Prayer For A Fruitful Week

100+ Happy New Week – Inspirational Messages, Quotes And Prayers

Prayer For A Fruitful Week

Happy New Week Inspirational Quotes and Prayers

No better way to begin a new week than with a prayer and Good will message. It gives you a boost and the inspiration to face the challenges of a new week. Send any of these Happy New Week Inspirational Messages, Quotes and Prayers to your loved ones, friends, colleagues or boss and they will be grateful for your thoughtfulness.

Happy New Week Inspirational Messages And Prayers For Friends

  • Embrace the week with enthusiasm. Be alert for new opportunities. Utilise them. You will succeed. Have a great week ahead.
  • The journey to success begins with a step. Take that step this week. Believe! Achieve!
  • You are an Eagle in flight. No one can stand in your way this week. Go and do exploits.
  • No one dares stand in the way of a moving train. This week, you will be unstoppable. Have a great week ahead.
  • Forget about the failures of the past week. This week is an opportunity to do better. Look ahead! Be great!
  • Forget the past, embrace the future and the possibilities it presents. Have a great week.
  • Light up that fire within you. Be anything you want to be. Have a great week.

Happy New Week Messages

  • No matter how tough it gets this week, keep going.
  • Let your purpose consume you this week, go for excellence!
  • Three things you shouldn’t lose this week; your faith, your courage and your smile. Happy new week.
  • You’re an embodiment of virtue. Let the world taste of your awesomeness this week. Have a great week ahead.

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  • Think smart, work smarter. Achieve great results. Happy new week.
  • Opportunities hide in unexpected places, you only need to look closely. Have a great week ahead.
  • Do not be afraid to shine this week. When you shine, you invariably give others permission to do the same. Shine! Shine brightly!
  • The world awaits you this week. Go show it the stuff you’re made of.
  • As the new week presents you with opportunities and choices to decide on, may God grant you discernment to make the right decisions. Happy new week.
  • May the world gather to celebrate you this week. Have a good week.
  • May all your endeavours this week yield good success. May none of your efforts go to waste. Have a great week ahead.
  • This new week, men will gather to the light of your shinning. Happy new week.
  • This new week, may you be blessed with blessings from above, the kind of blessings that makes everyone gape in awe. Happy new week.
  • May opportunities abound for you this week. Every of your past failures will be converted to success. You will find a way where there seems to be no way. Happy new week.

Happy New Week Messages

Happy New Week Inspirational Messages And Prayers For A Colleague

  • The past week was awesome. This new week will be super. Let’s go face it. Happy new week.
  • Working with you is one of my greatest experiences ever. I look forward to the new week working together. Cheers to a great week ahead.

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  • You’re one of the best people to have on a team. You’re a strong link and I rely on you. Happy new week.
  • Happy new week to my favourite colleague. I look forward to seeing you. Happy new week.
  • We did it last week. We can do it again this week, even better. Let’s be awesome together. Happy new week.
  • With you, work is fun. Let’s do it again. Cheers to a great week.
  • You’re a smart worker. Your dedication to duty is inspiring. I look forward to working with you again this week. Have a great one.
  • Working with you is so refreshing. I look forward to every work experience with you. Here’s to a great week ahead.
  • Here’s wishing a colleague turned friend a great week. Be the best you can be this week. I believe in you.
  • We’re a great team, we’re family. Here’s to a great week of success and great achievements. Happy new week.
  • Last week didn’t turn out as we hoped. Trusting that this week will be better. Here’s to a week of possibilities. Happy new week.
  • I hope you put last week behind you already. We’re gonna give it our best shot this week. This week will definitely be better. Be positive.
  • Shake off the weekend blues. Activate work mode. It’s a new week, cheers.
  • Thank you for always lending a helping hand when needed. You’re great to work with. Happy new week.
  • You need to downsize your ego this week so we can get along. It won’t stop me from wishing you a happy new week anyway. So here’s wishing you a great week.

Exam Success Wishes, Messages and Prayers

  • You’re bone stuck in my throat, but we achieve great results together. So here’s to another week of results. Happy new week.
  • Holler teammate, it’s a new week. May it be great for us. Happy new week.
  • May all your efforts this week yield fruitful results. Happy new week colleague.
  • We work so hard, we strive so hard. May we prosper this week.
  • May sweet reward attend our labour this week. God bless you colleague. Happy new week.

Happy New Week Inspirational Messages And Prayers For Him

  • No one stands in the way of a champion. No one will stand in your way this week sweetheart. Go on and prosper. Happy new week.
  • It’s a new week darling. Go ahead and be awesome. Go make me proud as always. Happy new week.
  • A new week is here. Another week to do us proud. I believe so much in you darling. Have a great one.
  • No one deserves to succeed more than you, my hardworking man. May all your efforts count and amount to good success. Happy new week.
  • The Lord crown your efforts this week and establish you as the head. God bless you my darling. Happy new week.
  • Get up sleepy head. I’d love to wrap you in my arms all week long but duty calls. So get along and do great things. Happy new week.

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  • I believe in you darling. I trust in your amazing abilities. You have so much to offer to the world. Shine! Happy new week.
  • As you go this week, may favour attend you and blessings line your path. Happy new week darling.
  • See possibilities, see opportunities. I’m rooting for you sweetheart. Happy new week.

Happy New Week Messages

  • Last week didn’t go as expected. But we can’t let one bad experience get us down. I’m positive this new week will better. Have a great week.
  • Forget about the failures of the last week. It’s in the past. Here’s to an amazing week of possibilities. Happy new week sweetheart.
  • Go for excellence. Be the best you can. I believe in you dear. Happy new week.
  • Happy new week to an amazing man. Your best is yet to come. Go and prosper.

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  • Your labour this week will be sweet. Your harvest will be bountiful and your soul will be satisfied. Happy new week my dearest.
  • As you go this week to pursue excellence, know that you have the backing of a woman who loves and believes in you. It shall be well with you.
  • You’re tougher than every challenge you may ly face this week. You have great potentials within. You are way stronger than whatever comes to you. Happy new week my darling.
  • I know firsthand the exploits your hands are capable of doing. Do exploits this week my darling, make me proud as always.

Top Happy New Month Messages, Wishes, Sms and Prayers

  • This week, may you be the shinning diamond in the midst of this miry world. Happy new week sweets.
  • I know how hard you work, this week, may the breakthrough you truly deserve locate you. This week, you will surely smile. Happy new week.
  • Go in your strength this week, go in your might. The Lord backs you, I’m right behind you. You will not fail.

Happy New Week Inspirational Messages And Prayers For Her

  • Your beautiful, delicate hands are the strongest I know. May they bring in bountiful harvest this week. Happy new week my sweetest.

Happy New Week Messages

  • Happy new week, beautiful sweetheart, may you be all that you were meant to be this week. Xoxo.
  • The world awaits you this week honey and you’ve got so much to offer. May this be your best week yet. Happy new week.
  • Anyone who underestimates you has not seen what you’re capable of and does so at his risk.  Go this week darling and be awesome. I love you.

Cute I Miss You Messages, Quotes and Ideas For Loved Ones

  • You’ve got it in you baby, the stuff it takes to make the world better. Be you this week, be great. Happy new week.
  • I would serve you the world on a platter, but you need the fulfillment and satisfaction work gives. So here’s to a week of work and fulfillment. Happy new week.
  • May long awaited opportunities locate you this week. May every past failure be forgotten.
  • Look within and find the inspiration to forge ahead this week. I’m counting on you darling, happy new week.
  • You have my support, whatever you set your mind to achieve this week. I believe in you. Happy new week.
  • You’re the best woman for the job. Go kick ass baby. Happy new week.
  • Happy new week to my super amazing strong woman. May this week bring you all that you desire.
  • I’d wrap you in my arms all week long but we gotta eat baby. In other words, it’s time to get going. Happy new week.

Источник: //poemore.com/happy-new-week-inspirational-quotes-prayers/

3 Powerful Prayer Practices for a More Fruitful Ministry

Prayer For A Fruitful Week

You can be a pastor who maintains a powerful prayer connection to Jesus.

It’s less about inspiration than it is about prayer habits, practices, and systems woven into your days that will keep you near to Jesus and bring his mighty power into your life and ministry.

What are your prayer practices? How are they working for you? Maybe ready for a little something new?

As you read on, ask the Holy Spirit to nudge you about the practices he wants in your prayer life these days.

These three practices shape my life and ministry and I recommend them to you, my friend

In the middle of all the demands on your time, Pastor, there’s Jesus.

1. Getting into a Prayer Rut

In most areas of life, ruts are a bad thing.

Drive your car over one and, ouch, there goes the alignment. Let your marriage get into one and you will be bored and dissatisfied.

But when it comes to spiritual exercises, ruts can be a really good thing.

My favorite rut is my morning prayer

First thing every morning, I pray four things for myself, my family, my church and my staff. I pray for the salvation of five of my family members.

I thank God for the new day and ask Him to use me to add value to each person I will be meeting with. (I use my calendar for that part.)

I pray almost the same thing in almost the same words every morning.

This rut has a cleansing effect on me. It draws me close to the Lord and drives His power into my life and concerns.

On the rare days when I don’t practice this prayer rut, I feel something is missing all day long. I have other things and people I pray for throughout the day, but this first prayer of the day is a no-brainer for me.

Infrequently-practiced disciplines can be a chore. Routinely-practiced disciplines become a joy.

2. A Prayer I Pray Every Morning

1 Chronicles 4:10 contains one of the shortest, simplest, most powerful prayers ever prayed:

“Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, ‘Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.’ And God granted his request.”

I pray these four prayers from 1 Chronicles 4 every morning:

  1. Lord, would you bless me today in every way YOU want to bless me.
  2. Would you increase my territory so that I can be used more effectively by you.
  3. Would you place your hand upon me, and use it to touch others.
  4. And would you keep me from harm and harm from me.

These are prayers God wants to answer.

God wants to bless his people. But he often waits until we ask.

So ask!

The key is to ask him to bless you in the ways he wants to bless you

You have some ideas, but give him permission to fulfill his ideas for blessing you.

God wants to increase the size of your responsibilities.

Jesus came to build his church. Ask him to entrust as much of the building of it to you as you can handle. Then ask him to enlarge the territory of your heart and character so you can handle more.

Life on earth is about training for reigning with him in heaven. Grow as big as you can.

God wants to place his hand upon you. Invite him to do so every day.

And God wants to steer you toward significance and away from pain (unless that pain will result in your gain), so ask him for that also. Jabez did, and “God granted his request.”

I not only pray this prayer for myself, I pray it for my family and staff every day.

I have discovered that there seems to be a cumulative effect to this prayer. It could be that prayers are seeds sown in the ground. You pray them and tend them, and after an interval, they begin to sprout and grow.

“I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and my prayer.” – Psalm 17:6

3. A Dangerous Prayer

Twenty-one years ago I prayed a prayer that has changed me more than any other. It changed my vocation, location, orientation, and just about every other “ation” in my life.

The prayer?

Nineteen words. Twenty-one syllables. Seventy letters. One request.

I prayed that prayer every day for ninety days. By the end of it, I was a new man.

I was no longer content to serve the church. I was compelled to serve God and his purposes in the world.

At the time, I was an associate pastor in a nice, safe church in rural Colorado. I was content with that. I planned to stay there for a long, long time.

But the prayer – or, the Lord – wouldn’t let me. The prayer moved me to San Diego County, where I founded New Song Church, a church focused on reaching the lost.

In 2018, over 20,000 people have received Christ through New Song’s ministries. We’ve helped start fifteen churches and seven parachurch ministries or outreach-focused companies, one of which has planted 270,000 churches.

I am in awe of what God has done.

Here’s what I know about this dangerous prayer:

1. A simple prayer really can change you.

2. God’s great desire is that all people come to know him.

3. God uses ordinary people who are willing to take extraordinary risks.

4. The community you live in will only be reached if people you pray dangerous prayers and get about the business of building Christ’s church.

5. Churches that reach out are led by pastors who are compelled by God to reach their communities.

Most of these outreach-oriented pastors don’t see themselves as overly impressive. They’re just convicted to their core that they must mobilize people to reach out because they are convinced that this is God’s primary purpose for them, and for their people.

What’s Next?

What are you thinking right now? That’s what you should do!

Pray, and make a plan for adding new prayer practices into your week.

Further Reading

Hal Seed is the founding and Lead Pastor of New Song Community Church in Oceanside, CA. He mentors pastors who want to lead healthy, growing churches with resources at www.pastormentor.com.

Start Here to learn more about the resources available for you at PastorMentor.

Источник: //www.pastormentor.com/powerful-prayer-practices/

Be Fruitful And Multiply Bible Verse Meaning And Study

Prayer For A Fruitful Week

Why did God tell Adam and Eve and Noah and his family to be fruitful and multiply?

Be Fruitful

Just after God created man, He placed him in the garden and gave him dominion over the earth saying “let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (Gen 1:26). Shortly after this, “God blessed them.

And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen 1:28).

This meant that man had dominion over “every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.

And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food” (Gen 1:29-30). God told man to be fruitful and multiply and to fill the earth so what is the meaning of the phrase “be fruitful and multiply?”

Noah’s Command

Just after the flood of judgment poured out by God on a decadent and immoral world and the flood waters receded, God told Noah “Go out from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you.

Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth—that they may swarm on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth” (Gen 8:16-17) “So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him.

Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by families from the ark” (Gen 8:18-19). This command was not only given to Noah and his family but also to every living creature that came the ark so the command to “be fruitful and multiply on the earth” was not only directed to Noah and his family but to the creatures of the world too.

Just as in Genesis, when the earth was uninhabited, God told Noah to refill or repopulate the earth that the flood had wiped out so Noah and his family and all the creatures left the ark and were fruitful (reproducing) and filled the earth once more with life.

Called to Celibacy?

Not everyone is called to be fruitful and multiply.

Paul wrote that “he who marries his betrothed does well, and he who refrains from marriage will do even better” (1st Cor 7:38) and even Jesus once said “there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.

Let the one who is able to receive this receive it” (Matt 19:12). Jesus also said of those who left mother, brother, sister, wife, or husband for His sake, there are none “who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life” (Mark 10:30).

The Children of God

God has children. It is those who have repented and put their trust in Christ and for His sake, they put all others and all possessions behind Him. He is foremost in their lives.

The Apostle John wrote of us being the children of God in the present tense, writing that “we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be him, because we shall see him as he is” (1st John 3:2).

After the Sadducees had asked Jesus about the resurrection, He told them “they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons (and daughters) of the resurrection” (Luke 20:36).

Unfortunately, the Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection, even though the Bible is clear that there will be one (Dan 12:1-3; Rev 20:12-15). Had they not read the Scriptures? Jesus said, time and time again things “the peacemakers…shall be called sons (and daughters) of God” (Matt 5:9).

Conclusion

I would ask you to “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him” (1st John 3:1).

You have one of two fathers; the Devil or the Father. You must decide today, if you haven’t already done so, to repent and put your trust in Christ, or you will have the same fate as Satan and all his demons (Rev 20:10).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.

Источник: //www.patheos.com/blogs/christiancrier/2015/11/16/be-fruitful-and-multiply-bible-verse-meaning-and-study/

21 Scriptures To Pray & Meditate On For A Fruitful New Year

Prayer For A Fruitful Week

(Source)

Happy New Year, friends!

Do you need His promise this next year?

God’s promises in His Word are our best hedge against discouragement and unbelief.  With this new year right here before us, we look to the Bible for direction by meditating on God’s Word:

“This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you.” ~Exodus 12:2

New Birth – A Living Hope

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” ~1 Peter 1:3

Hope For the Future

“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”  ~Proverbs 16:9

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” ~Jeremiah 29:11

“You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance.”  ~Psalm 65:11

A New Creation

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” ~2 Corinthians 5:17

A New Heart

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols.

And I will give you a new heart with new and right desires, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony heart of sin and give you a new, obedient heart.

And I will put my Spirit in you so you will obey my laws and do whatever I command.” ~Ezekiel 36:25-27

Forgetting the Past

“No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.” ~Philippians 3:13-14

Learning from Past Mistakes

“Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” ~Hebr. 12:10-11 

Wait On the Lord

“Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.” ~Psalm 37:7 (NLT)

“Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” ~Isaiah 40:3

God’s Timing is Perfect

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” ~Ecclesiastes 3:11

Each New Day is Special

“The unfailing love of the LORD never ends! By his mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day. I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” ~Lamentations 3:22-24

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” ~Isaiah 43:18-19

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” ~Matthew 5:16

“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”  ~Psalm 90:12

Healthy Spiritual Habits

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” ~Hebrews 10:24-25

A Road Map

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”  ~Proverbs 3:5-6

“…make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.” ~2 Peter 1:3-10

“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” ~Psalm 34:8

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”~Romans 12:1

So let’s continually dwell on the rich, soul-filling Word of God! Have a blessed New Year!

And check out my 2018 Reading List: New And {Worthy To Be Revisited} Older Books

If you’ve been encouraged or informed by something you’ve read here at Deep Roots, please consider liking my page on , joining us on Pinterest, or subscribing to the helpful email resources. Thank you!

Источник: //deeprootsathome.com/happy-new-year-and-scriptures-for-a-new-year/

Fruitful prayer and Bible study begin with changed desires — Southern Equip

Prayer For A Fruitful Week

Often, when we come to spiritual disciplines we list them, plan for them, and then labor to perform them. In the best scenario, we realize—sooner rather than later—we can’t do them apart from the power of the Holy Spirit. And so we pray and ask God to help us.

Yet, such an approach may go wrong from the start. Why? Because we put the law (and its list) in front of the gospel (and its power).

In other words, when we devote ourselves to discipline, we “covenant” with a bank of rules we trust to make us better—better people, better Christians, better (fill in the blank).

But of course, the law never brings life and can only be a delight when God has written his law on our heart.

The problem with any lawful approach to discipline, however, it not that it contains laws. The gospel is not antinomian—lawless. The third use of the law is a gift to the growing disciple.

The problem is when we call upon the Spirit to assist us after our plan is put in place. Now granted, if you’re setting out to read the Bible, pray, and fast, you have already taken your cues from the Spirit’s inspired Word—especially, on that last discipline.

But still the root cause of burnout remains. What is that? The problem of desire.

Spiritual Desire is the Key to Spiritual Discipline

In You Are What You Love, James K. A.

Smith reminds us that we are not “thinking-things” (Descartes), but “loving-things” (Augustine), creatures who follow our passions and desires more than any well-reasoned directive.

Smith illustrates the point with his transformation in eating. Leaving behind his “meat and potatoes” diet with no room for vegetables, he now craves Greek Yogurt and salads—so he says.

He recounts the process of transformation and how his mental beliefs outran his bodily appetites. (Rosaria Butterfield speaks of the same reality in her interview with Mark Dever).

Reading Wendell Berry in a Costco food court—the height of hypocrisy, one might say—Smith explains how our spiritual appetites also lag behind our acquired knowledge.

The point he makes about bodily appetites is the point I want to make about spiritual ones.

If our minds are convinced that we need to read the Bible, pray, go church, and stop watching so much TV, but our hearts (and bodies) still long to sleep in, browse the Internet, and go shopping, then the problem is less our thinking and more our desiring. Come up with the best plan, tether it to a dozen apps and reminders, and it will still fail.

The heart will pull us after its own desire.

As we know too well, there’s a gap between what we know and what we do. “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (Rom. 7:15). Moreover, the habits of life given to us by the culture, “secular liturgies” as Smith calls them, train us to fill ourselves on other appetizers.

In such cases, the best laid plan for spiritual discipleship fails because it is not matched by spiritual hunger. But to make matters even worse, such a desire is cultivated by following a routine of spiritual disciplines. What will break the cycle of spiritual disinterest? What is the source of spiritual hunger that might impel our disciplines and result in true communion with God?

The Birth of a New Desire

The unsurprising but truthful answer is God. Only God can create, sustain, and increase our spiritual appetites.

Only God can order our days such that we get the daily bread we need and the space and time and desire to commune with him. Indeed, just as God the Father sought us in salvation, when we lacked desire for him (Rom.

10:20); so we depend on God the Spirit to convict, agitate, implant, empower, and enlarge a new appetite in us.

This is our hope. It comes from God and is born in the new birth. In conversion, the seed of the Word produces life, but it also produces a new spiritual appetite. This is what Ezekiel 36 means when it says,

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. (26–27)

What a glorious gift, the new birth is. Not only does God justify us when he gives us faith; he also empowers us to begin a life of sanctification. The spiritual disciplines are the “free weights,” if you will, that enable the child of God to grow in spiritual strength. And while at the start we may not feel any pleasure in a spiritual regimen, the new life presses us forward.

In You Are What You Love, Smith rightly addresses the power of habit, but he overlooks the new birth.

He explains how bodily habits and spiritual disciplines transform us, but he forgets (I trust, he assumes) the power that comes from the spiritual life within.

This desire for God as given in the new birth is the source of strength for every spiritual discipline. And then, and only then, in cooperation with the Spirit, do we have power to say ‘no’ to ungodliness and walk in new ways.

Perseverance, therefore, is not (ultimately) attributable to the choices of an individual. It, everything else, is a gift of grace. Reading the Bible, understanding the Bible, and desiring the Bible are all fruit of the Spirit. And thus, the child of God who wants God but doesn’t want him enough, is led to cry out the man in Mark 9:24: “I desire, help me desire.”

To be clear, this emphasis on the affections does not undermine truth. It is a humanity-affirming, appetite-embracing truth in itself. We are not saved by knowing truth but by loving truth and thereby abiding in it (see John 8:32; 2 Thess. 2:10). Such desire for God is what ultimately overcomes the difficulties associated with the spiritual disciplines.

Discipline begins with desire

As you make plans for the New Year, let me encourage you to take seriously Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 4:7, “Discipline yourself for godliness” (NASB).

Only, in all your well-laid plans, do not forget self-discipline is both given by the Spirit (Gal. 5:23) and sustained by desire. Therefore, the first spiritual discipline is not just establishing a list of improved habits.

It is the prayer-full cry for God to enflame your desires for him.

Indeed, the whole point of Bible reading, journaling, service, etc. is for our affections for the Lord—and the affections of others in the Lord—to increase.

Yes, this comes through regular exercise of the spiritual disciplines, but the underlying endurance comes from a hungering and thirsting for righteousness.

Therefore, as we enter into 2017, let us do so praying for God to give us more of himself—first by awakening a desire within us and then by cultivating habits of Scripture and prayer centered around him.

Источник: //equip.sbts.edu/article/desiring-disciplines-matter-heart/

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