HOW TO KEEP GOD FIRST

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you"

While presenting a seminar at Ottawa University, I was asked by several students how to maintain a relationship with God in the midst of challenges, such as marriage (or the desire to be married), grief, struggling to handle the burden of school, sports, and work. Regardless of the subject, the question is the same: how do I keep God first in the midst of it all?

So, I promised the students that I would write a blog addressing some of their questions and that is the motivation for today’s blog. 

The easiest response to the question of how to keep God first in your life, is to make a conscious effort to stay connected in fellowship with God on a daily basis. It includes singing words to worship/gospel songs or hymns; setting aside moments to pause and pray; and spending moments in the Word of God. 

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Reading and studying the Bible:

Today’s technology makes all of these things easier. For one, the Bible is available to us, at all times in a multitude of translations on our cell phone. One needs to look no further than the Youversion Bible App , the Bible Hub, or Bible Gateway for tools to read and study the Bible. In fact, the Youversion App has  various Bible studies on every topic you could possibly think of, including, all of the above (grief, marriage, school, sports, and work). All you have to do is search the App for a study topic, sign up for a study, and do it at your own pace. The studies are designed as a daily reading plan so that you can do a short study daily. In addition to the apps mentioned, I often use Gotquestions.com, a website that is extremely resourceful when you have general questions about spiritual matters, the Bible, theology, or religion. According to their website they are “averaging 22,000,000 pageviews per month and have received over 2,500,000,000 pageviews in their history” (See link above).  My final suggestion is the Our Daily Bread website, which not only has a short thought provoking daily reading (you can order multiple printed versions of the Our Daily Bread to share with your church, family, or friends). They also have a database of topical articles on spiritual living and Discovery Series booklets/articles that can be read online or ordered by print.

“Truly I say to you, unless you change and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven."

Prayer:

After you have developed a daily routine of studying the Bible, begin and end your study time with prayer. That gets your prayer life moving in the right direction. Pray about what you studied and ask God to help you apply it to your life’s circumstances. Like Jesus, we must seek God the Father continually, Jesus prayed often for strength - most notably during his final hour of temptation in the Garden of Gethsemane, where Luke 22:39-42 tells us: 

“[H]e came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him.  And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed,  saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (The Holy Bible, Luke 22:39-42, ESV version) 

Shortly after that prayer, soldiers entered the garden, arrested  Jesus, and took him to be crucified. Take note of the comparisons in your own life - has calamity ever hit after you prayed? Jesus was intentional about prayer, because he knew the task ahead of him. We need prayer for the tasks ahead of us.

As he hung on the cross dying for our sins  (he himself knew no sin), he prayed again: 

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots - in other words, they paid no attention to his prayer or their evil deeds, because they were intent on crucifying him and solely focused on which of them would get his garments. (The Holy Bible, Luke 23:34, ESV version) 

Further, the Scriptures records the prayer Jesus prayed before he breathed his last breath:

 “It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon,  for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When he had said this, he breathed his last.” (The Holy Bible, Luke 22:44-46, ESV version) 

If we follow Jesus’ example of prayer, trusting in God the Father, humility, and obedience, we will experience authentic Christianity.

" how do we keep the Father number one in our lives as we navigate through trials, sufferings, griefs, the stress of work, school, families, and the general pressures of life? By staying connected to God the Father. 

In this article, I have attempted to provide many helpful tools to encourage you to stay connected spiritually. These are the tools that I use. There is no easy way, no special road for super “holy people,” or anything like that.  Life happens to all of us, how we respond is critical. If your foundation is built on a solid relationship with the Father, made available through his son, seeking him daily ensures that your inner strength will be built and your mental toughness will increase, as you apply the Word of God your mind is renewed. You will find hope to hang on in the dark places.

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I close with this prayer from the Apostle Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus:

"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power." Ephesians 1:17-19