Some people teach that the way to know God is only through prayer. They think that if they pray longer and harder, they will meet Him. Then they prayed for an hour, and until their knees became sick, and they said, "I still can not make contact. I'll try another hour! "Actually, they are not fools but you can pray until your knees become like camel's knees, but you do not meet the living God either. You will not be able to meet Him before you make a determination to do His will, to live life according to God's will. It was at this point that many monks were misguided. They think that if they can leave the world, lock themselves in a room and pray night and day, then someday, God will appear. Why do I say that this will not happen? Just look at the facts. If that did indeed work, the monks would surely be God's extraordinary human beings today. Unfortunately, very few get there.
Do not get me wrong with what I say. I do not mean to say that praying is not important. What I mean is that the principle of doing God's will constantly and faithfully is more important than just praying. Because you could have prayed with a wrong heart. And if you pray with the wrong intention, then God can not bless you. Most of our prayers contain selfish things. It can be said that most of the content of prayer is nothing more than a 'spiritual selfishness'. Always, "Bless me in this affair, that business, give me this and that." If God approves your prayer content, then He approves of your selfish nature, making you more selfish than it is now. Just like a child who says, "I want candy." Then you give him a candy. If she wants more candy again, you still give it too. Are you educating the child? If God grants all our requests, I think we will enter into a great disaster, just like the little boy. So, just when you pray and say, "Lord, what is Your commandment I will execute," then we need not pray for hours. God was able to grant the prayer long before it was offered.
Sometimes we see God like a drill sergeant in a military camp. The coach sergeant is the most recognizable figure in the military camp because they seem to like to have soldiers march to and fro. Presumably they thought this line of marching activity could form a good warrior. And we then imagine that God might be like that. He likes us to kneel for hours, begging and begging, then He says, "No! You can not! "Then you come back and say," Please, give me some spiritual candy. I really need it! "But He does not care. He will not listen to you and He says, "Get out of the way! I do not have time for you! "What kind of God is this? You have to kneel there until your pants are hollow and your back is bent. No wonder the image for the saints is the hunchback. They staggered. Our perspective on spiritual matters is very strange!
In contrast to what I experienced. God is not like that. Often, I just think to ask God for something for the ministry of preaching the gospel, and He has given His answer. I have not even kneeled, He has answered my prayer. You can find in Scripture, "So before they call, I have answered; When they are speaking, I have heard it" (Isaiah 65:24). He is so eager to answer our prayers. He does not want to pressure us just to get some prayers from us. Then you say, "I do not have that experience. My shade in the morning is very dry. I speak to God, and it feels like talking to a wall." You do not get contact. I thank God for this very important lesson, the lesson that has been given since I just became a Christian, that - with God's grace - I am determined to do His will, to live His word! As a result, I can relate to Him.
This lesson is called the obedience of faith by the apostle Paul. Today, churches love to talk about faith. What is surprising is that they do not talk about faith obedience. It is true that we are saved by faith, but if that faith you separate from obedience - something that many churches do - the result is fatal to your spiritual life. The result is a disaster! That is why so many churches are dying today because they have taken faith and said, "We do not need to talk about obedience. Let's talk about faith alone. "In fact, what Paul means is faith obedience. Many people study the book of Romans, but if you do not understand this point, then you will not be able to understand the book of Romans. The book of Romans begins and ends with this expression, the obedience of faith (Romans 1:5 and Romans 16:26). Do not ever think that you will be saved by faith if faith is not expressed through the practice of everyday life that is obedient to Him. There is no true faith without obedience. Obedience of faith is the obedience that creates the desire to do His will, the obedience that comes with joy from the heart. It is through this faith that we can establish a relationship with God.
Listen to this saying from Jesus if you think that this is only my personal opinion. Jesus says in John 14:21:
"Whoever has my commandments and does them, he is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me, he will be loved by my Father and I will love him and will reveal myself to him. "
Take a good look at this verse. Jesus said, "I will reveal myself to you." To whom? To "one who obeys his command." Herein lies the obedience of faith. Only through the obedience of the new faith will Jesus reveal himself to you. The same is also stated in verse 23:
"Jesus replied, 'If anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him and We will come to him and be with him.'"
Jesus will live with you. It's not just holding one or two visits a week. He will live with us, walk with us, fellowship with us all the time, but this is only for those who work the word.
This is a generally applicable principle every time and everywhere. According to Acts 10:35, what kind of person is pleasing to God? This verse tells the story of Cornelius. Why would this Gentile man be pleasing to God?
Anyone from any nation who fears Him and who practices righteousness is pleasing to Him.
Only in this way can we establish a living contact with God. If you hold on to this principle and live it, you will discover the truth of this word.
I can testify to this. I am very grateful that I have learned this lesson from the beginning. I learned to do God's commands as a whole. Of course, there are some things I still do not understand, and I can not do yet. Herein lies the wisdom of God, you are not brought to do things that you do not yet understand. I was motivated by this motivation throughout my life: the motivation to do His will. When I was in need of something while I did not have a source of income, I learned to entrust myself to Him. He fulfilled all my needs just like Jesus' teachings in Matthew 6:33, " But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and they shall be added unto you. "So then I said," Well, Lord, I will seek your kingdom and your truth, and I will give other affairs to you. "To this day, I still experience how God fulfills His Word. Getting an experience like this is wonderful. It is not enough with this time to testify how God fulfilled His word in various areas of my life. Some people ask me, "Why is God so real to you?" He is so real because I always run the word and I always witness how He fulfilled it. This is not because I am more spiritual than others. I think there are many people who are kinder, wiser and patient, better than me. But they do not experience God because they have not practiced this teaching.
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