View Replies

Forum

Prayer Email archive:
(01/30/2004) becoming best friends with God


Hello prayer warriors, i. prayer note: becoming best friends with God. [2 Corinthians 5:17-18] 17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; I recently started reading a book called "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren. I came across an interesting chapter on becoming best friends with God. What was in that chapter was something that I have told you about before but which I myself needed to be reminded on. As you have noticed, I have not been writing for a while. I have been going through a spiritually dry season. No, I am not depressed or sad. My life is blessed but I feel dry and needed to find a way to breakthrough this plateau. I'm not sure whether you know what I mean or whether you have gone through this yourself. Well, interestingly, I still find that the tried and tested way of pulling myself out of this is to read His Word. I've mentioned before that prayer is communication with God. How do we communicate with anyone? Well, when I communicate with someone, I get to convey something to the other person and the person talks back. But most of the time, we expect the breakthrough in communication with God to come through some emotional encounter with God after much travailing in prayer. We wait for God to speak to us after He has been satisfied with our sincerity and longsuffering in prayer. God has reconciled us to Himself and calls us His friends. He wants to be best friends with us. What does that mean and how do I become His best friend? Becoming best friends with God means that I make God part of my "life". I can "pray without ceasing" ([1 Thessalonians 5:17]) because I include Him in my thought life, in my work life, in my party life as well as in my private life. God is not someone who is only waiting for me in a closet (when I am spending quiet time alone with Him). He is there all the time. When I learn to relax, be conscious of Him and include Him in every aspect of my life, I learn how to be best friends with God. So, this is me talking to God all the time. What about God talking back? The best, tried and simplest way for God to talk back is through His Word. That's why He has given us His Word. Through His Word, we can understand Him and He can encourage us and He can perfect us as we go along our faith journey. [2 Timothy 3:16-17] All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. My pastor has this to say about this verse. He says that "inspiration" in Greek here means God-breathed, product of the breath of God. This is one of the ways that God speaks to us. When we read His Word, the Holy Spirit teaches us and tells us things. Are we reading His Word, meditating on His Word and "listening" to Him? That sums up how to become best friends with God, through constant conversation with God and including God in every aspect of our lives, not just in our quiet time. As Rick Warrent puts it: "Prayer lets you speak to God; meditation lets God speak to you. Both are essential to becoming a friend of God". 2. Recent prayer requests: i. pray for restoration of marriage --feffsprayer http://mydevotion.com/p.asp?tid=2478 ii. friend's suicidal daughter -- guest http://mydevotion.com/p.asp?tid=2479 iii. freedom - marktur2 http://mydevotion.com/p.asp?tid=2480 iv. Deliverance from the forces of evil -- guest http://mydevotion.com/p.asp?tid=2481 v. Please Pray for my Spiritual Growth -- kate706 http://mydevotion.com/p.asp?tid=2482 vi. Special Prayers for a Family Divided -- kate706 http://mydevotion.com/p.asp?tid=2483 vii. Marriage restoration -- guest http://mydevotion.com/p.asp?tid=2485 3. Number of prayer warriors: 2377 We welcome all new prayer warriors in our midst. Please pray. Remember also to pray for me so that I can continue to be strong in this ministry. Also, the average votes have been decreasing. Continue to vote for the site to bring in more visitors. To view and vote for the site, click here: http://mydevotion.com/mailvote.asp Your sister in Christ, Wai Hun
Friday, January 30, 2004 1:39:13 PM waihun
changed on Friday, January 30, 2004 1:39:53 PM

Please vote for us. This will encourage others to visit the site.