Throughout the Bible, we read about prayer and see accounts of men who prayed and how God intervened, circumstances changed, and miracles happened.

Think about Elijah, for instance.

In James 5:17-18, the Bible records his prayer of faith, saying,

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. (NKJV) 

And what of Hannah.

1 Samuel 1 records how her co-wife Peninnah would tease her because she didn’t have a child. But then, she prayed for a son desperately and fervently. God gave her not just Samuel, a great prophet in Israel, but more children.

And the Lord visited Hannah so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the child Samuel grew before the Lord (1 Samuel 2:21) 

Not only does prayer bring us close to God, but it is also powerful, essential, and necessary.

George Muller: A Man of Great Faith and Prayer

As believers, we know that prayer is essential, which moves us to pray.

Such was George Muller, whose life is a reminder of what God can do when an ordinary man would devote themselves to faith and prayer.

Muller gave his life to Jesus after being invited by a friend to a Bible study. He saw students pray on their knees, sing, and listen to a message in the meeting. The experience was so new to him that he was compelled to kneel and commit his life to Christ before a week was over.

Muller then became a passionate student of the Bible where he found the confidence to believe in prayer. He solidly believed that the Scriptures were given to us so that we might know God and His character, understand His promises, and believe them to be fulfilled in our lives.

Muller also believed that it was unimaginable for God to fail in fulfilling any of His promises to us and thus could be counted on fully. So, he devoted himself to studying the Bible (God’s Word) and did so in a spirit of prayer.

Muller would then use the promises of God he found in the Bible as the vocabulary of his prayer life.

In his journal, he says how he once read Psalms 65,

You who answer prayer, to you all people will come (v2) 

He prayed and then made the following recording …

 “I believe He has heard me. I believe He will make it manifest in His own good time that He has heard me, and I have recorded these my petitions this fourteenth day of January 1838, that when God has answered them, He may get, through this glory to His name.”

Faith in God Alone 

Muller started over 100 schools and ran many orphanages taking care of more than 10,000 children. One time, after getting ready for school, the children had nothing to eat.

Muller prayed and gave thanks God for the food they were about to eat. Upon finishing the prayer, a baker knocked on their door. God had led him to bake bread for the children and he was there to deliver it.  Soon there was another knock.

A milkman’s truck had broken down near the orphanage and he was there to give the milk to the children before it could go bad—it was just the right amount they needed.

The incredible thing is that Muller only told God His needs in prayer.

In his autobiography, he had more than 5000 prayer requests answered on the day he prayed.

What Muller Believed about Prayer

Muller's devotion to faith and prayer is no doubt heart-stirring. He believed the following conditions are essential for God to hear and respond to prayer. 

• The need to entirely depend on Jesus 
• Forsake all known sin because God would be compromised if He answered the prayers of those not walking in obedience to Him. 
• Exercise faith in the promises of God as written in His Word
• Ask according to God’s will and not selfish motives.
   

But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6) 

Muller’s life is a great example of learning about faith and total dependence on God. What a beautiful story of how we can persevere through prayers, trust God, and depend on Him to meet our needs and make good on his promises in His timing as scripture says in the verse above!

See you on our next prayer series post! 

If you want to learn more about Faith in God, you're welcome to contact us at Westside Bible Chapel through our website contact form or Facebook page.

Welcome to Part 2 of the series—Things believers should do continually based on Scripture. 

If you have yet to read Part 1, we advise you to do so. Please find it in our blog section under the resources tab. 

Let’s dive in and discuss the remaining three points. 

#1. Share Your Faith 

The greatest thing to ever happen on earth is the coming of Jesus Christ, His dying on the cross, and resurrection. The wrath against humanity was taken out on Christ so that we now have access to God, our creator when we believe. 

Knowing God and believing in Him through Jesus for us should motivate us to share our belief and faith with those who have yet to know and believe in Him—and do it proudly. 

As believers, we need to reach a point where we can have conversations about our faith and share with friends, if not strangers. 

Believers should always be ready to give answers to any man who wants a reason for the belief and hope that we have within us. 

Why? Because Jesus died and rose again. You have come to know Him. You love God and have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within you. 

• Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Ghost (Matthew 28:19) 
• But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8) 
• But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear (1 Peter 3:15) 
   

#2. Practice Kindness and Patience 

Kindness refers to the intentional and sincere use of your time, giftings, and resources to improve other people’s lives through genuine acts of compassion, generosity, and service.

Although we live busy lives and have our own issues to deal with, many people around us have pressing needs. While it is unreasonable to spend all your day helping others, we all can choose to help others by being kind to someone each day.

• Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience (Colossians 3:12)
• But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)

Start by focusing on the people around you. Be alert and sensitive to their ongoing issues and show them kindness.

Most times, an act of kindness from you could be everything it takes to get someone moving forward. Practicing kindness also opens opportunities for direct witnessing encounters where we can share our faith in Jesus.

#6. Always Be Thankful 

The Word of God urges us to give thanks to God continuously.

• Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever (1 Chronicles 16:34)
• Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:18) 
•  Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since, as members of one body, you were called to peace. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:15)
• And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:17) 

As Christians, we need to have thankful hearts no matter our circumstances. We can hurt and be in pain but still be grateful. Constantly, giving thanks reminds us of how much we have and opens opportunities for more to come. 

If you want to learn more about Faith in God, you're welcome to contact us at Westside Bible Chapel through our website contact form or Facebook page.

In James 1:22, the Bible encourages us to hear and be doers of the Word of God. We are not to stop at reading the Word but should also put it into practice. 

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves (James 1:22, NKJV) 

That means as believers, doing the Word of God after hearing it is something we need to be purposeful about—it helps us define and demonstrate our faith and obedience to God. 

This is part 1 of a two-part series where we discuss important things that Christians should be doing continually based on Scripture. 

Let’s begin, shall we? 

#1. Pray

The Bible says we are to pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Praying is important because it is a privilege to connect with God personally so that He can reveal His will for a particular person or thing and so that we can be in the best mindset to deal with the issues of life.

When we miss prayer, our faith quickly loses the action part of it (see James 2:26), and we lose the leading and direction that comes from our heavenly Father as an answer to prayer. 

We should pray all manner of prayer as written in the Word.

• Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18, NKJV)
• Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; (Philippians 4:6) 

When we pray daily, we become like Jesus, who often withdrew to pray. 

• Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed (Mark 1:35, NKJV) 

#2. Read the Word of God

The Bible is the Truth (John 17:17). It is the truth that sets us free (John 8:32).

The Bible has God's very Words that are the foundation of our faith and all that we believe. Reading the Bible gives us the foundation of knowing in certainty and understanding our faith in God.

Therefore, we need to be purposeful to read the Word of God every day to tap the mind, the knowledge, the wisdom, and the revelation of God.

Also, we get to learn the truth of God that genuinely provides liberty and freedom and generally builds our faith giving it a firm, solid foundation.

•  So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17) 

If you want to grow in faith, you need to dive into the Word, read, meditate, and put it into action. Some of our answers to prayer come directly from the Bible.

Now you can see why reading the Word should be a continual daily practice for believers.

#3. Constantly Love and Forgive

Love is a big part of who God is and why forgiveness becomes possible.

This is a pattern that stemmed from God. Because He loved, he sent Jesus to die for us so that our sins could be forgiven (see John 3:16)

In Romans 5:8, the Bible says that God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Think about the greatest commandment,

' We are to Love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind ' (Matthew 22:37).

Second to this is, we are to, ‘love your neighbor as ourselves.’ (Matthew 22:39). 

Well, Christianity is grounded on love and forgiveness, and we, therefore, must be serious about practicing love for God and one other and extending forgiveness to others every day. God requires it from us. 

• A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another (John 13:34, NKJV)
• For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. (Matthew 6:14) 

Throughout the Bible, we read about prayer and see accounts of men who prayed and how God intervened, circumstances changed, and miracles happened.

Think about Elijah, for instance.

In James 5:17-18, the Bible records his prayer of faith, saying,

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. (NKJV) 

And what of Hannah.

1 Samuel 1 records how her co-wife Peninnah would tease her because she didn’t have a child. But then, she prayed for a son desperately and fervently. God gave her not just Samuel, a great prophet in Israel, but more children.

And the Lord visited Hannah so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the child Samuel grew before the Lord (1 Samuel 2:21) 

Not only does prayer bring us close to God, but it is also powerful, essential, and necessary.

George Muller: A Man of Great Faith and Prayer

As believers, we know that prayer is essential, which moves us to pray.

Such was George Muller, whose life is a reminder of what God can do when an ordinary man would devote themselves to faith and prayer.

Muller gave his life to Jesus after being invited by a friend to a Bible study. He saw students pray on their knees, sing, and listen to a message in the meeting. The experience was so new to him that he was compelled to kneel and commit his life to Christ before a week was over.

Muller then became a passionate student of the Bible where he found the confidence to believe in prayer. He solidly believed that the Scriptures were given to us so that we might know God and His character, understand His promises, and believe them to be fulfilled in our lives.

Muller also believed that it was unimaginable for God to fail in fulfilling any of His promises to us and thus could be counted on fully. So, he devoted himself to studying the Bible (God’s Word) and did so in a spirit of prayer.

Muller would then use the promises of God he found in the Bible as the vocabulary of his prayer life.

In his journal, he says how he once read Psalms 65,

You who answer prayer, to you all people will come (v2) 

He prayed and then made the following recording …

 “I believe He has heard me. I believe He will make it manifest in His own good time that He has heard me, and I have recorded these my petitions this fourteenth day of January 1838, that when God has answered them, He may get, through this glory to His name.”

Faith in God Alone 

Muller started over 100 schools and ran many orphanages taking care of more than 10,000 children. One time, after getting ready for school, the children had nothing to eat.

Muller prayed and gave thanks God for the food they were about to eat. Upon finishing the prayer, a baker knocked on their door. God had led him to bake bread for the children and he was there to deliver it.  Soon there was another knock.

A milkman’s truck had broken down near the orphanage and he was there to give the milk to the children before it could go bad—it was just the right amount they needed.

The incredible thing is that Muller only told God His needs in prayer.

In his autobiography, he had more than 5000 prayer requests answered on the day he prayed.

What Muller Believed about Prayer

Muller's devotion to faith and prayer is no doubt heart-stirring. He believed the following conditions are essential for God to hear and respond to prayer. 

• The need to entirely depend on Jesus 
• Forsake all known sin because God would be compromised if He answered the prayers of those not walking in obedience to Him. 
• Exercise faith in the promises of God as written in His Word
• Ask according to God’s will and not selfish motives.
   

But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6) 

Muller’s life is a great example of learning about faith and total dependence on God. What a beautiful story of how we can persevere through prayers, trust God, and depend on Him to meet our needs and make good on his promises in His timing as scripture says in the verse above!

See you on our next prayer series post! 

If you want to learn more about Faith in God, you're welcome to contact us at Westside Bible Chapel through our website contact form or Facebook page.

Welcome to Part 2 of the series—Things believers should do continually based on Scripture. 

If you have yet to read Part 1, we advise you to do so. Please find it in our blog section under the resources tab. 

Let’s dive in and discuss the remaining three points. 

#1. Share Your Faith 

The greatest thing to ever happen on earth is the coming of Jesus Christ, His dying on the cross, and resurrection. The wrath against humanity was taken out on Christ so that we now have access to God, our creator when we believe. 

Knowing God and believing in Him through Jesus for us should motivate us to share our belief and faith with those who have yet to know and believe in Him—and do it proudly. 

As believers, we need to reach a point where we can have conversations about our faith and share with friends, if not strangers. 

Believers should always be ready to give answers to any man who wants a reason for the belief and hope that we have within us. 

Why? Because Jesus died and rose again. You have come to know Him. You love God and have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within you. 

• Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Ghost (Matthew 28:19) 
• But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8) 
• But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear (1 Peter 3:15) 
   

#2. Practice Kindness and Patience 

Kindness refers to the intentional and sincere use of your time, giftings, and resources to improve other people’s lives through genuine acts of compassion, generosity, and service.

Although we live busy lives and have our own issues to deal with, many people around us have pressing needs. While it is unreasonable to spend all your day helping others, we all can choose to help others by being kind to someone each day.

• Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience (Colossians 3:12)
• But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)

Start by focusing on the people around you. Be alert and sensitive to their ongoing issues and show them kindness.

Most times, an act of kindness from you could be everything it takes to get someone moving forward. Practicing kindness also opens opportunities for direct witnessing encounters where we can share our faith in Jesus.

#6. Always Be Thankful 

The Word of God urges us to give thanks to God continuously.

• Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever (1 Chronicles 16:34)
• Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:18) 
•  Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since, as members of one body, you were called to peace. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:15)
• And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:17) 

As Christians, we need to have thankful hearts no matter our circumstances. We can hurt and be in pain but still be grateful. Constantly, giving thanks reminds us of how much we have and opens opportunities for more to come. 

If you want to learn more about Faith in God, you're welcome to contact us at Westside Bible Chapel through our website contact form or Facebook page.

In James 1:22, the Bible encourages us to hear and be doers of the Word of God. We are not to stop at reading the Word but should also put it into practice. 

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves (James 1:22, NKJV) 

That means as believers, doing the Word of God after hearing it is something we need to be purposeful about—it helps us define and demonstrate our faith and obedience to God. 

This is part 1 of a two-part series where we discuss important things that Christians should be doing continually based on Scripture. 

Let’s begin, shall we? 

#1. Pray

The Bible says we are to pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Praying is important because it is a privilege to connect with God personally so that He can reveal His will for a particular person or thing and so that we can be in the best mindset to deal with the issues of life.

When we miss prayer, our faith quickly loses the action part of it (see James 2:26), and we lose the leading and direction that comes from our heavenly Father as an answer to prayer. 

We should pray all manner of prayer as written in the Word.

• Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18, NKJV)
• Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; (Philippians 4:6) 

When we pray daily, we become like Jesus, who often withdrew to pray. 

• Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed (Mark 1:35, NKJV) 

#2. Read the Word of God

The Bible is the Truth (John 17:17). It is the truth that sets us free (John 8:32).

The Bible has God's very Words that are the foundation of our faith and all that we believe. Reading the Bible gives us the foundation of knowing in certainty and understanding our faith in God.

Therefore, we need to be purposeful to read the Word of God every day to tap the mind, the knowledge, the wisdom, and the revelation of God.

Also, we get to learn the truth of God that genuinely provides liberty and freedom and generally builds our faith giving it a firm, solid foundation.

•  So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17) 

If you want to grow in faith, you need to dive into the Word, read, meditate, and put it into action. Some of our answers to prayer come directly from the Bible.

Now you can see why reading the Word should be a continual daily practice for believers.

#3. Constantly Love and Forgive

Love is a big part of who God is and why forgiveness becomes possible.

This is a pattern that stemmed from God. Because He loved, he sent Jesus to die for us so that our sins could be forgiven (see John 3:16)

In Romans 5:8, the Bible says that God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Think about the greatest commandment,

' We are to Love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind ' (Matthew 22:37).

Second to this is, we are to, ‘love your neighbor as ourselves.’ (Matthew 22:39). 

Well, Christianity is grounded on love and forgiveness, and we, therefore, must be serious about practicing love for God and one other and extending forgiveness to others every day. God requires it from us. 

• A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another (John 13:34, NKJV)
• For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. (Matthew 6:14) 

Throughout the Bible, we read about prayer and see accounts of men who prayed and how God intervened, circumstances changed, and miracles happened.

Think about Elijah, for instance.

In James 5:17-18, the Bible records his prayer of faith, saying,

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. (NKJV) 

And what of Hannah.

1 Samuel 1 records how her co-wife Peninnah would tease her because she didn’t have a child. But then, she prayed for a son desperately and fervently. God gave her not just Samuel, a great prophet in Israel, but more children.

And the Lord visited Hannah so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the child Samuel grew before the Lord (1 Samuel 2:21) 

Not only does prayer bring us close to God, but it is also powerful, essential, and necessary.

George Muller: A Man of Great Faith and Prayer

As believers, we know that prayer is essential, which moves us to pray.

Such was George Muller, whose life is a reminder of what God can do when an ordinary man would devote themselves to faith and prayer.

Muller gave his life to Jesus after being invited by a friend to a Bible study. He saw students pray on their knees, sing, and listen to a message in the meeting. The experience was so new to him that he was compelled to kneel and commit his life to Christ before a week was over.

Muller then became a passionate student of the Bible where he found the confidence to believe in prayer. He solidly believed that the Scriptures were given to us so that we might know God and His character, understand His promises, and believe them to be fulfilled in our lives.

Muller also believed that it was unimaginable for God to fail in fulfilling any of His promises to us and thus could be counted on fully. So, he devoted himself to studying the Bible (God’s Word) and did so in a spirit of prayer.

Muller would then use the promises of God he found in the Bible as the vocabulary of his prayer life.

In his journal, he says how he once read Psalms 65,

You who answer prayer, to you all people will come (v2) 

He prayed and then made the following recording …

 “I believe He has heard me. I believe He will make it manifest in His own good time that He has heard me, and I have recorded these my petitions this fourteenth day of January 1838, that when God has answered them, He may get, through this glory to His name.”

Faith in God Alone 

Muller started over 100 schools and ran many orphanages taking care of more than 10,000 children. One time, after getting ready for school, the children had nothing to eat.

Muller prayed and gave thanks God for the food they were about to eat. Upon finishing the prayer, a baker knocked on their door. God had led him to bake bread for the children and he was there to deliver it.  Soon there was another knock.

A milkman’s truck had broken down near the orphanage and he was there to give the milk to the children before it could go bad—it was just the right amount they needed.

The incredible thing is that Muller only told God His needs in prayer.

In his autobiography, he had more than 5000 prayer requests answered on the day he prayed.

What Muller Believed about Prayer

Muller's devotion to faith and prayer is no doubt heart-stirring. He believed the following conditions are essential for God to hear and respond to prayer. 

• The need to entirely depend on Jesus 
• Forsake all known sin because God would be compromised if He answered the prayers of those not walking in obedience to Him. 
• Exercise faith in the promises of God as written in His Word
• Ask according to God’s will and not selfish motives.
   

But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6) 

Muller’s life is a great example of learning about faith and total dependence on God. What a beautiful story of how we can persevere through prayers, trust God, and depend on Him to meet our needs and make good on his promises in His timing as scripture says in the verse above!

See you on our next prayer series post! 

If you want to learn more about Faith in God, you're welcome to contact us at Westside Bible Chapel through our website contact form or Facebook page.

Welcome to Part 2 of the series—Things believers should do continually based on Scripture. 

If you have yet to read Part 1, we advise you to do so. Please find it in our blog section under the resources tab. 

Let’s dive in and discuss the remaining three points. 

#1. Share Your Faith 

The greatest thing to ever happen on earth is the coming of Jesus Christ, His dying on the cross, and resurrection. The wrath against humanity was taken out on Christ so that we now have access to God, our creator when we believe. 

Knowing God and believing in Him through Jesus for us should motivate us to share our belief and faith with those who have yet to know and believe in Him—and do it proudly. 

As believers, we need to reach a point where we can have conversations about our faith and share with friends, if not strangers. 

Believers should always be ready to give answers to any man who wants a reason for the belief and hope that we have within us. 

Why? Because Jesus died and rose again. You have come to know Him. You love God and have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within you. 

• Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Ghost (Matthew 28:19) 
• But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8) 
• But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear (1 Peter 3:15) 
   

#2. Practice Kindness and Patience 

Kindness refers to the intentional and sincere use of your time, giftings, and resources to improve other people’s lives through genuine acts of compassion, generosity, and service.

Although we live busy lives and have our own issues to deal with, many people around us have pressing needs. While it is unreasonable to spend all your day helping others, we all can choose to help others by being kind to someone each day.

• Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience (Colossians 3:12)
• But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)

Start by focusing on the people around you. Be alert and sensitive to their ongoing issues and show them kindness.

Most times, an act of kindness from you could be everything it takes to get someone moving forward. Practicing kindness also opens opportunities for direct witnessing encounters where we can share our faith in Jesus.

#6. Always Be Thankful 

The Word of God urges us to give thanks to God continuously.

• Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever (1 Chronicles 16:34)
• Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:18) 
•  Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since, as members of one body, you were called to peace. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:15)
• And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:17) 

As Christians, we need to have thankful hearts no matter our circumstances. We can hurt and be in pain but still be grateful. Constantly, giving thanks reminds us of how much we have and opens opportunities for more to come. 

If you want to learn more about Faith in God, you're welcome to contact us at Westside Bible Chapel through our website contact form or Facebook page.

In James 1:22, the Bible encourages us to hear and be doers of the Word of God. We are not to stop at reading the Word but should also put it into practice. 

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves (James 1:22, NKJV) 

That means as believers, doing the Word of God after hearing it is something we need to be purposeful about—it helps us define and demonstrate our faith and obedience to God. 

This is part 1 of a two-part series where we discuss important things that Christians should be doing continually based on Scripture. 

Let’s begin, shall we? 

#1. Pray

The Bible says we are to pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Praying is important because it is a privilege to connect with God personally so that He can reveal His will for a particular person or thing and so that we can be in the best mindset to deal with the issues of life.

When we miss prayer, our faith quickly loses the action part of it (see James 2:26), and we lose the leading and direction that comes from our heavenly Father as an answer to prayer. 

We should pray all manner of prayer as written in the Word.

• Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18, NKJV)
• Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; (Philippians 4:6) 

When we pray daily, we become like Jesus, who often withdrew to pray. 

• Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed (Mark 1:35, NKJV) 

#2. Read the Word of God

The Bible is the Truth (John 17:17). It is the truth that sets us free (John 8:32).

The Bible has God's very Words that are the foundation of our faith and all that we believe. Reading the Bible gives us the foundation of knowing in certainty and understanding our faith in God.

Therefore, we need to be purposeful to read the Word of God every day to tap the mind, the knowledge, the wisdom, and the revelation of God.

Also, we get to learn the truth of God that genuinely provides liberty and freedom and generally builds our faith giving it a firm, solid foundation.

•  So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17) 

If you want to grow in faith, you need to dive into the Word, read, meditate, and put it into action. Some of our answers to prayer come directly from the Bible.

Now you can see why reading the Word should be a continual daily practice for believers.

#3. Constantly Love and Forgive

Love is a big part of who God is and why forgiveness becomes possible.

This is a pattern that stemmed from God. Because He loved, he sent Jesus to die for us so that our sins could be forgiven (see John 3:16)

In Romans 5:8, the Bible says that God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Think about the greatest commandment,

' We are to Love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind ' (Matthew 22:37).

Second to this is, we are to, ‘love your neighbor as ourselves.’ (Matthew 22:39). 

Well, Christianity is grounded on love and forgiveness, and we, therefore, must be serious about practicing love for God and one other and extending forgiveness to others every day. God requires it from us. 

• A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another (John 13:34, NKJV)
• For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. (Matthew 6:14)