Christianity is a religion and if you want to grow as a christian you must be religious
Religion according to Wikipedia is a social-cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that falsely relate humanity to supernatural, transcendental, and spiritual elements.’
Every human being is saved by faith because through faith we believe in the finished works of Christ. Now if you want to grow as a believer, you would need to put in the work. The question is ‘how can I grow as a Christian?’ And the answer is simple, having an effective prayer life is one of the greatest ways to grow as a believer.
Praying can both be a herculean task or a walk in the park yet praying is expedient for every believers’ spiritual growth.
Now to the tea, How can I build an effective prayer life?
By Praying: The best way to build an effective prayer life is by taking the first step to pray. Your desire to pray or you thinking about praying alone is not the same as praying. The best way to communicate your thought to someone is by outrightly communicating it, because mere thoughts alone would not communicate anything to anybody. For a baby to be able to walk that baby has to take baby steps by standing up to walk and this principle applies to praying. Whenever a baby is trying to walk, more often than none the baby is always supported by their parents, and in the same vein, it’s until you start praying before God would help you build a better prayer life.
Build a structure: You can not pray effectively without you setting a structure or routine. Research shows that one’s body adapts to anything done consistently over a period of time. For example, using a school setting, classes are expected to start by 8;00 am daily come rain come shine and every student has to abide by this. In the same way, you would need to create a set/ fixed prayer time for praying, although you might not feel like praying at the fixed time, regardless you must still pray at the set time. Be realistic with this set structure and start gradually, for example, if you can consistently pray for 15 minutes every day, stick to that consistently and grow with it.
Be a part of a Christian community: ‘Where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them Mathew 18:20’. Sometimes praying alone gets more difficult than usual which is why having a community or a local church would help strengthen you. If you desire to build a strong prayer life, you would need a Christian community most especially for days when your spirit is weak. Do not forsake the fellowship with other believers. And if your church has a consistent prayer time, I admonish you to join them. When you are unable to pray, ask your community to join you in your prayer time and you’ll see the fire burning again.
Be discipline: It is one thing to build a structure and it is another thing to be disciplined. Do not become lackadaisical to your prayer routine if not you would end up not praying as you ought to. Stir up yourself when you do not feel like praying, stand up, wash your face, and pace around your room when you feel sleepy. Also go offline or switch off your phone once its time to pray, all of these are some acts of discipline which you could inculcate.
Bear it in mind that you would not grow if you do not pray: Just the way your body could get dehydrated if you refuse to drink water for days, remember that your spirit cannot do without praying. You simply should never see yourself going a day without praying because you ought to pray at all times. The bible admonishes us to pray without ceasing in 1st Thessalonians 5:17 . You having a mindset that you cannot go past each day without praying would change everything for you.
Praying and studying the Bible go hand in hand for every believer who desires to grow. Praying is simply communicating with God and studying the bible is the best way to hear from God, this is one of the most beautiful ways to both communicate with God as well as grow in the Christian faith.
Jesus is very much intentional about your spiritual growth and your growth is determined by how much work you are ready to put in.
