Transformation Starts Here…
Do you ever feel stagnate in you faith? Do you want your relationship with God to excel past what you could ever believe? Well, I can point you in the right direction.
Maybe you’ve been going to church your whole life and you’ve believed for a long time, but you feel like growth hasn’t continued. Or maybe you’re new to faith and don’t know where to look next. I’m excited to share the answers with you.
The main things that are going to help you grow in your faith are spending time in the Word of God, prayer, and fasting. Let’s break these down.
The Word of God is your spiritual sword. Paul writes in Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” This shows us as believers that our fight isn’t physical, rather it’s spiritual. In order to fight evil with good, we are called to put on the full armor of God in Ephesians 6:13-17, “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Just as a knight cannot fight his enemy without his sharp metal sword, we cannot fight off evil without knowing the Word of God. Joshua 1:8 says, “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
Prayer is essential to your relationship with Christ, just like communication is essential for any human relationship to remain strong. In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Paul says, “pray continually.” We must speak to our Lord if we desire to receive guidance from Him. Paul is not exaggerating here. See, many people think you have to pray next to your bed or at the dinner table, but then do it no where else. As believers, this is not the case. You are to be praying to you heavenly Father at all times. In your car, in the shower, at your job, etc. This allows your mind to remain focused on Jesus and allows the Holy Spirit to guide you. We can live in obedience to Christ more often when we are constantly thinking and praying to Him.
Fasting is something that a lot of modern christians often try to avoid. Instead, we say giving up our phone for a day, or sweets for a week, is a fast. But true fasting is abstaining from food for an extended period of time. Why food? Well because this is the very thing that keeps your physical body alive. Spending time away from that allows you to understand what Jesus says when Satan temps him in the desert. “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” - Matthew 4:4 Fasting will truly allow you to experience what sacrifice looks like. During this time we offer our thoughts and prays to the Lord in a weaker physical state, but in a stronger spiritual state. Fasting also has significant health benefits, and that’s no surprise to me, that God made us in a way that when we discipline ourselves, we actually heal or bodies as well.
These three things are of great importance when it comes to wanting to be transformed and continuing to grow in your relationship with Christ. Remember transformation is not a single choice, it’s a lifelong journey.
