Do You Get Closer To The Lord Just By Praying & Reading The Bible?
Dee Dee writes…
Thank you alot but like do you get closer to the Lord just by praying and reading your bible? And then there are alot of things that confuse me and I don’t know what to do abut them. Like does waiting for the right friend mean I shouldn’t talk to anybody? Or what do i do? And I ask God but I can’t hear him so I don’t know what to do and it’s not like in books. I can’t feel something inside of me telling me what to do. Its like I don’t feel anything at all. I don’t even know if I’m happy or sad. But I really really want to be happy and I want to be what God wants me to be but I don’t know how to get there.!
P.S.
My real name isn’t Dee Dee so when u pray for me please just pray for D.S.(I don’t want anybody I
know to know im feeling all this stuff cus its kinda embarresing!)
Oh sorry but another question is where do I start?(in the bible,everywhere)
Beloved By Him replies…
Dear Dee Dee,
You do not need to be so consumed with this confusion. If you really want to be free from the doubt, worry, and anxieties in your mind, you need to decide to seek the Lord with ALL of your heart. He is the One Who should be our Savior and our Rock (Ps. 18:31). It’s time for you to start building up the foundation of your life upon Him, letting Him be the source of your faith, love, and truth.
You ask if you get closer to the Lord just by praying and reading your bible. The simple answer is “yes,” but there’s so much more to it than that. It’s not just about going through the motions, or doing the “right” thing. It’s about pursuing a relationship with God, because He wants to have one with us! (Hosea 6:6) He wants us to know Him: His character, His desires, His will. We could spend a lifetime and not even come close to knowing all there is about our Lord (Ps. 145;3, 71:15). That’s why we need to devote ourselves to spending time reading His word every day. God speaks to us through scripture, giving us His promises as well as practical directions. More importantly, though, He also reveals Himself to us. Why would we want to love and serve God if we didn’t know anything about Who He really is? When we start to see how amazing God really is, from the beginning of time until now, and how He doesn’t change, and how great and limitless His love is for us, why wouldn’t we want to have a relationship with Him? There is nothing else that can compare with knowing and loving Him—that should be our greatest passion and pursuit on this earth (Jer. 9:24, Matt. 22:37-38).
Trophy of Grace gave you good advice about getting into the word, especially in a translation that’s easy to understand. God’s word sanctifies us and teaches us all the truth we need to have a successful life (John 6:68, 17:17). That’s the incredible thing about the bible; it really is so many books in one: biography, history, love story, etc. It’s the one book every Christian needs for a field guide to life. You’re right—there is no other book like it. That’s because the Word is living and active and divides the spirit of man, because it’s the written Spirit of God. Jesus IS the Word. When we spend time in the Bible, we’re spending time in relationship with Him. Honestly, I have had very few times in my life where I’ve heard the Holy Spirit audibly speaking to me. But there are innumerous times that God has spoken to me through His Word, whether through an encouraging psalm, or with a corrective scripture, or by reminding me of a truth to counter one of the enemy’s lies. Christians can’t live in victory without knowing what the word of God says, so that we can make rightly discerned choices based on God’s will for us as shared in the Bible (Pr. 3:5-6, Ps. 18:30, Pr. 9:10, Rom. 12:1-2, II Cor. 10:5).
Living as a Christian requires a lot more faith than feelings. In fact, it’s one of the most important parts. God says that without faith, it’s impossible to please Him (Heb. 11:6). If we listen to our flesh, we’re going to be tossed around like boats in a storm (Ps. 107:26-27). But if we walk by faith, not by sight, we will have peace because our hope from Him, not from ourselves or our circumstances (II Cor. 5:7). Jesus called those who believe in Him without seeing even more blessed than those who had seen Him (John 20:29). Believing in and loving Christ should be the source of inexpressible joy for us (I Peter 1:8). We are set free from our flesh and from the world by knowing and understanding the truth, and living in it (John 8:32, Rom. 8:32). We can sum up our purpose here on earth with one verse: I John 3:23, “And this is His command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.” (NIV)
I think that the book of I John would be an excellent place for you to start getting to know the God Who loves you so much. There is so much in that book that God used to change my life and teach me about real love, His love. I would also recommend that you spend a lot of time in Psalms, where there are many excellent examples of how the psalmists poured out their deepest feelings, yet still determined that their deliverance would come from God, and their hope was from Him. The gospel of John is a great, and also the book of Proverbs is crucial for practical wisdom. Don’t be afraid to start small, but do start reading the Bible. You need to build your house, your temple, on the Rock, so you can stand against anything this world brings against you. More than that, though, you will find fullness of joy in knowing your Lord more and more every day. Jesus came that you would have life and joy, and that your joy would be full! (John 15:11, 10:10)
Keep pressing on and getting to know the Lord (Phil. 3:12). If you don’t have another Christian friend alongside you right now, then maybe you can go to a youth leader or mentor at church who will walk with you and help you with some of your burdens. Don’t be afraid to talk to others, either. As you learn more and more truth in the word, you will have more confidence to be who you really are in Him (Prov. 14:26). Remember, you’re not of this world. You’re in it, but you’re not like it (John 15:19). There will be many who don’t understand where we Christians are coming from, and that’s okay, because they didn’t understand where Jesus was coming from either. But we’re never alone. Jesus is always with us, and He is waiting for the day when He will see us face to face (John 14:2-3).
I heard this song today and thought it might encourage you, it’s “A More Beautiful You” by Jonny Diaz
The video is great because it shows how the world will make us into something we’re not if we let it. Let’s pray that you will become exactly who God wants you to be, and you will, because He promises that He is going to complete the good work He began in you! (Phil. 1:9)
Heavenly Father, I pray that my sister Dee Dee would ask you to open her eyes and see who You really are, and how amazing our lives are when they are in You. I pray that she would make You her passion, and that her relationship with You would be the greatest joy in her life. Lord, please give her wisdom, faith, understanding, and especially Lord Jesus, let Your love pour out in her heart by Your Holy Spirit, so that she would have hope and peace. Thank You for her, Lord, that You made her in Your image, and that You have a special work for her to do here, and I pray that you would reveal Your will for her, and show her the gifts and talents You have given her to serve You and others. We love You, Lord Jesus. Thank You for being our Lord and Savior, and for giving us eternal life and hope. We give You all the glory, Jesus. In Your name we pray, Amen.
May the Lord bless you, sister,
Much love,
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For Serena,
Sister you are doing the right thing by being picky about what you read and what music you listen to. The Word of God says that faith comes by hearing the Word of God. (Romans 10:17) The secular garbage that we put in does not increase our faith instead it desensitizes us our minds and souls. Our greatest battles are fought in the battle field of our minds. That is why the Lord wants us to transform our thinking and line it up with His Word. (Romans 12:2) He wants to us have pure and holy thoughts and bring all thoughts captive that don’t line up with His Word. There is a lot of trash on tv and on the big movie screens. Books are seducing and perverse. The secular music has become lyrical pornography and glorifies worshiping of idols such as money, cars, name brand products, jewelry. I believe you are being wise. Keep refusing to look at anything vile and vulgar. (Psalm 101:3)
By the way there is a posting that Beloved by Him wrote. It is a two part series. I think you should take a moment and read it. I think it will give you further confirmation. Here is the link.
http://www.weusedtobeyou.com/2009/04/13/purity-in-media-part-one/
Regarding your sister, be gentle, patient, and loving with her. Stand your ground on how you will choose to remain pure in your choice of entertainment, but understand that we are all at different places in our walk with Christ. If she does not want to receive what you are saying about this subject or any other subject trust God to reveal the truth to her. Don’t argue or fight. God’s Word will never return void. Keep speaking into her life. Keep praying and interceding for her. Don’t give up on her.
One last thing..this is the Word God gave me when I was starting to become concerned with what people thought of me when I knew that I was doing what God had called me to do.
“Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10
I will be praying for you sister.
Sinerely,
Trophy of Grace
To your second question..Yes loving Jesus and God is a choice. It’s a choice to obey Him and follow His Word. John 14:15 says, “If you love me, obey my commandments.”
Forgiving others is also a choice. There is a good article here written by Deborah Ross. Here is a link for it.
http://www.weusedtobeyou.com/2009/05/20/forgiveness-is-a-process/
Psalm 1:2-3 “But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it DAY AND NIGHT. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither,and they prosper in all they do.”
Before you start your daily routine you should seek God’s face first in the morning. Get a daily devotional and start with that. Seek first His Word and direction before you do anything else. Pray and spend some quiet time with Him before your gets hectic.
All through out the day you can talk to God and praise Him. When your listening to music play praise and worship music so you can rejoice in His presence.
When you go to bed read His Word again. Meditate on it before you go to bed.
You should make other time to sit at His feet too. The more time you spend with Him in His presence the more transformed you will find your life.
hi,i was just reading this because her situation seems like mine,and you really helped a lot!But i have a question.My sister thinks that i think everything is bad(books,movies,music)and that I’m too judgmental but the bible said we shouldn’t be of this world and choose carefully and that’s what i was trying to do but it seems like there are not that many good things in the world.So who is in the right or wrong?But what really annoys me is that she didn’t use to be this way,its only when we moved that she started to become different.Sometimes i just look at her and think what happened?
and also,so youre supposed to choose to love jesus and god and to forgive ,you dont have to feel it ?
how would you find time amidst school and work and other activities?