How to Build a Strong Relationship with God | Meet the "Have Nots"
To understand how to build a strong relationship with God you must be willing to give up your worldly pursuits, put your life in God's hands and trust Jesus to fulfill all your needs.
What do I mean by give up your worldly pursuits? Well, I don't mean go and quit your job, but learning to rely on Jesus to bring the blessings into your life that will help you to grow in Him and help you to prosper in all you do.
By relying on Jesus through prayer, study of the Word of God, going to church, etc. you develop a sense of you do not have to rely on yourself all by yourself to have your needs met.
And not only will Jesus meet your needs, He will exceed them greatly over time when you learn to trust Him.
God enjoys very much when His people rely on Him and trust Him for their needs and prosperity and He also enjoys to make their cups runneth over in its due time.
You will have to give up some of your 'face' time on your devices to spend time with God in prayer and the study of His Word, but the reward is the incredible change in your life brought about by no longer going it alone.
Meet the "Have Nots"
James 4:1-10
1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Sometimes our wants are in conflict with God's will.
Who are the "have nots"? Believers who have forfeited their relationship with God for sensual worldly need attempts at fulfillment.
The epicenter of our pleasure should be God's will instead of shopping, video games, TV, computer, iphone or even recreation.
The "have nots" fight and war among themselves.
The desires we have in our flesh is exaulted above the Lord and always results in fighting and wars.
For example, on social media, the people talking about cryptocurrencies are a dime a dozen but they fight with each other to be heard above the next crytpo talker.
Fear the Lord, Wait on Him and Follow Him
My food, my pleasure is to do God's will.
Am I in the Father's will? If yes, then let the good times roll.
What is the principle motive for your pleasure?
Is it of the flesh or do you seek to do God's will?
Leading life by your own wisdom is folly.
Fear the Lord, wait on Him and follow Him.
Proverbs 3:7
7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.
Psalm 27:14
14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
Philippians 4:19-20
19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
20 Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Rely on God to Supply All Your Needs
Whether your needs are spiritual or physical, God has you covered when you trust Him and take time to build a relationship with Him through prayer, study of the Word of God, going to Church, being charitable and overall loving Him and your neighbor.
God supplies your needs and not your greed, but when we ask, we ask amiss.
The spirit of God yearns to have a relationship with us and it yearns jealously.
Sometimes God doesn't answer prayer right away, it's a matter of timing, but instead of waiting on the Lord we go out looking to fulfill our needs with worldy devices.
1 John 2:15-17
15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Check Your Pride
"Have nots" are proud and pride is of the devil.
Proverbs 16:18
18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
The Antidotes...
Submit to God so you are not a "have not" and can resist the devil and the devil will flee from you because he is a coward.
The devil is more afraid of you than you should be of him.
Submit is a military term, "to be subordinated" or "to render obedience."
Second, be active in prayer with discipline.
Third, Resist the worldly temptations with faith.
And last but not least be saved by grace. Humble yourself before the Lord and He will lift you up.
1 Corinthians 9:27
27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
1 Peter 5:8-10
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
2 Corinthians 12:9
9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2 Corinthians 7:9-10
9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
You may like my previous articles on how to pray effectively and understanding faith and works.
If you have any questions or comments leave them below and I will be sure to reply as soon as possible.
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God Bless You
The Grim Reaper Preacher says, "Try reading the Bible from cover to cover - you'll like it."
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To have a strong relationship with God your relationship with God must be the most important thing in your life.
To be saved you need to repent of your sins, accept what Jesus did on the cross as payment for those sins, and you need to accept Jesus as Lord. It's not enough to know he died for you. Salvation is a gift that you must consciously accept or you don't have it.
Once you're saved you need to pray regularly, read the Bible regularly, go to church regularly, and grow in obedience. You can pray using the ACTS model of adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. It's important that you talk to God. Don't just recite the prayers of others. Name your sins and confess them. Don't just say, "I confess my sins." That's worthless. You should praise God for who he is and thank God for what he's done.
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