. 11, 21-23).
The
I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—  I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
John 17:22‭-‬23 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.17.22-23.NIV

Like a child

There's is only one required standard to enter the kingdom of heaven: childlike faith in Christ as Savior. Little children are harmless and inoffensive. They are meek, free from malice, and without pride. Little children do not have ambitious ideas or desires for superiority. Where do you go to school? How much money does your parent make? These are questions that wouldn’t cross a child’s mind.

In coming to our Lord in prayer with the spirit of childlikeness, we will realize the Fatherhood of God in our lives.

Transformation through prayer

Prayer is the key to this experience. We can indeed live in an attitude of prayer the entire day, in every conversation and through every task we undertake. And it is through this that the mundane is truly transformed into the miraculous. But the transformation of prayer can go much deeper. As we face the world every day, we face temptations, and this is where we need the Lord to purify us. Prayer is the vehicle that frees us from the bondage of flesh. Prayer is our road to transformation. “As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning” (Luke 9:29, NIV).

Stillness before God

As simple as it may seem, we find stillness by making a choice, deciding to sit down away from all the clamor of our life and technology. God bestowed on us free will; it is not an illusion. We are not victims of our culture. We have control over the way we respond to everything that comes our way. The science of neuroplasticity (the ability of the brain to reorganize itself by developing new neural connections) makes it very clear that when we make a decision, we change the matter in our brain. It is the scientific confirmation of God’s Word: “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23: 7). Every time we steal away with the Lord in quiet retreat, we transform and renew our minds and conform to the communication pathways of the kingdom (Romans 12: 1-2). And it is in the stillness that our zeal for the Lord and His ways is given the chance to grow.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:2 NIV
https://romans.bible/romans-12-2

Pray this way

Of all the things the disciples could have asked of Him, they asked to be taught how to pray. As you read Jesus’s words of how to pray, ask the Holy Spirit for fresh revelation, for how you can practically respond to His instruction. Worship is the beginning and end of prayer. “Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name, for Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” (Matthew 6: 9, 13, MEV) Jesus taught the disciples and us that in prayer we are to pay homage to the reality that this is His kingdom. God has control over everything, and He can and will answer our prayers. There is nothing impossible with God (Luke 1:37). “Your kingdom come; Your will be done” (Matthew 6:10). He desires His kingdom to come. It is His will, His purpose. He has set before us a vision of a renewed community and people in unity. Jesus’s prayer reminds us that extending God’s kingdom is included in our decision to follow Him. “Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11) Can we live in this kind of simplicity and trust, like a little child? Can we be grateful for the food, how little or much, set before us today? This is one place we repeatedly allow our peace and contentment to be stolen. We compare our provision to others. “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matt 6:12). To be forgiven, you must forgive. You must live in forgiveness daily toward everyone: your spouse, friends, enemies, children, and most of all yourself. There is great freedom in forgiveness; it is the key to the kingdom—confessing our sins, seeking forgiveness, and forgiving others. Christ instructs us to pray a very honest prayer, “Lead us not into temptation” (Matthew 6:13). As shocking as the thought may be, the Lord tests us (Psalm 139:23-24; Jeremiah 17:10; 1 Peter 1:6-9). The Lord desires to produce pure gold out of our lives. Also, far too many of us are not in a position to face the temptations of sin and attacks of the enemy when they come. For our protection the Lord is able to chain up the roaring lion that seeks to tempt and destroy us (2 Peter 2:9). Do you count yourself among those who need Christ to teach them to pray? I do. So let us come together and learn from the master teacher on prayer. Let’s pray for God’s purposes, provision, pardon, and protection

A place to pray

Here’s the deal. If you don’t have a familiar place, a quiet place away from others, you probably don’t have a habit of praying often. It is the great secret to prayer—you must pray in secret.

 “If a man loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our home with him” (John 14:23, MEV). Did you see and feel that word We? The eternal God, three in one, will meet us in the secret place.

Begin with prayer

It didn’t matter if the issue at hand was profound or an everyday incident, Jesus began all things with prayer. While Jesus was being baptized, He prayed (Luke 3:21-22). Before setting out to preach and cast out demons throughout Galilee, He rose a great while before sunrise to pray (Mark 1:35-39). When the people rolled the stone away from Lazarus’s tomb, Jesus prayed for all to hear before raising him from the dead (John11: 4-44). And as He sat at a table for dinner with two disciples on the road to Emmaus, He simply prayed (Luke 24:30-31). Jesus’s example leads us to pray before taking that new job, before a proposal of marriage, and on the way to work every morning. Beginning all things in prayer is a foundational discipline of the Christian life. The times of praying in stillness and solitude are when God reaches into our minds, emotions, and wills—the deepest places of our souls. In the quietness of prayer we free ourselves from the constant distractions of the world and the nagging whispers of our past, dysfunctions, and sins. Beginning all things in prayer during the day and having close and continual fellowship in prayer with God will leave its mark on us. As we follow our Lord by beginning everything in prayer, we position ourselves to receive the glorious benefits that flow from this way of living. First and foremost, prayer is our path to intimacy with God. There is no other way to deeply know God apart from the stillness of prayer (Psalm 46:10). One of the sweetest and most powerful benefits of beginning all things in prayer is that our “spiritual ears” will be trained to recognize His voice. We learn to quiet our thoughts, our educational training, and our persuasions. We become deaf to anything except His voice and will. By following Christ’s example and beginning all things in prayer, we are able to discern His voice above the cacophony of the world and the murmurs of the enemy. Learning to recognize His voice is fundamental preparation for hearing the Lord through the Word. Beginning all things with prayer leads to right hearing. Right hearing produces right speaking. This is how we learn to speak words of life to people, to speak the language of the kingdom, and to call people to their destiny in Christ (Isaiah 50:4).

Fix your eyes on Jesus

To fix our thoughts and hearts on Jesus, as we are encouraged to do in Hebrews 3:1, is to relate intimately and lovingly to him. It will mean focusing our spiritual eyes and the emotions of our heart on the person of Jesus, not just his position. Fixing our thoughts on Jesus will result in submission to him. It will mean moving beyond our rational beliefs about the historical Jesus and seeing him and all that he is as a contemporary and present Savior. He can be trusted!

Prayer is interaction

We must approach God with an attitude of sincerity. Prayer is not merely asking God for all we need or want. It is interaction with the Creator of the universe. It is an essential way in which God transforms us into his likeness. Our hearts must be broken when we approach the living God. Without humility and brokenness, we will be like the Pharisee who prayed, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people” (Luke 18:11). When we come to him humbly, God’s heart will be very open to us, and in prayer we can encounter God anew.

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Luke 18:14 NIV
https://luke.bible/luke-18-14

Pray for others

I believe we all need to see that prayer as conversation with God is a powerful ministry that everyone can participate in. People need us to enter into prayer for them. There are so many hurting, addicted, lonely, broken, and lost people in life, and while we can’t possibly know every one of their needs, God knows. We want to pray for them and we want the Holy Spirit to intercede through our words to our heavenly Father on their behalf. Holy Spirit-empowered conversation allows us to lift more than we could ever lift alone. It is surrendering to the work of God in us. It should be the desire of every Christian to follow God wherever his Spirit leads us and to participate in communion with God as he directs. Prayer does not move mountains. God moves mountains. Prayer is not the answer. God is the answer. Prayer is not the key. God is the key. When we enter into conversation with God about the needs of others, we will find he is always there.
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
Romans 8:26‭-‬27 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/rom.8.26-27.NIV

Prayer as relationship

We might as well admit it. We often use prayer in our lives and in the church as a tool from a tool bag. When we need God to do something, when we need something in ministry, when we desire to have something accomplished, we go to the spiritual tool bag because we know prayer is what we should use. We pick up prayer, we pray the prayer, and then we put prayer back in the bag until we need it again. But prayer is intended to be so much more than this! So often we use prayer as a vehicle to get us to a desired destination. We need provision, so we pray. We need anointing, so we pray. We need healing, or deliverance, or cleansing, so we pray. But what if prayer is not the vehicle that brings us to our destination, but rather, what if it is the destination? Prayer is not simply a step of the journey, prayer is the journey. When we realize this, we begin to understand prayer as a continual conversation with God and our relationship with God deepens to new levels.

Love the Lord your God

Since the greatest of all the commandments is to love God, let’s pause to consider the question: "How is it that we really 'love God'?" Often our response indicates that we believe that loving God is equal to doing things for God. All the while, he is simply longing for us to RELATE to him!

If God needed things done, he could enlist the angels for perfect execution and without complaint. We, as his created, have the privilege of intimacy with him. Our journey with God in prayer provides this unique opportunity.

Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
Matthew 22:37 NIV
https://matthew.bible/matthew-22-37

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16‭-‬18 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/1th.5.16-18.NIV
Practice of the presence of God?

Pray

‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’
Jeremiah 33:3 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/jer.33.3.NIV

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16‭-‬18 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/1th.5.16-18.NIV

Prayer doesn’t change things; God changes things! I’ll say it again: It is not prayer or even a life of prayer that brings us power, it is the God to whom we pray who has all power.

Seek God's kingdom first

It’s not the wealth of life but the depth of life that matters the most. When you seek God’s kingdom first and His righteousness, all these things will be given to you!

If we prioritize God and his Kingdom above everything else, guess what? We become Heaven’s responsibility! God becomes the source of our security. His wealth is at our disposal, to use for His glory! And it is greater than all of the human wealth and wisdom put together on this earth. 

Let’s seek God first and all other things will follow us. God’s priorities precede God provision and promotion! Let’s pursue the depth of life, as we were created to! 

Temptation

The purpose of temptation is to distract you from your purpose. Stay focused today! 

Obedience inspired by faith

Obedience inspired by faith unveils the hidden things of God. Your knowledge and intelligence will only accomplish the dreams and destiny designed by man. But your Faith and Obedience will get a hold of heaven’s plans and God-designed destiny for you.
For obedience inspired by Faith will take you where your knowledge and intelligence would never dare to go.

Your significance

Your significance is not in your earthly fame but it’s in your Heavenly Father’s name. Today, you are a child of the Most High and all of Heaven’s attention is on you! May you live each day of your life in this truth and let no one tell you otherwise.

Be available

God desires to speak to you more than you would ever long to hear from him. The book of Job says, “for God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it.”  Sometimes we may wonder, does God really speak to us today? Yes, he does! Is he too busy for us? Has He forgotten us? Is He far from us? No, he is not! Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. If he spoke with Moses at the burning bush, Abraham at the altar, Samuel in the temple, He will speak to you today. The Bible is an expression of His longing to reveal himself to you. There are 66 books, 1,189 chapters, 31,205 verses and over 2,500 promises in the Bible. This is how much God wants to talk to you! You cannot even fathom the number of thoughts He has for you. He wants to have a relationship with us. In fact, He created us for fellowship with Him. When we decide to draw close to him, His voice becomes more and more clear to us.  Let me give you the most important key to hear from God: BE AVAILABLE .

Listen or you become deaf

Let me issue a warning, though. If you aren’t willing to listen to everything God has to say, you eventually won’t hear anything He has to say. If you want to hear His comforting voice, you have to listen to His convicting voice. And it’s often what we want to hear least that we need to hear most. Trust me, though, you want to hear what He has to say. 
Ultimately, all of us need to find our voice. And by voice I mean the unique message God wants to speak through our lives. But finding our voice starts with hearing His voice. 

Listening

Listening doesn’t happen by default; it happens by design. You have to seek solitude, seek silence. You have to ruthlessly eliminate distractions. And you have to turn some voices down or tune them out altogether. It might be as innocent as talk radio or as innocuous as social media. Why not turn off the radio and talk to God during your commute? Or fast from social media for a season? Or take a silent retreat? 

Business and noise

That’s why chronic noise may be the greatest impediment to our spiritual growth. When our lives get loud, with noise filling every frequency, we lose our sense of being. We run the risk of turning into human doings rather than human beings. And when our schedules get busy, we lose our sense of balance, which is a function of the inner ear. 

Silence is anything but passive waiting. It’s proactive listening. And each day God’s voice gets a little louder in our lives until He’s all we can hear. 

If you want to hear the heart of God, silence is key.

If you want the Spirit of God to fill you, be still.

God whispers....why?

So why does God so often speak in whispers? When someone speaks in a whisper, you have to get very close to hear. In fact, you have to put your ear near the person’s mouth. We lean toward a whisper, and that’s what God wants. The goal of hearing the heavenly Father’s voice isn’t just hearing His voice; it’s intimacy with Him. He speaks in a whisper because He wants to be as close to us as is divinely possible! He loves us, likes us, that much. 
Nothing will determine your destiny more than your ability to hear His still small voice. That’s how God-sized dreams are birthed. That’s how miracles happen. 

Self-control

Self-control (Galatians 5:22-23), which is often translated “sober”, is a sober-mindedness that gives thought before acting. Self-control, which is produced by the Holy Spirit, gives way to godly desires rather than sinful desires. A person with self-control looks to future and eternal realities rather than indulging immediate sinful impulses.

Meekness

Meekness (Galatians 5:22-23), also translated “gentleness,” is primarily a response to God. It is a state of heart that not only acknowledges God’s sovereign rule, but embraces His sovereign rule as good. A person with meekness does not blame God for undesirable circumstances, nor does he become angry with God when he does not get his way. Meekness must come from the power of the Holy Spirit. Contrary to meekness are despair, anger, wrath, impatience, anxiety, fear, and envy.

Goodness

Goodness (Galatians 5:22-23) is an active expression of benevolence toward others as produced by the Holy Spirit. It is a love that motivates someone to serve others and help human need. Goodness is similar to kindness, but kindness is the heart attitude behind the good works whereas goodness is the act of good works. Goodness does manifest itself in gentle correction of others, for their benefit. Contrary to demonstrating goodness is to do evil or harm.

Kindness

Kindness (Galatians 5:22-23) is a pervasive spirit of gentleness and servanthood that is shaped and molded by the Holy Spirit’s indwelling power. It is motivated by sincere love for others. Kindness is similar to goodness, but goodness is the act of good works whereas kindness is the heart attitude behind the good works. Contrary to kindness are anger, bitterness, selfishness, and pride.

Hospitality of the heart

Patience

Patience or longsuffering (Galatians 5:22-23), is forbearance shown toward others. It is a merciful restraint produced by the Holy Spirit that does not retaliate or give way to anger. Patience is a love for others that shows self-control, even when wronged. Contrary to patience are anger, wrath, pride, selfishness, and bitterness.

Peace

Peace (Galatians 5:22-23) is a contented state of heart produced by the Holy Spirit. It is a tranquility of being that is not dependent upon external circumstances. Peace embraces the very goodness of God in every situation and demonstrates a spirit of thankfulness and rest. Contrary to peace are anxiety, fear, envy, anger, and despair.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/php.4.7.NIV

Joy

Joy (Galatians 5:22-23) is a gladness of heart produced by the Holy Spirit. Joy permeates one’s disposition despite trial, heartache, or pain. It is an attitude of spirit that is fixed upon eternal glories and heavenly blessings, so much so that the sorrows of earth do not cause despair of soul. A joyful heart is a thankful heart. Contrary to joy are anger, despair, anxiety, and envy.

Love

Love (Galatians 5:22-23) is a benevolence and goodwill toward others that is produced by the Holy Spirit. It is a deliberate affection and a friendly regard toward God and man that displays itself in purposeful acts of sacrifice and kindness. Contrary to love are anger, impatience, bitterness, and envy.

When we get hurt

When we get hurt, we must realize that every person has a free will and we can't control that free will - even through prayer. We can pray that God will speak to people who may hurt us; we can ask Him to lead them to do right instead of wrong, but the bottom line is that He must leave them to make their own choices. If someone makes a choice that hurts us, we shouldn't blame it on God and become bitter toward Him. God's word for you today: If you get hurt, don't ever blame God. He is the best friend you have.

Faith for powerful prayers

God's power is released when we pray in faith, trusting and believing Him, because faith pleases Him. Expectancy is an attribute of faith that carries its own kind of power - the power of hope. Faith reaches out into the spiritual realm and expects God's supernatural power to show up and do what no person on Earth could do. Doubt, on the other hand, is afraid nothing good will happen; it does not please God and is not something He is able to bless. We are powerless when we live with doubt, disappointment, and a lack of confidence in God.

Start with praise and worship

Whatever you are praying for, one of the best ways to start is with praise and worship. They will keep your heart right before God and make a way for you to hear His voice and for change to take place. God's word for you today: When you need to hear God's voice, praise and worship Him.

Do what youvare good at

If we do what we are good at doing, we will sense God's anointing (presence and power) on our efforts. We will know we are operating in our gifts and that doing so honors God and ministers life to others. God speaks to us through this anointing, giving us peace and joy to know we are fulfilling His plan for our lives. God's word for you today: Do what you're good at - it's God's gift to you.

Prayer in the spirit

I find that when I pray Spirit-led prayers, they are usually simpler and shorter than mine would be. They are direct, straightforward, and to the point. I feel satisfied that the task is complete when I pray God's way instead of my own way. When we pray our own way, we often focus on praying for carnal things and circumstances, but if we are led by God we will find ourselves praying for eternal things like the purity of our thoughts and motives and a deeper relationship with God. Ask God to teach you how to pray His prayers instead of your own and you will enjoy prayer much more.

Pray and Give Thanks

Giving thanks is so important to being able to hear God's voice because, like praise and worship, it is something God responds to. It's something God loves, something that warms His heart. Anytime we give God pleasure like that, our intimacy with Him increases - and that makes for a better relationship with Him. If we are not thankful for what we have, why should He give us something else to murmur about? On the other hand, when God sees that we genuinely appreciate and are thankful for the big and little things, He is inclined to bless us even more. According to Philippians 4:6, everything we ask God for should be preceded and accompanied by thanksgiving. No matter what we pray for, thanksgiving should always go with it. A good habit to develop is starting all of our prayers with thanksgiving. An example of this would be: "Thank You for all You have done in my life. You are awesome and I really love and appreciate You." I encourage you to examine your life, to pay attention to your thoughts and your words, and see how much thanksgiving you express. If you want a challenge, just try to get through an entire day without uttering one word of complaint. Develop an attitude of thanksgiving in every situation. In fact, just become outrageously thankful - and watch as your intimacy with God increases and as He pours out greater blessings than ever before. God's word for you today: Speak words of thanksgiving, not words of complaint. From the book Hearing from God Each Morning by Joyce Meyer. Copyright 2010 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.

Difficulties mean growth

For a period of time in my life, I rebuked whatever I didn't want because I thought it must be from the devil. I say that I rebuked until my "rebuker" was just totally worn out. But then I discovered that a lot of what I was trying to rebuke was from God. Many of the things I did not like or want were things God had allowed for my growth and development. The writer of Hebrews said that we must submit to the discipline of God. He chastises us only because He loves us. Don't try to resist what God intends to use for your good. Ask the Lord to do a deep and thorough work in you so you can be all He wants you to be, do all He wants you to do, and have all He wants you to have. During my years of resisting anything that was painful or difficult, the simple truth is that I did not grow spiritually. I kept going around and around the same old mountains (problems). Finally, I realized that I was trying to avoid pain, but I had pain anyway. The pain of staying the way we are is much worse than the pain of changing. Our personality is our soul (mind, will, and emotions), but often it has been wounded by our experiences in the world. God promises to restore our souls if we will cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit in us. I had a broken soul, one that had no peace or joy, but God has made me whole and He wants to do the same for you. God's word for you today: Open your soul to God and ask Him to heal every wound and bruise.

he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
Psalm 23:3 NIV
https://psalm.bible/psalm-23-3

Sensitive heart

Being in His presence regularly softened my heart and made me much more sensitive to His voice. Without a heart sensitive to the touch of God, we will not recognize many of the times He is speaking to us. He speaks gently, in a still, small voice, or with gentle conviction about a matter. A hard-hearted person is also in danger of hurting other people and not even being aware that they are doing so, and this grieves the heart of God. Those who are hard-hearted and busy "doing their own thing" will not be sensitive to God's will or voice. God wants to soften our hearts with His Word, because a hardened heart cannot hear His voice or receive the other many blessings He longs to give.

I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.
Ezekiel 11:19 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/ezk.11.19.NIV

At home with God

If we want to be a comfortable "home" for the Spirit of the Lord, we must give up things that cause us to forget about His presence or are offensive to Him. We must stop grumbling, allowing strife and unrest inside us, or harboring unforgiveness. Instead, we need to make sure our inner lives are engaged in things that please and honor God's presence. Our mouths should be full of praise and thanksgiving. We should wake up every day and say in our hearts, "Good morning, Lord. I want You to feel at home and be comfortable in me today."

Prayer....first response

Sometimes I marvel at how long we can struggle in a situation before we think to talk to God about it and listen for His voice. We complain about our problems; we grumble; we murmur; we tell our friends; and we talk about how we wish God would do something about it. We struggle with situations in our minds and in our emotions, while we often fail to take advantage of the simplest solution there is: prayer. But worse than that, we then make perhaps the most ridiculous statement known to man: "Well, I guess all I can do is pray." I am sure you have heard that before and maybe you have even said it. We all have. We are all guilty of treating prayer as a last-ditch effort and saying things like, "Well, nothing else is working, so maybe we should pray." Do you know what that tells me? It tells me that we really do not believe in the power of prayer as we should. We carry burdens we do not need to bear - and life is much harder than it has to be - because we do not realize how powerful prayer is. If we did, we would talk to God and listen to what He says about everything, not as a last resort, but as a first response. God's word for you today: Let prayer be your first response, not your last resort.

Enjoy the trip...life with the Spirit

Many people have received Jesus as Savior and Lord. They will go to heaven, but never draw on the full capacity of the Holy Spirit that is available to them or experience the true success God wants them to enjoy on Earth. Simply put, many will be on their way to heaven, but they won't enjoy the trip. We often look at those who have wealth, position, power and we consider them "successful." But many people who are considered successful still lack peace, joy, contentment, and other true blessings. Such people have never learned to depend completely on the power of the Holy Spirit.

God speaks

God speaks to us in many ways that include but are not limited to: His Word, nature, people, circumstances, peace, wisdom, supernatural intervention, dreams, visions, and what some call "the inner witness," which is best described as a "knowing" deep inside our hearts. He also speaks in what the Bible calls a "still, small voice," which I believe also refers to the inner witness. God also speaks through the conscience, through our desires, and in an audible voice, but always remember that when He speaks, what He says is always right and it never disagrees with His written Word. We rarely hear God's audible voice, though it does happen.

Toxic people

The people in your life can be one of the most important spiritual assets or be one of your worst curses. Those relationships that are a curse to you are toxic. This week you learn from God's Word about the dangers of toxic relationships and the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people.

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
1 Corinthians 15:33 NIV

The right people will build you up and lead you towards Christ, but if you are around the wrong people they can be very toxic. They can hurt your soul. They can hurt your relationships. They can lead you into temptation. They can drag you down. They can very easily take you away from God's best.

https://bible.com/bible/111/1co.15.33.NIV
There are three common types of toxic relationships: negative, controlling, and the tempters. 

Matthew 16 shows us that one way to manage toxic relationships is to set healthy boundaries in the way Jesus did with Peter. You might need to tell that person that you won't let them talk to you or treat you in a toxic way, or you may simply need to tell them that you are just not going to go to a toxic place in your relationship with them.

Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Matthew 16:23 NIV
https://matthew.bible/matthew-16-23

Another way to handle toxic relationships is to end them. The Bible is full of examples of people who cut off their toxic relationships such as Joseph and Potiphar's wife in Genesis 39.

Test cultural toxins

S 1.) Am I being entertained by sin?
2.) Is this pleasing to God? and
3.) Does this lure me away from Christ?

but test them all; hold on to what is good,
1 Thessalonians 5:21 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/1th.5.21.NIV

Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord ? Who may stand in his holy place?  The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.
Psalm 24:3‭-‬4 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.24.3-4.NIV
When we interpret everything according to God's Word and the purity of His truth, we will realize there are a lot of things people are doing that really don't draw us closer to God. 

People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
2 Timothy 3:2‭-‬5 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/2ti.3.2-5.NIV

Strive for the things that matter to God and not for the things that matter to others.