Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. - Joshua 1:8 (NLT)

Every relationship needs growth. A relationship that doesn't grow lacks depth. God wants each and everyone of us to be strongly rooted in Him. In the beginning, when He created the Heavens and the Earth, He made an environment before He created man. He made the waters for the fish. He made the earth to produce grass and different kinds of vegetation. When He made us, He spoke to Himself and pulled us out of His own being. 

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. - Genesis 1:27 (NKJV)

When you look at the happenings in the garden of Eden, you'll notice that everything that was made and created only functioned in accordance with the environment that the thing was created in. The fish thrived in the sea. The vegetation grew out of the Earth. Man functioned as He related and communed with God. We were created in the image of God for the specific function of relating with our creator.  

Created for fellowship 

You are my son. So listen to what I say. Do not listen when people teach you other things. There are many books. If you study them all, you will be very tired.13 With a few words, I can describe everything that you must know. You should worship God. He says to you what you should do. And you should do what he says. That is our duty. - Ecclesiastes 12:12-13 (EASY)

There's many things that we pick up from our culture. The culture we are born in. Even the culture that we find in the world. Everything around us teaches us something. We have to be careful and pay attention to what we listen to. Much as I like culture and discovering people's ways of lives, I cant adopt everything. Some things look nice outwardly, but we never even know what those things represent. 

In some African cultures, we are taught how to behave well in front of people. We are taught how to do many things. And I appreciate that. But there's also many traditional practices that are just occultic and satanic in their very nature. Friends, Spirituality is real. Don't just get involved in anything because it looks nice or attractive. Don't allow yourself to get marks on your body. Do what the bible says. 

The bible says, "You should worship God. He says to you what you should do. And you should do what he says." If the bible is against some things that are accepted in our culture, then we would have to divorce ourselves from these cultural practices. This world, is not our home. At least, for the believer, it is true. 

Living for Christ

For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. - Philippians 1:21 (NLT)

Living for Christ is everything. When we develop a relationship with God through Christ, we have to be deliberate about growing in our relationship with the creator. Lack of depth, equates to shallowness. Living for Christ is challenging. I can promise that. But when you grow to the point where you cannot do anything without God, it becomes easier to deny certain things. When you know who you are, you know who you are not. When you do not know who you are, anybody can ascribe an identity to you. 

Our identity is in Christ. We know this now. It's the first chapter of this book. We hail from God. A lot of growing happens when we are single. Everything in life has it's season. There's time to date. There's time for an engagement. There's time to marry. There's also time to have children. But did you know, that everything else that happens after you start dating is strongly dependent on how well you functioned as a single person? If everything has it's season, it should mean, everything has a specific function in enhancing our growth. What are some of the things we should be doing as we pursue God? 

Have a prayer life

I received Christ in 2014 and for the rest of the year I enrolled into the class of prayer warriors. A title that I believe you are aware of. I discovered that the average Christian complains and doesn't pray. Or if they pray, there's no fellowship. Sometimes there is, but it's rushed and quickly done away with. There's a place in growth where we stumble and fall. But that shouldn't be how we live our entire lives. Did you ever wonder how somebody could be a Christian 20 years and yet seem to have no authority whatsoever? Christianity is real. It's not a religion we identify with. Christianity is centered around Jesus. He is not the founder. He is Christianity. Christianity is Jesus. I also realize that it's not about how long we have been saved. It's about the condition of our spirituality right now. I know people who were saved just last year and who are so prayerful. Everything about our spirituality depends on prayer.

Prayer changes things

About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: "This is what the Lord says: 'Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.'" - Isaiah 38:1 (NLT)

when you have a problem or no problems at all, pray. Prayer is real also. We have to believe that prayer changes situations. God only responds to prayer. Why? Because that's the only place to meet Him. We meet God in prayer. When you decide pray, God journeys to you. When you don't pray, nothing happens. The only thing that will cause God to meet you is when you decide to pray. 

Hezekiah prayed 

When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 "Remember, O Lord, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you." Then he broke down and wept bitterly. - Isaiah 38:2-3 (NLT)

I love Hezekiah. The bible says, "When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord." It is time to turn our faces to the wall and pray. He didn't freak out. He didn't get scared. He prayed. When you pray, it shows you have faith in God. Prayerlessness is a result of unbelief in God. When we don't pray, it shows we don't really believe God. Hezekiah prayed. He didn't give up. He couldn't give up. He prayed. Let's not give up on God. He is all we have. We all have failed at some point in our lives. But we can start now and have a healthy prayer life.

God heard Hezekiah's prayer 

 Then this message came to Isaiah from the Lord: 5 "Go back to Hezekiah and tell him, 'This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will add fifteen years to your life, 6 and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. Yes, I will defend this city. - Isaiah 38:4-6 (NLT)

How could God change His mind, as powerful as He is? God responds to prayer. Prayer attracts God's presence in our lives. We cannot experience the richness of our relationships with God without prayer. Prayer brings God near to us. In the secret place of daily communion, there lies Almighty God ready to respond in accordance with our prayers. There's times we complain and wonder if God ever hears us. Usually we say that if something has stayed in our lives for so long. What the devil likes to do is to exhaust us and to cause us not to pray. Prayer is our only escape. 

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. - Psalm 91:1 (NLT)

Prayer keeps us where God is. If God lived in a physical locality, prayer would be the place where we met Him. Let's grow in God and live our lives for Jesus Christ. He lived for us. All Jesus ever did was live for us. We can do the same. Especially in our relationships. Shalom. 

Note: Thank you so much readers. May God bless you! Thank you.