Today is the first day of the rest of our lives, and the beginning of our journey in becoming Virtuous.
What is virtuous, according to the
Merriam Webster dictionary
virtuous is being morally excellent: righteous.
Colossians 3:5 says “Put to death what is
earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed,
which is idolatry”. How do we put these things to death? Turning away from
these acts may be easy for some, but for those women as myself the task can be
a little daunting. For those of us who have challenges at living virtuously,
how do we fix it? The answer is we DON'T, according to Mark 10:27 when the disciples asked Jesus who could be
saved, Jesus told his disciples that
with man it is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.
So there is our answer on our road to virtuosity we are not going to try and
change anything ourselves we are going to ask God and have faith. It is as
simple as that.
Now I know that as humans our faith is not always perfect,
but we can pray and ask God to help us overcome our unbelief. Praying and not
believing is a great hindrance to your prayer, having faith in God makes the
impossible possible.
How do we pray? What am I suppose to say? Will God hear me?
Why is God not answering my Prayers? These are all common question we have, and
fortunately I have a few answers.
How do we pray? What am I suppose to say?
Matthew 6:5-6
says “ When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray
standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men……But
when you pray go into your room close the door and pray to your father, who is
unseen.”
Matthew 6: 7-8
says “When you pray, do not keep on babbling like the pagans for they think
they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them for your
Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
Those scriptures really summed it up praying is just
communication with God, when you don’t always know what to say the Holy Spirit
will speak for you. Romans 8:26 states, “In the same way, the spirit helps us in our weakness.
We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Holy Spirit himself
interceded for us with groans that words cannot express". So fear not when you
pray, God loves us he gave his only begotten Son for us despite our inequities.
He wants us to have the Gift of Salvation.
Will God hear me?
YES. There are several scriptures that promise God will hear
and answer your prayers.
Psalms 34:17 says
“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all
their troubles.”
Psalms 91:15 says
“He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I
will deliver him and honor him.
All God wants us to do is seek him and have faith, he
promises to be with us always.
Why is God not answering
my prayers?
There are a few requirement from God so that he hears and
answers our prayers.
- · Faith
- · Humbleness
- · Wholeheartedness
- · Righteousness
- · Obedience
Mark 11:24
Therefore I tell
you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it
will be yours.
God requires us to believe for
what we ask for (FAITH)
2 Chronicles 7:14
If my people, who
are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and
turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive
their sin and will heal their land.
God requires us to be humble
Jeremiah 29:13
You will seek me
and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
God requires us to seek him with
our whole heart (WHOLEHEARTEDNESS)
James 5:16
Therefore confess
your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The
prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
God requires us to be righteous
1 John 3:22
And receive from
him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.
God requires us to obey his
commands (OBEDIENCE)
Now that we
understand the importance of prayer and faith let’s began our journey to
virtuosity.
Step 1
Examine yourself
2 Corinthians 13:5; "Examine
yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not
realize that Christ Jesus is in you unless, of course, you fail the test?"
Gods
characteristics are Justice, Righteousness, Love, Compassion, and Faithfulness and
we were made in his image he expects us to share in his characteristics.
Examine yourself to ensure you have these characteristics. If they are lacking PRAY and have FAITH. Your prayer can be as simple as:
Lord I come
to you, because you said in your word that if I humble myself, pray, seek you,
and turn from my wicked ways that you would hear me and forgive me of my sins.
Father I ask that you reveal anything that is not like you. I ask that you give
me the strength to turn away from those things. Give me the strength to resist all temptation.
I thank you and praise you for all the things you have done and are doing, In
the name of Jesus I pray Amen!
Feel free to pray my prayer or use it a a basis to begin your prayer
because in the end everyone’s relationship with God is individual.
Step 2
Devote time for God
" Ezekiel 44:30; The best of all
the firstfruits and of all your special gifts will belong to the priests. You
are to give them the first portion of your ground meal so that a blessing may
rest on your household."
Although we no
longer have to give sacrifices and confess to priest God still
wants us to give or firstfruits to him. Make it a point to give those first few
moments when you wake up to the Lord. You morning devotion can begin with 5 –
10 minutes reading a scripture and saying a simple prayer such as:
Lord, You are such an awesome God, there is none like
you, Thank you for waking me up this morning, Thanking for waking my children and
husband, Lord forgive me the sins I’ve committed knowing and unknowing
(acknowledge the sin that you know you committed). Lord guide my every thought,
my every step and protect me from danger and temptation. I love you and thank
you In Jesus name I pray Amen!
Step 3
Keep your mind stayed on God
Joshua 1:8;" Do not let this book
of the law depart from you, 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."
As we strive to succeed in our journey to Virtuosity
we just need to keep our minds and hearts stayed on the Lord and his
word, doing these few steps we help us in becoming successful Virtuous
Woman.
My challenge to you
and myself, take 30 days and follow these steps at the end of your 30
days comment/ testify to the changes God has made in your life.
Always remember
~Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.~
LaToya Watt
Virtuous Woman
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.~
LaToya Watt
Virtuous Woman
