u/ToocTruth

What does the Bible means when it says to pray without ceasing? Biblical Paul was open and ready for God's leading 99% of the time. He believed that God would lead him.

Second, I have sometimes thought that God was leading me and He was not. But, when Paul was confused about God's leading, he kept trying, he kept striving for purity, he kept trying to be plugged into the vine.

Third, Paul, Peter, and all of the disciples would all go through seasons where God was testing them. Peter, and all of the disciples were given the chance to go their own way. But despite a temporary lack of clarity, they all kept trying to be led by God. Note: Many other followers (Who we have never heard of... gave up). The disciples continued to pray without ceasing to hear from God.

Fourth, I try to remind myself to pray without ceasing by setting a phone alarm for every 10 minutes and praying:

“Father, show me what You want me to do.”

“Father, fill me with Your love.”

“Father, teach me how to pray.”

When I am not doing that, I often try to say:

“Praise the Lord.”

I notice a dramatic improvement in life when I pray without ceasing. Part two on Friday.

The Bible says that “God will provide for you.” I will expand on that by saying that God will “always” provide for you if you always do things His way, and are “Always” in His will. The less we are in His will, the less He will provide for us.

Since He will provide for us, don't be fooled into chasing money, worldly success, pleasure, or anything else. Many people get to the edge of purpose, and then get involved in something ”highly important” according to this world. To do God's will we sometimes need to stop doing what the world thinks is important. We need to start doing what God thinks is important.

Second, chasing the wind never satisfies. If you ask the worlds rich people:

“How much more money do you need? They will say: “Just a little bit more.”

If you ask Rick Warren (or any other great Christian leader) how much more money do you need? They will say, “none. Real Christians are satisfied. They are not chasing the wind. Their primary goals are treasures in heaven.

Third, I know a couple of men who got Engineering, or computer degree's, then went into full time Christian service. God gave them an opportunity to stop chasing the wind, and they took it. Many of us will struggle to give up the things we worked so hard for. But, if we prioritize doing “What God wants us to do,” He will take care of us.

Fourth, It is highly important to chase something. I want people saved. I want to help people learn how to overcome sin habits. I want to help people find purpose and joy. But in these examples, I am chasing things that are real. Things that last. Things that will be with me for all of eternity. Consider praying:

“Father, help me to care about souls.”

I strive to pray this prayer 10 times or more daily. It keeps me from chasing the wind. Now I chase eternal things.

One key to purpose is to find a mentor that you can learn from consistently. I often watch Francis Chan YouTube sermons. He is always pushing Christians toward purpose. Please reply below if you have a great leader from your denomination that you love. People want to know!

Note: I am not Francis Chan's denomination, or any denomination. I am Christian, that's it.

To find a mentor that can really help, look for someone who is already “where” you want to someday be. Look for someone who relies heavily on what scripture says. I advise worrying less about what denomination they are. Worry about whether they can help you move toward purpose!

Second, work daily on “doing” what you are learning from the mentor. Consider having a notebook that you fill up with tips they give you. It is more important that you are starting to learn daily habits of what they say to do. For example:

I have told thousands of people to learn the turn-from-lust habit. In all likelihood, only 10% of my readers actually tried to make turning-from-lust a daily habit. Well... if your life is often consumed by lust, it will be 10 times harder to really do what God wants you to do. The point is, it is great to watch, listen, and read things from your favorite mentor, but it is way more important to start habits of doing what they say to do.

Thousands of preachers watch Francis Chan video's, but if you can't tell that they watch him (based on what the say in their sermons) then they are wasting their time watching him. If instead they are caring about helping people, and now preaching the way Francis does a little more, in that case he is being a good mentor for them. They are now working on habits of doing the things that he does. That is good.

Third, I am adding the following if you struggle with lust.

To fight lust it is smart to pray:

“Father, help me to turn from lust.”

Consider praying to prepare for temptation, pray it if you fall into temptation, pray it as often as you need to pray it. If temptation overwhelms, open your Bible. The Bible will set you free.

Finally, find a mentor, and do what they do. It is a shortcut to purpose.

One key to purpose is to find a mentor that you can learn from consistently. I often watch Francis Chan YouTube sermons. He is always pushing Christians toward purpose. Please reply below if you have a great leader from your denomination that you love. People want to know!

Note: I am not Francis Chan's denomination, or any denomination. I am Christian, that's it.

To find a mentor that can really help, look for someone who is already “where” you want to someday be. Look for someone who relies heavily on what scripture says. I advise worrying less about what denomination they are. Worry about whether they can help you move toward purpose!

Second, work daily on “doing” what you are learning from the mentor. Consider having a notebook that you fill up with tips they give you. It is more important that you are starting to learn daily habits of what they say to do. For example:

I have told thousands of people to learn the turn-from-lust habit. In all likelihood, only 10% of my readers actually tried to make turning-from-lust a daily habit. Well... if your life is often consumed by lust, it will be 10 times harder to really do what God wants you to do. The point is, it is great to watch, listen, and read things from your favorite mentor, but it is way more important to start habits of doing what they say to do.

Thousands of preachers watch Francis Chan video's, but if you can't tell that they watch him (based on what the say in their sermons) then they are wasting their time watching him. If instead they are caring about helping people, and now preaching the way Francis does a little more, in that case he is being a good mentor for them. They are now working on habits of doing the things that he does. That is good.

Third, I am adding the following if you struggle with lust.

To fight lust it is smart to pray:

“Father, help me to turn from lust.”

Consider praying to prepare for temptation, pray it if you fall into temptation, pray it as often as you need to pray it. If temptation overwhelms, open your Bible. The Bible will set you free.

Finally, find a mentor, and do what they do. It is a shortcut to purpose.

One key to purpose is to find a mentor that you can learn from consistently. I often watch Francis Chan YouTube sermons. He is always pushing Christians toward purpose. Please reply below if you have a great leader from your denomination that you love. People want to know!

Note: I am not Francis Chan's denomination, or any denomination. I am Christian, that's it.

To find a mentor that can really help, look for someone who is already “where” you want to someday be. Look for someone who relies heavily on what scripture says. I advise worrying less about what denomination they are. Worry about whether they can help you move toward purpose!

Second, work daily on “doing” what you are learning from the mentor. Consider having a notebook that you fill up with tips they give you. It is more important that you are starting to learn daily habits of what they say to do. For example:

I have told thousands of people to learn the turn-from-lust habit. In all likelihood, only 10% of my readers actually tried to make turning-from-lust a daily habit. Well... if your life is often consumed by lust, it will be 10 times harder to really do what God wants you to do. The point is, it is great to watch, listen, and read things from your favorite mentor, but it is way more important to start habits of doing what they say to do.

Thousands of preachers watch Francis Chan video's, but if you can't tell that they watch him (based on what the say in their sermons) then they are wasting their time watching him. If instead they are caring about helping people, and now preaching the way Francis does a little more, in that case he is being a good mentor for them. They are now working on habits of doing the things that he does. That is good.

Third, I am adding the following if you struggle with lust.

To fight lust it is smart to pray:

“Father, help me to turn from lust.”

Consider praying to prepare for temptation, pray it if you fall into temptation, pray it as often as you need to pray it. If temptation overwhelms, open your Bible. The Bible will set you free.

Finally, find a mentor, and do what they do. It is a shortcut to purpose.

People make a commitment to purpose and then life runs them over. They ask God to help. They get silence. They move on to something else, pleasures, career, sports, and a million other things.

Daniel, Joseph, and Paul all kept praying when they got silence in reply to their prayers. They kept trying to do daily what God wanted them to do.

Second, if God just let Joseph have success all the time, then anyone could have done what he did. The truth is, Joseph got run over by his brothers, his King, the Queen, his friend from prison, and many others. Joseph just kept believing, kept praying, kept knowing that God had something great for him to do.

Third, we are mere mortals, we are not Joseph. Why was Joseph different than me? First of all, when he got run over, he instantly turned to God, not pleasures, not some old habit, not something our country thinks is very important.

Fourth, if we want to achieve purpose, we can't let anything stop us from continuing to pray and from consistent effort.

Finally, when life runs you over, ask yourselves: How would Paul handle this? How would Joseph handle this? How would a great leader from my church handle this?

How did the great Christians in Nazi concentration camps make it? They made it because they were busy praying, busy finding out what God wanted in that tough situation. Busy helping other people see that God was still with them.

They knew that God had a plan.

God has a plan for you. Don't let tough situations slow you down.

The person who asks the most (while striving to do things God's way), gets the most direction. We all think that Biblical Paul was magically given great powers. Now, obviously, he was chosen as a special person, but, I am sure he also asked God the most:

“What do you want me to do.”

The person that asks “What to do” the most, can have joy whenever they want it. People chase money, pleasure, and worldly things constantly. You can never get real joy from earthly pleasures. Worldly things give short-term pleasure only.

I set my phone alarm for every 10 minutes to remind me to pray:

“Father, show me what you want me to do.”

Doing this is starting to build the habit of praying more often. I now often pray this prayer, and other prayers more often, even when I don't set the alarm.

Second, who is more likely to someday find God's will? A Jehovah's witness who asks every 10 minutes, “Father, what do You want me to do,” or, someone with a solid religion who only asks once a month. Now... you may say: The JW doesn't believe Jesus is God, they can't get through to God. But, the great Biblical Paul didn't believe Jesus was God either, but he kept asking, he kept seeking, he kept knocking. He dedicated his life to serving God in full sincerity. Because he kept asking, because of his repentant attitudes, because of his sincerity, God showed him that Jesus is God.

We will not be much like Paul, but if you constantly work on the habit of praying:

“Father, show me what you want me to do,” you will be more than a little bit shocked by the power that begins to enter your life. You will be surprised by the leading that God gives you. You will be surprised by the help that he gives you. Why? The Bible says that “The workers are few.” If you are willing to be one of the workers, sooner or later, the Holy Spirit will show you what to do.

The person who asks the most (while striving to do things God's way), gets the most direction. We all think that Biblical Paul was magically given great powers. Now, obviously, he was chosen as a special person, but, I am sure he also asked God the most:

“What do you want me to do.”

The person that asks “What to do” the most, can have joy whenever they want it. People chase money, pleasure, and worldly things constantly. You can never get real joy from earthly pleasures. Worldly things give short-term pleasure only.

I set my phone alarm for every 10 minutes to remind me to pray:

“Father, show me what you want me to do.”

Doing this is starting to build the habit of praying more often. I now often pray this prayer, and other prayers more often, even when I don't set the alarm.

Second, who is more likely to someday find God's will? A Jehovah's witness who asks every 10 minutes, “Father, what do You want me to do,” or, someone with a solid religion who only asks once a month. Now... you may say: The JW doesn't believe Jesus is God, they can't get through to God. But, the great Biblical Paul didn't believe Jesus was God either, but he kept asking, he kept seeking, he kept knocking. He dedicated his life to serving God in full sincerity. Because he kept asking, because of his repentant attitudes, because of his sincerity, God showed him that Jesus is God.

We will not be much like Paul, but if you constantly work on the habit of praying:

“Father, show me what you want me to do,” you will be more than a little bit shocked by the power that begins to enter your life. You will be surprised by the leading that God gives you. You will be surprised by the help that he gives you. Why? The Bible says that “The workers are few.” If you are willing to be one of the workers, sooner or later, the Holy Spirit will show you what to do.

If I can't solve today's problems with this big huge, powerful God that I have, how can I be a shining light in a dark world? The complicated thing about this is, does God want to do a miracle for us, or does He want the miracle to be that we went through problems with complete faith?

It is fair to say that Joseph is one of the seven greatest men of the Bible. We love the story of how he ran from sin (That skill is a key to purpose), but we often fail to focus on the act hat he kept his eyes on Jesus when he was thrown into a pit, when he was sold into slavery, and when he was thrown into jail.

Second, I bet Joseph had the skill of praying without ceasing. Joseph was 100% aware that God had something for him to do. That only happens when people try to have constant connection with God.

Third, Joseph believed that God was in communication with him. I also strongly believe that God communicates with Christians who seek their purpose while going to war with sin. Obviously, what we think god is telling us “must” line up perfectly with scripture.

Fourth, if you think you are hearing from God, first check to see if you are living in purity. Satan will disguise his voice as if it is God's voice. If you think God wants you to do a certain thing, He may very well want that, but repent fully first. Live in purity, in constant prayer, and in a high level of communication with God first. Then listen and know that you are in communication with God, and you will get clear direction. When you do it this way, the power of god will be on you.

Our personal relationship with Jesus is the most important thing. I talked to a lady this week who said; “I was taught that a Christian doesn't drink, smoke, and dance.” Here is the thing. Satan is listening to your Christian rules and he may very well sink you with something they never talk about. Instead, if you have a personal relationship with Jesus, your goal is to live the way He wants you to live. In that scenario satan can't pull a fast one on you. You are spending time with Christ in prayer, and in the Word. You realize that going a wrong way is bad. You realize when the great shining light gets dim in your life. You realize when that great love you used to feel is fading.

When things go from great to average in your relationship with Jesus.. “panic.” Practice rapid repentance as soon as possible.

Every Christian should be able to legitimately say, “a relationship with Jesus Christ is the greatest thing ever.”

Second, don't allow anything to get in the way of that relationship. Matthew 8 says, “Let the dead bury the dead.” Strive to have such a vibrant relationship that you are crushed if some old sin rears it's ugly head again. Make that relationship a priority. Don't allow distractions to come into your life.

Finally, put a premium value on time in prayer with Him. Put a premium value on

studying His Word. Put a premium value on asking Him what to do, and pausing to wait for an answer.

He is the most important thing in life. Believe it. Live it.

Right now.

God has something for us to do in the near future. I always say to pray:

“Father, show me what You want me to do.”

Sometimes I set a phone alarm for every ten minutes to remind me to pray this prayer plus other prayers. I do this because it is easy to think:

God won't really tell me what to do.

Unless it is something grand it does not really matter.

Second, sometimes what God wants us to do is to learn habits of love. The other prayer I always pray when I set my phone alarm is:

“Father, fill me with Your love.”

Third, God often wants us to help others. As you pray about purpose, always be open to how you can help others.

Finally... believe. The Bible says:

Proverbs 15:29 The Lord is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous.”

Consider memorizing this great verse.

Consider how often you should pray about purpose.

Consider finding what God wants you to do “Right now!” Yes, maybe it is to start doing the things listed here, but “believe” that God might show you something that He wants you to do today. He created you to do His will. He wants to show it to you.