The journey of prayer #4 "Living in prayer"

I realized something about life recently. 

"To truly live is to experience the Word of God."

This just popped up in my head one day as I was remembering all that's happened in the past few months, and how God's been faithful to me all along. There were moments I felt far from God, moments that were once drowning in guilt and shame, but now clothed in His mercy and forgiveness. There were moments that I truly felt the Word of God in action: in my life and flowing through me. Moments when my life felt like it was no longer mine but His, were the most exciting and joyful, unearthly moments that made me feel most alive. 

Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to live within us when he was resurrected into heaven. We are given every opportunity to experience Him at all moments of our lives when we believe. But then why can't we feel the excitement, the fire, the passion all the time...? Why can't we always live in a spiritual high...? These were the questions I had.  I want to be always dramatically passionate and so deeply in love with God. And there's nothing wrong with wanting to be in love with God all the time. 

But, living on the Word sometimes isn't pleasant. 

Maybe the Bible is telling us not to do something we want to do. Like honoring our parents and obeying them, or not having one-night stands. Or perhaps, to love those who are just mean and unfair. Maybe God's Word seems old and outdated and against the popular views in the current society. Maybe the life based on the Word just seems uncool. Maybe living on the Word is causing you pain because it's telling you to leave the old lifestyle. (I know, the struggle really is real. It's easy to hide your struggles from other people maybe, but man, it's hard to quit something that's been always a part of your life.) 

Anyways, living on the Word is not a piece of cake. Neither is loving and honoring our God through our daily decisions and choices. The life of sin is not easy to cut off, and it's just so much easier to live in sin. After all, it shouldn't be, since we've been under the chains of sin for a long, long time. 

How can we live then, a life that experiences the Word of God?

One thing that makes the life of a believer different from all the people who do not believe, is hope.  We are given the hope, that promises us not just an eternity in heaven with God himself, but the hope that is here and now. We have hope, here and now. 

We have the hope that the Holy Spirit will give us strength to obey God's Word. We have hope that no matter how much we hate someone, God will give us His love so we can love our enemies as He loved us. We have hope that no matter how difficult it is to stay pure and overcome sexual temptations, God will change our hearts to pursue purity and give us the strength to overcome. We have hope that no matter how lonely we may feel, the Holy Spirit will never leave us, and will always give us peace. We have hope in the knowledge that, no matter how sweet the old lifestyle may appear, that this new life in Christ is truly joyful and satisfying from the soul to the body to the mind an everywhere. This hope is given to us, here and now. Jesus had sent us the Holy Spirit to strengthen us and encourage us in these discouraging times. 

This is why we are able to truly live and experience the Word of God in our lives. The Holy Spirit is our greatest comforter, and will never ignore us. The Holy Spirit is always willing to love us, to teach us, humble us, and to lead us in ways that are according to God's will. All we need is to ask. 

Just ask. 

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." (Matthew 7:7)

How often do we ask the Lord to strengthen us? To help us overcome temptations, to encourage us to love others...? Most often we don't even notice our weakness and needy selves. Most often, we don't even remember that we are sinners. I've been praying recently, asking God to remind me of my weakness and sinfulness, because I certainly do not remember. We are just that bad at keeping in touch with Him (we're worse than we think...) 

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." (Colossians 4:2)

What do you think would happen if we take this passage literally and apply it in our daily lives? I mean, we have all the reasons to pray, and no reason not to pray. Growing up, I watched my parents pray all day, repeatedly about the most random things, like when my dad forgot his glasses, my mom would pray so my dad won't get into a car accident. When my siblings had cramps, my dad would lay hands on them and pray. When I lost an eraser, my mom would pray that it'd be found. Prayer was something that came naturally to me for most of my life.

When I left home for college, however, prayer became less and less frequent. I stopped praying before meals, and I only prayed when it was the last resort. It became just a backup plan and more like a faithless wish-making. This affected my life more than I realized. A life without prayer was a life without hope, a life that was easily tossed and blown by the wind, a life with more complaints than giving thanks, and a life that was so... colorless. 

Prayer gives life color.

Maybe it's a prayer of thanksgiving: "Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18)

Maybe it's a prayer of repentance: "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord," (Acts 3:19)

Maybe it's a prayer of praise: "speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Ephesians 5:19-20)

Maybe it's a prayer of supplication: "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." (1 John 5:14)

Prayer is applicable in all areas of life, here and now. Whether the ups and downs, highs and lows in life, no matter where we are, who we are with, how messed up we are or how good we've been, nothing can come between us and God. Nothing can interfere in our call to God. There are all the reasons to pray and no reason not to pray. Maybe you're considering buying something, consult God about it. Maybe you're bored and don't know what to do, ask God to inspire you. Maybe you're feeling uneasy about something, ask Him for wisdom. Living in prayer, and living a life that experiences the Word of God requires conscious actions of returning to God. 

"We have to get into the habit of hearing to God about everything, to form the habit of finding out what God says." (My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers) 

It is difficult to always turn to God, but I believe that as long as we keep trying even when we fail, God by His mercy will change us and make us more like Jesus. He has promised us hope of a new life, and through Jesus, we know that God is faithful and keeps His promises. We have hope here and now, that the Holy Spirit will help us and that God, by His mercy is always excited to let us experience his Word in this life. I pray that we would live in prayer and taste the Word in this life more and more. :)