Hectic day...?

With hectic schedules and busy pace of modern life, we may wonder how we can make time for prayer. Yet when we stop to truly consider the importance of prayer, we should wonder how we can afford not to pray. Prayer offers us one of the chief means of spiritual growth. Without prayer, we can wither spiritually just as a plant without water and sunshine. Prayer is the only thing no one religion can claim possession of or origination of it is not a denominational or religious experience prayer is an individual experience that takes place between the Creator and those whom he has created.

Jesus faced demands on His time. His popularity brought crowds eager yo hear Him and experience the healing He was known to bestow. But Jesus however, did not let these demands interfere with His times of prayer. He would leave the crowds and go to an isolated place away from the crowd – for time to talk with His Heavenly Father.

When we pattern our times of prayer after Jesus’ example we will not allow the demands of each day to keep us from spending time with God daily in prayer. If Jesus prayed regularly, how much greater is our need to develop a consistent practice of prayer?

Christians find prayers burdensome and uninviting. To them, it is nothing more than presenting a list of things they want God to do. Being distracted by the demands of life and seeing prayer as a boring duty are two thing that can interfere with daily seeking God. As believers, we must not come to think of prayer as an option or allow it to become something we use only in emergencies. Prayer should always be part of our daily Christian experience

Through prayer we can personally seek and experience spiritual growth. Consistent pray on our part can increase our spiritual strength. Consistent prayer can help us to grow in our understanding of God and in the knowledge of His will for our lives. If we do not grow or posses a prayer life there is no way we can understand the principles of everyday life that God is trying to teach us. Therefore prayer is an absolutely necessity in everyone’s life. This will lead us to mature spiritually as believers. Prayer also enables us to produce the spiritual fruit in our lives that God desires from those who love and obey Him.

So many things compete for our time each day that we do not always find time for prayer. We must fight and make every effort not to let the demands of the day interfere with prayer. Regardless of when we pray, what is really important is that we learn to pray consistently for prayer is a vital connection with God.

Pray!!!

Chukwu Mmuo Nso

Imagine waking up to the voice of your neighbour, speaking Swahili and you are sure he has never been outside the shores of this country nor did he learn to speak Swahili from anywhere, just that he is speaking Swahili language and making cohesive speech. That was the case of the people of Jerusalem that morning when they woke to the prayers of the Christians but this time, they were speaking in foreign languages and with such boldness as they have not always had.

This record of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is a powerful reminder to all believers that Holy Spirit baptism is essential for all, regardless of background, God wants to baptise all believers leading them into a life of vibrant power they have never before experienced. God made his intentions known by not segregating into groups, diving by class, background, gender or anything else motivated by human prejudice. God’s gift of salvation and all the accrued blessings are available to all.

The baptism in the Holy Spirit is God’s wonderful way of equipping humble, openhearted believers to serve Him. Spiritual power and authority come from Him and depend on Him alone. It is through this baptism that we receive power necessary to live a life, begun at repentance as it blossoms into ministry and service.

WHO IS THE POWER FOR?

The Holy Spirit enters the life of every believer at salvation. He works within believers to assure them of their relationship with God, make them holy and enable them to leave for God. However, the baptism in Holy Spirit, which is evidenced by speaking in tongues, empowers believers afterwards to serve God and be powerful witness of Christ. In response to this question, it is imperative to understand that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is an experience limited to only believers. It should also be noted that it is not the same as salvation. Salvation is one renouncing sin and accepting Jesus and lord and personal saviour while baptism in the Holy Spirit is a gift of power for service and evangelism that enables believers to fulfil the Great Commission.

WHY THE BAPTISM OF HOLY SPIRIT?

In layman’s terms, the Holy Spirit is a helper,  He helps us with the tasks we cannot effectively carryout on our own. Comforter in Greek translation means someone who helps one with what he is unable to do. Holy Spirit is not just for what we do in church, it encompasses everything we do in life. Thus, the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of speaking in tongues is a gift from God to believers to help them pray effectively (Romans 8:26). The Holy Spirit also empowers believers to be effective and powerful witnesses of Christ. With the baptism of the Holy Spirit comes the gifts of the spirit 1 Corinthians 12, which can affect the society and build up the Church. It is therefore a necessity for every believer to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We need this experience for the help only God can give. We need the baptism of the Holy Spirit to serve effectively, to defeat carnality, to defeat sin.

People filled with the Holy Spirit

o   Genesis 41:37 (David filled with the Holy Spirit that he advised on the affairs of Government and Economics)

o   Daniel 5:10-12, 6:3 (because Daniel was filled with excellent spirit, he was distinguished)

o   Exodus 35:30-35 (God filled Bezaleel with spirit to do crafts for the building of his temple).

o   The Holy Spirit helps us commune with God (Romans 8:26; I Corinthians 14:2, 4; Jude 1:20; Acts 4:31). The spirit of God recharges us.

o   We need to be led by the Holy Spirit so that God's promises in our life will be fulfilled.

o   The Holy Spirit gives us the gifts of the Holy Spirit that will enable us serve God aright.

Everlasting Nourishment

“Ever since I was a child I have had this instinctive urge for expansion and growth. To me, the function and duty of a quality human being is the sincere and honest development of one's potential.”

Bruce Lee quotes 

(American Actor and martial arts expert. Born in San Francisco, California, USA 1940-1973)

God made available His will in the form of Bible to give us backing and evidence while contending with the Devil who would not let us enjoy the estate of our father. What more do we need to do than to study diligently this Will and apply appropriately the saying thereof.

The word of God bear the mind of God. Word of God is God Himself (John 1:1). The Bible is God’s revelation of Himself. In the scripture, we hear from Him, we meet Him there, and He shows us who He is. We learn to trust Him as He is faithful to do what He says in His word.

We should as the Psalmist cried out on that day “As the deer pants for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.” (Psalms 42:1) NLT. The higher our knowledge of God our maker, the more we learn about the hidden mysteries of His word.

The Psalmist was willing to spend time seeking God. He got up early in the morning to ask God’s help. Putting his hope in God’s Word. He did this because he hoped for God’s loving, listening ear when he prayed. When we invest our time in Bible reading and study, we open our hearts and minds to seeing how great God’s love is for us.

A popular saying goes thus, “if you want to hide a thing from a black man, put it in a book”. Would same be said of you? For growth and nourishment, we need food and the only spiritual food that is capable of this is the Bible which is the will of God for us.

Commit yourself today to the study of God’s Word. Your efforts will repay you richly. Whatever time you seem to be sacrificing for the sake of studying the Bible will bring you great spiritual benefits.