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I love the Psalms! I love the way the Psalmists were so open about their feelings (both good and bad!) Often they’d have it out with God and question how he could let things happen, or called out wondering whether God had left them, but they always ended up praising God because they knew in their hearts that no-matter-what God is good, he is faithful and worthy to be praised!!

When looking through the Psalms I noticed how many statements there are as kind of promises to God, (rather than from God). We look a lot in the bible for God’s promises over us, but I think some of these promises to God can also build us up in the faith as we speak to our hearts and spirits and spur ourselves on to live for God and Praise his name, no matter what we’re facing or how we are feeling.

So…  Here is a small selection of “I will” statements which I pulled out of the Psalms (there were a lot more!!!). Read each one through and speak to yourself as you read them, think of them as a "statement of intent".

Psalm 56:3 : When I am afraid, I will trust in you.

Psalm 52:9 : .. in your name I will hope, for your name is good..

Psalm 4:8 : I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

Psalm 86:7 : In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me.

Psalm 27:8 : My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I will seek.

Psalm 119:60 : I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands.

Psalm 119:34 : …I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart.

Psalm 77:11 : I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.

Psalm 145:5 : …I will meditate on your wonderful works.

Psalm 86:11 : … I will walk in your truth.

Psalm 119:45 : I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.

Psalm 32:5 : "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD "— and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Psalm 91:2 : I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

Psalm 31:7: I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.

Psalm 9:1 : I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders.

Psalm 13:6 : I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me.

 ..And a couple of  “I will not’s”:

Psalm 62:6 : He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken

Psalm 56:11 : in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

Psalm 23:4 : Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Read through the list a second time and this time pick out one or two that you would like to learn by heart. Ones which you think will help you in your walk with God if you can remember them ..and put them into practice!   :-)

And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Revelation 5:8

• Do you want to see the lost saved?
• Do you want to see captives set free?
• Do you want to see the sick healed?
• Do you want to see revival?

There is no way you and I can fulfill our divine call without the power of God. Fasting is a key to releasing Gods power in our lives and ministry!

Luke 4 :1 & 14

¹Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, ²where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.[…]

¹³When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

¹⁴Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. ¹⁵He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

Verse 1 shows that after his baptism, Jesus was” full of the Holy Spirit” and he was led into the desert to be tempted by Satan and to fast for 40 days before his ministry began.

In verse 14 Jesus had overcome the temptation, without sinning. He defeated the attempts of the devil through fasting and trusting in God’s word. Because of this he gained the Power and Authority (“in the power of the spirit”) to do what God had called him to do.

Jesus fasted  for 40 days before he started his work for God. Jesus was God, yet he humbled himself  and went without food for 40 days, so that he may gain the power given by God to bring healing and set captives free, and  of course, to be an example to each of us today. If Jesus fasted, shouldn’t we follow his example?

My church is currently doing a teaching series on a Tuesday night, and the other week we looked at fasting. I’ve done a little bit of fasting here and there but it’s never been on the top of my list of “spiritual disciplines”. The talk on Tuesday challenged me to think (and pray!) more about it and to discover it’s place in my walk with God, and in overcoming strongholds and seeking God’s power.. Will you take the time to think and pray about it to?

Here’s an overview of the teaching for anyone wanting to learn more about fasting :

“Why Fast?”

• Out of obedience to Gods word.
• To humble yourself before God
• Become weak so Gods power can be strong (Psalm 109v24‐28, 2 Cor 12v9‐10)
• Receive His grace and power
• To overcome temptations in areas that keep us from moving in Gods power.
• Hidden weaknesses come to the surface for God to deal with
• To release anointing to accomplish His will (Acts 13v3‐4, 14v23)
• In times of crisis (Esther 4v15‐16)
• When seeking Gods direction
• For understanding and revelation
• See life’s priorities more clearly
• Deal with selfish ambition and pride
• Improve self‐control
• Become more sensitive to the Spirit

“Benefits of Fasting” from Isaiah 58v6‐12

1. Revelation (v8)
2. Healing and wholeness (v8)
3. Righteousness (v8)
4. The presence of the Shekinah glory of God (v8)
5. Answered prayer (v9)
6. Continual guidance (v11)
7. Contentment (v11)
8. Refreshing (v11)
9. Strength (v11)
10. Works that endure (v12)
11. Raising up future generations (v12)
12. Restoration (v12)

“Types of Fast”:

Complete Fast : No food or drink. Most extreme fast, max of 3 days.

• Ezra 8v21 & 10v6
• Esther 4v16
• All out desperation for God.

Normal Fast : No food but regular water.

• As Jesus in wilderness.
  
• Could add lemon juice to water (good for body)

Daniel (or Partial) Fast :

• Vegetables & water Dan. 10v2‐3.
• Or cakes of cereal and oil (Elijah in 1 Kings 17)
• Or locusts and honey (John the Baptist in Matt 3v4)
• Whatever it is, it should cost you.

Group or Corporate Fast

• E.g. Nineveh, Joel called fast in 2 Chron. 20
• Church together

Things you could fast from (it’s not all about food)

• All food, or just certain foods, like meats and/or desserts, or perhaps alcohol.
• TV, Internet, Films, Video Games, Facebook etc
• Sexual Intimacy ‐Only when husband and wife agree together!
• Something else that would be “a cost” to you.

How Long to Fast:

• 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, 14, 21, 40 is the max*!
• 1 day a week. (52 in the year)

*Do not go straight to a 40 day food fast if you’ve never fasted before!!

Effects of Fasting from food:

• Headache, Nausea, Dizziness and stiff neck
• Start to feel good after 3 days!
• Hunger goes after 4‐5 days.
• May feel weak, be careful with physical exercise
• You may come under spiritual attack, feel depressed
• Remember: God is likely to bring some of your sin /weaknesses to the surface! Make sure you deal with them promptly and don’t be carried away by sin when the purpose is to get closer to God! (eg. swearing / short-temper..)

Other Considerations:

• Don’t abuse your body. Start small.
• If you need physical strength for your job etc, add some fruit or vegetable juice to water.
• Try one day a week with water only.
• Begin after dinner in evening until dinner the next evening. Or fast all day and break it the next morning.
• Fasting has no benefit unless you are dealing with sin.
• Never fast to impress others, keep it on need to know.
• If you break your fast in a moment of weakness, just carry on. God knows your heart.
• Don’t fall into legalism; e.g must be 40 days, must be all food and drink!!!
• Fasting is very flexible
• Focused on intimacy with God, not human performance.
• Putting God first and your body’s appetites second.

What to Fast For:

May have something specific

• Want to hear from God on something
• Need to see breakthrough in something
• To release God’s power
• See also the “benefits of fasting” above

May be more than one thing. If so write a prayer list so you can remember to pray through these things too.

The Power of Fasting:

• Need to model our lives and ministry on Jesus - and do greater works! (John 14v12)
• Commissioned to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth – Accompanied with signs and wonders
• Do you want to see the lost saved?
• Do you want to see captives set free?
• Do you want to see the sick healed?
• Do you want to see the Church as a radiant bride glorifying Christ?
• Do you want to see revival?
• The whole church needs to rise up, proclaim the gospel.
• Need the grace of God at work in our lives.
• There is no way you and I can fulfill our divine call without the power of God.

• Fasting is a key to releasing Gods power in our lives and ministry
• Fasting increases the power of prayer.
• Fasting releases Gods power (doesn’t earn more grace.)
• Secret of power is to submit to the discipline of the Holy Spirit.
• Fasting facilitates a freer flow of the Holy Spirit by removing the junk in our lives.

• By humbling ourselves our first desire is to seek God’s face (not His hand). His glory and presence.

* “There are simply no shortcuts to His presence, and the surest path to holiness, purity, and power is found in the powerhouse combination of prayer and fasting.”

1 Kings 3:5-15 – Solomon asks for Wisdom

v5 [...] and God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you."

Solomon answered [...] v7 "Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties.  8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?"

v10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 11 So God said to him, "Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12 I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. 13 Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both riches and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings[...]

Read all of 1 Kings 3:5-15 here: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Kings%203:%205-15;&version=31

God basically said to Solomon You can have absolutely anything you want – so what will it be? 

 Solomon replies and asks for wisdom, God grants his request and gives him so much more besides!!

 If you were put in that situation (a bit like the genie & the lamp) what would you ask for?  Perhaps you’d take the opportunity for your mortgage to be paid off?! How cool would that be! Or perhaps for a new job? Or for God to step into your relationships, to fix a few things for you, or to give you a new relationship with someone you can spend the rest of your life with? Perhaps you’d ask for your life to be a bit easier – for more time to do the things you want to do? Maybe for just a little bit more money, so things weren’t quite as tight? None of these are bad things, but what Solomon asked for was something that was totally in line with God’s own heart…

Solomon knew he was young and inexperienced. He knew that he’d been given a huge responsibility as king to take care of God’s people. He knew he couldn’t do it without God’s help, so he acknowledged his weakness before God and his reliance on him, and he asked for wisdom so that he could serve God well and be a blessing to the people he had been given to rule over.

v9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.

I think that’s a totally amazing request! Even more so because he was so young!  We can all learn so much from that humble and selfless request to God. God was pleased with Solomon because he asked for something to help him serve God and others well. God was so pleased with him that he decided to bless him by giving him not only world-renowned wisdom (check out the rest of Solomos story!) but also everything else that he could have (but didn’t) ask for! Just like in Matt 6:33 which was written many many years after Solomon lived  “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

What are you asking God for at the moment? Are your prayer requests motivated in serving God and others well, or are you looking more for your own personal gain? God is a wonderful caring father and he listens to all of our requests and provides for all of our needs. Trust that these things are already in his hands, and seek first God’s will and the gifts you need to serve him well. This is what pleases God, as our hearts and attitudes change to be more like Jesus – loving, serving and wanting to bless others before ourselves.

Psalm 43

¹   Vindicate me, O God,
       and plead my cause against an ungodly nation;
       rescue me from deceitful and wicked men.

 ² You are God my stronghold.
       Why have you rejected me?
       Why must I go about mourning,
       oppressed by the enemy?

 ³ Send forth your light and your truth,
       let them guide me;
       let them bring me to your holy mountain,
       to the place where you dwell.

 ⁴ Then will I go to the altar of God,
       to God, my joy and my delight.
       I will praise you with the harp,
       O God, my God.

 ⁵ Why are you downcast, O my soul?
       Why so disturbed within me?
       Put your hope in God,
       for I will yet praise him,
       my Savior and my God.

Sometimes we think it’s wrong to wrestle with God, to question him and to admit that we are having a tough time (its even harder to tell others). Yet there are many psalms that cover these thoughts and feelings. When we are struggling we need not pretend that everything is ok, or wait until it is fixed before we come back to God and praise Him again. God already knows how we are feeling and what we are struggling with, it won’t come as a surprise to him if we tell him what’s on our mind! He’d much rather we were honest with him than keep everything bottled up.

Yet at the same time we need to remember who God is, and that even if we are feeling down and in turmoil, God is still God and worthy to be praised. He is still our salvation and our hope is still in Him. It’s him who shines his light & truth into situations to guide us in the way we should go.

So if your soul is feeling a bit downcast today, have a go at telling God how you feel & what you’re struggling with. He’s big enough to handle it and he won’t be offended – even if you ask him a few tough questions! Then once you’ve got it all off your chest, you can make the same choice as the psalmist – to choose to hope in God and to continue to praise Him, knowing that He alone is your salvation and your God.

Still not convinced? Have a read through Psalm 13 below!! Its written by David “a man after God’s own heart” .. he knew in his heart that God hadn’t rejected him, he was just telling God how he felt at the time. Look again at how the psalm changes at the very end.

Psalm 13

 ¹ How long, O LORD ? Will you forget me forever?
       How long will you hide your face from me?

 ² How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
       and every day have sorrow in my heart?
       How long will my enemy triumph over me? 

 ³ Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.
       Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;

 ⁴ my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"
       and my foes will rejoice when I fall. 

 ⁵ But I trust in your unfailing love;
       my heart rejoices in your salvation.

 ⁶ I will sing to the LORD,
       for he has been good to me.

 And if you’re getting into these purging psalms and feel like reading another, try Ps 22 and read this one really carefully… can you see Jesus in there? You could also read Ps 42 & 43 as one long psalm.

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

This verse is an interesting one because you could look at it as a way of getting what you want. I.e. If I spend some time praising God then he’ll give me what I want in return, but this is missing the point.

Delight means “great pleasure or joy.” So for us to Delight in God means that God is where we get our great pleasure and joy from. You can’t make it up, you can’t make it happen, it’s not simply an act of doing, it’s an act of being. Being in God’s presence – enjoying God, getting pleasure out of worshiping Him and joy out of serving him. It’s something that grows over time as we learn to love God and try to grasp just how much God loves us! (Eph 3:18-19)

I think the thing David knew when writing this psalm was that once we are in the place of “delighting in the Lord” our hearts desires will start to line up with God’s own will. We will know God more intimately, and the Holy Spirit will be working in our lives, aligning our hearts with God’s. Therefore, the desires that are in our hearts when we are delighting in God will often be the things that God himself has put there. So we can pray with confidence knowing that what we are asking for is in alignment with God’s will.. and why would our Father in Heaven not answer such requests?

God knows what is the very best for us, and as we delight in Him, so we will too!

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Ephesians 6:18

Unlike my husband, who always seems to have a prayer to pray for everyone, I often struggle to know how to pray for people, and I found it a helpful exercise to dig out some of the prayers written in the letters of the New Testament. I figured that the apostles were pretty hot on praying,  so it would be good to learn from them!

Below are some of the ones I found in NIV version. I think it would also be a useful exercise to go to the Message bible version and look them all up again, as this uses every day (albeit American) language. So perhaps you could go and do this for yourself!

Notice how a lot of the prayers start in thanksgiving to God for the people who are being prayed for. I’m so thankful for the body (that is the church) that God has put me in and for all my brothers & sisters in Christ. Are you? We should thank God more for one another!

The other thing I notice is that often God’s "power" and "Spirit" come up in the prayers, often in relation to living lives which are holy & pleasing to God / doing good works. This is because without God’s power and Holy Spirit we shouldn’t attempt to do anything for God! I pray for the Holy Spirit all the time, but I don’t often ask for God’s power, so I thought this was a good thing to note too.

There are also other things I can note, but have a look for yourself at the themes and what types of things are prayed for.

Then perhaps you can get yourself familiar with them so that when you pray for people (together or on your own) you have a good starting point!

The apostles prayers:

I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. Ephesians 1:15-19

I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Philemon 1:6

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. Colossians 1:9-12

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9-11

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.  2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.  2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.  2 Thessalonians 3:5

I thought I would write a short post on how to know God for yourself – this is for anyone who doesn’t yet have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

1st – Do you know that you have made mistakes in your life and have lived your life without God? –> God calls this “sin” and this is what seperates us from Him. The bible says it like this: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” –Romans 3:23 (NIV). God is perfect and has never sinned, and we learn in the bible that ultimately the punishment for sin is death – which is being cut off from God for eternity. “For the wages of sin is death.” –Romans 6:23 (NIV)

2nd - There is good news! John 3:16 says “for God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” Jesus (God’s son) chose to die on a cross to take the punishment for all our sins. Then he rose again to conquer death once and for all, and to show that he really was the son of God.

3rd - YOU need to make a choice. To decide if you believe Jesus really is the son of God and really did die for your sins. If you’re not sure – perhaps go on an Alpha course or read the gospel of Mark or John in the bible (try a NIV or NLT version) to find out what God’s word says about Jesus. Then, if you want this gift of eternal life, you need to chose to ask for forgiveness from God for the sins you have committed, and chose to turn from them and try to walk God’s way (with God’s help of course). Welcome Jesus as Lord in your life and he’ll help you to do all this.

Here’s a prayer you can pray:

Father God, I am sorry for the things I have done wrong and for chosing to live my life apart from you. Thank you for sending Jesus to die for my sins and thank you that he rose again. I now choose to turn away from my sins and to live my life for you. I pray that you would fill me with your Holy Spirit to help me and guide me as I learn to live my life your way. Amen.

4th - Tell someone! It’s really important that you find another Christian to tell that you’ve made a choice to welcome Jesus into your heart. They can support you and help you find a friendly, welcoming church who pray, worship & teach the Word of God.  We can’t be Christians on our own – it’s not God’s plan

What next?

If you live near Swindon, come along to Gateway church & make sure you visit the welcome area at the end of the service! If not, do try to find a Jesus loving, bible teaching, spirit filled church who will help you in the next steps of your journey.

Pray. You’ve started with a prayer to ask God into your life, it’s not a one off prayer! God wants to have an ongoing relationship with you, so try to speak to him each day about anything and everything. Ask Him for help, thank him for all the good things in your life and generally start to build a realationship with your Father in heaven. If it’s hard – ask God to help you to pray!

Get hold of a modern translation of the bible too and start reading! Start with the New Testament – An NIV version is good, or try NLT which is a nice easy version to read. The Message is also very easy to read (although it’s not a proper word-for-word translation.) Check out my bible studies, to learn more about God, Jesus and all sorts of living God’s way type of topics!

Check out our friend Adam’s blog on Baptism too!

As for the Lord, his way is perfect. 2 Samuel 22:31

Do you groan at the thought of “having” to read your bible, or “having” to pray, or feeling obliged to help others?

Sometimes we need to look at why God tells us to do these things. God loves us, he’s not out to make your life a misery, he does everything out of love. So much so that Jesus died for us, it says so in the bible (John 3:16). Jesus came that we might have life, and life to the full, it says so in the bible (John 10:10). We are told that whoever Christ sets free is free indeed, it says that in the bible too! (John 8:36)

So we are offered unfailing love, life to the full, and ultimate freedom…. and the way that we get this is by living our lives as God intended!

God’s desire is for us to grow in faith, to trust in Him, to know we are secure in Him – not for his own benefit but for ours, in order to help us overcome out fears and to live our lives in freedom and security. He knows what will give us the most joyful and fulfilling lives, because he created us in the first place!

Why does God want us to read the bible?

He’s not going to give you a bible exam when you get to heaven- he’s not impressed with your head-knowledge and I doubt you’ll get extra brownie points for quoting bible verses off the top of your head. He wants us to read the bible so that we will grow and not easily be shaken! He wants to reveal to us through his word, his love and his faithfulness. It’s for us to gain an understanding of how amazing He is, so that we can trust in him more, let go of our insecurities and stand firm in the face of attack or difficulties.
He wants us to know the accounts of different people’s lives in the bible so we can see how he’s helped his people since the beginning of time, and how he will still do that for us today. The New Testament refers to so many people from the Old Testament (e.g. check out Hebrews 11), and we are even more blessed to have the Old & the New Testament to read.

When we read the word Jesus’ salvation is also revealed to us and we see that we don’t have to strive to please him, because we are no longer condemned but are set free. God doesn’t tell us that we have to read the bible to be saved, but when we are saved we should be longing to know more about this amazing God who saved us! By knowing the bible we can stand firm, not allowing the lies of the devil to trick us through our lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6) Check out how Jesus used scripture to stand up to the devil in Matt 4:1-11. As we learn through reading the bible, we can walk forward knowing that God is with us, and we can trust God more as we see his provision and guidance over the lives of the many people across so many generations before us. The bible is not about learning God’s rules, it’s about learning who God is, who we are in Him, and how he cares for and works through his people.

Why does God want us to pray?

God doesn’t want us to pray so he feels loved or talked to!  Its for OUR benefit, He wants us not to worry (check out Matt 6:25-34), just one of the many verses about not worrying!), he wants to carry our burdens (1 Peter 5:7) and to reassure us that we are in his hands, like so many others before him (Isaiah 41:10). He wants us to pray for others, so that through our care for others we can also experience his love and compassionate heart. God wants us to be in relationship with him, not through his own need, but because he knows that’s how we can live life to the fullest. It’s not a law that we have to keep, it’s a desire he wants us to have and to cultivate because it’s the best way to live our lives without worry, to learn to trust in him and to see him working in power in our lives. God wants us to be connected with him so he can guide us, the enemy wants us busy and distracted so that we can’t hear from God and are robbed of our peace. The bible says if we pray about everything we will gain God’s peace (Phillipians 4:6-7)

So if you’re praying to tick the box, then you’re not going to get the fullness of what God is offering you through the opportunity to pray. Look at it through new eyes, ask God to help you, and see each challenge, trouble, blessing, decision, quiet time, as an opportunity! A chance to include God, to ask for his help, to learn to trust him and to know that you are growing and becoming more free by handing things over to the One who is in control, so you can get on with living today in peace, knowing God’s got tomorrow in his hands.

Why does God want us to serve?

Again, It’s not about earning brownie points, it’s about our over-flow of love to God. If we are doing things to earn our way into God’s good books, then we’re not going to get anywhere other than exhausted(!), as we would be relying on ourselves and our own merits, and not on the death & resurrection of Jesus. There’s nothing more you can do to please God, so don’t let that be your motivation for serving.

God wants us to serve others because it helps us to be selfless people and we are happier when we are not so worried about our selves! Serving others helps us to see God’s love and compassion, it helps us to take our eyes off our own worries and fix them on Jesus instead. In doing this we gain lives that are more full of joy, fulfillment and deeper meaning. Even though us serving others, helps them and shows them God’s love, God also uses this to bless us and grow us and make us more joyful people. I read a news article recently that said that people who do voluntary work and help the poor/sick/vulnerable tend to be the most content with their lives.

So in summary, You don’t have to do anything. You don’t have to pray, you don’t have to read your bible and you don’t have to serve others. When you want to pray, you’ll be blessed by doing so, you’ll see God moving and your faith will grow. When you want to read your bible in order to know God more, you will gain understanding and become stronger by doing so. When your desire is to serve others out of an overflow of love for God, and for your neighbour, then you will be blessed as you put others before you, it will become a joy rather than a burden, even more so as you see people responding to the love of God that shines through you!

God’s plan is for you to live life your to the full, in freedom, knowing he’s right there with you as you do the things he has set before you, not because you have to, but because you get to! It’s an opportunity, an invitation to live an amazing, joyful, fulfilling life with God!

Isn’t God’s way perfect?

1 Samuel 3: 6-11
6 Again the LORD called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD : The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.
8 The LORD called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy.
9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
11 And the LORD said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle.

Samuel was just a boy when God spoke to him for the first time. He was so unaccustomed to hearing God’s voice that at first he thought it was Eli calling him and he got up 3 times and went to Eli. Eli (eventually!) figured out that it was the Lord speaking to Samuel.

We need to train ourselves to hear God’s voice. I don’t think it comes naturally. It may not be “out loud” as it was for Samuel, but we do need to be open to hearing God’s voice. Just like Samuel we should ask God to speak and then listen to what he has to say. God speaks to us in many ways, but as we “tune in” to hearing God’s voice and take the time to listen we find that he speaks to us more (or we notice more!)

The great thing about God is that he’s very patient with us. Like with Samuel, he will try again, and if we are willing and open we will hear him.

So how do we train ourselves to hear from God? Well I’m not really sure…!! But I can tell you how it started with me.

At first things “jumped out” at me when I was reading the bible and I sometimes thought of a person at the same time, so I’d send them a text or and email with the verse and often people would say – “thanks that was really in line with how I was feeling/something I was going through” and only then would I know that it was definately from God. More often than not I would think it was just me making stuff up (!!) so when people came back to me it was a real help, and I started to distinguish what was God speaking and what was just me.

The same happened later on with prayer, when I prayed for someone I’d just get a “feeling” or a “hunch” about something and then I’d have to pluck up the courage to either pray it or ask them about it…! Most of the time you feel really vulnerable doing this but when you find out that it was spot on to a situation that they were in, then you have no doubts that it was God speaking and then you grow in confidence and respond to those promptings more.

At church this week my husband and I were praying for a couple and I was about to speak out a verse that came to my mind, and just before I did so my husband turned to a verse in the bible and read it to them – it was exactly the same verse! That was confirmation to me (and them) that it was from God and not just us. How amazing is that!?

So I guess what we need to do is remind ourselves to take the time to say to God “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.” Then tentatively go with those “hunches” or “feelings” that you get, and see what happens. Remember to be careful with your words and make sure what you are saying is to build/encourage people. Knowing your bible a bit helps too so God can bring a scripture to your mind.

Samuel went on to prophesy and tell people many amazing things, check out 1 Sam 10…Not bad for a boy who didn’t recognise God’s voice at the start! Perhaps God could use you in big ways too as you learn to listen to his voice more and more. I Corinthians 14 says “eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy” so if you’d like this gift, or just to be able to hear God more, then ask Him!