What does it take to grow?Day 5

Transcript

Good morning and welcome to today’s Daily insights. This is day 5 of our episodes, What does it take to Grow. On behalf of Pastor Lucy Paynter daily insights, this is Jane Lenny.
Today we discuss Habit 2. In order to grow we need to breathe – Prayer.
We all know breathing is the most fundamental need for sustaining our physical life. But did you know that continually breathing in the life of God is essential for maintaining and growing our spiritual life?
We were saved eternally when we believed in Christ, and we received the divine life when we were born again. From the moment we’re saved, we need to continue to breathe spiritually so we can grow in the divine life.
Physical breathing involves both inhalation and exhalation. In the same way, as we breathe in all the positive things of the Lord Himself, we also exhale all the negative things in our being. We’re revived and strengthened by the fresh supply of the Spirit, and most importantly of all, we gain God Himself.
In our fast-paced, busy lives, it’s easy to find ourselves “holding our breath.” No wonder we’re spiritually weak, negative things build up in our heart, and we’re susceptible to sin. How we need to breathe! We need to absorb the life of God in order to live the Christian life. Too often we pray to ask God for things and answers to problems. But our primary need is to breathe in God.
Today, we’ll discuss what we can do to help us breathe in God through prayer.
1. Set aside time to pray. Much like working out, if we don’t schedule time to pray, we won’t do it. I call this time QT – quiet time. We can begin our time with Him by telling Him we love Him: “Oh Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus, I love You.” We can exhale all of the things that are bothering us and focus on enjoying Christ. As we exhale, we inhale from the Lord in prayer.
2. Develop a habit of prayer. Studies show it takes about twenty-one days to form a new habit. We can try to spend twenty minutes with the Lord in prayer every day for three weeks to begin to develop a healthy prayer habit. It will make a big difference in our life if we spend consistent time in prayer to be filled with the Lord and be spiritually recharged.

3. Turn off our electronic devices. Matthew 14:23 tells us Jesus “went up to the mountain privately to pray.” He left the crowd below, even His disciples, to be alone and spend uninterrupted time with the Father. While modern technology helps us, it also brings huge distractions into our lives that keep us from spending time with the Lord Jesus and breathing Him in. He wants to spend personal, private time with us. By going to a place free of other people and putting away our devices so we’re not distracted, we can shut out the world and take in the Lord in a solid way.
On behalf of Pastor Lucy Paynter daily insights, this is Jane Lenny taking you through What Does It Take To Grow episodes. Today was day 5 of our episodes. Tomorrow continue with Habit number 2 in the 10 Habits of Maturing Christians. In order to grow we need to breathe – Prayer. God bless you, Shalom Shalom.

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