Here are four most fundamental things we Christians must do in following the Lord. They are these: reading God’s words, praying to God, performing our duties and practicing God’s words. If we can do them in our everyday life, then we will be able to act in accord with the Lord’s will and meet the conditions for being true Christians.
First, we must read God’s words. Then how should we do it to achieve good results? The most crucial point is to seek God’s will and understand the truth from God’s words. So, we can’t just read God’s words cursorily. Instead, we should quiet ourselves before God, pray-read and ponder God’s words with our hearts, and seek God’s requirements of people as well as how to practice to satisfy God’s will, etc. For example, the Lord Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, Except you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). We know literally that the Lord requires us to be honest by saying these words. So, why does the Lord make this requirement? What’s the standard for being honest? What should we do to become honest people? Actually, if we pray-read and contemplate those words of the Lord with our hearts, we’ll understand these questions: The Lord likes honest people and He hopes that we can be distinct from this corrupt and evil world, become someone after His heart, and finally be brought into God’s kingdom. The standard for being honest is that we be simple and open like a child, and in our dealings with others, treat them fairly and not be suspicious of them. Besides, honest people have reverence for the Lord, love the truth, are able to accept and obey the Lord’s words and practice according to them. If we reflect on ourselves after understanding all this, we will recognize that we are still not honest people. For instance, when something infringes upon our personal interests, we can lie and deceive; in our interactions with others, we often suspect and guard against them; etc. When we seriously read the Lord’s words in this way, we’ll know clearly our deficiencies and deviations and understand the path of practice. That’s why learning to read the Lord’s words is critical.
Second, we must pray to God. In John 4:23–24 it says, “But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” The Lord requires us to worship God in spirit and in truth. That is, we should speak openly and honestly to the Lord with a sincere heart. The Lord hates it when we engage in crookedness and deception, and say false, exaggerated, and empty words in prayer. The Lord likes it when we simply open up to Him in prayer, tell Him of our shortcomings, difficulties and rebellious states without holding anything back, and ask Him to guide and lead us to understand His will, obey His orchestrations and arrangements, and meet His requirements. This is the only kind of prayer that is heard by the Lord. Contrarily, if we say empty, bragging words or make causal vows in prayer but complain in trials, or if we constantly demand grace and blessings from Him, ask Him to do things according to our intentions, and don’t seek how to obey His arrangements, then our such prayers won’t be accepted and answered by the Lord. Therefore, we should pray to the Lord with an honest, God-revering heart. When we don’t understand the Lord’s will, we should pray to the Lord with an obedient heart, speak to Him sincerely, tell Him of our difficulties, weakness and problems without hiding our inner thoughts. We should not just blindly ask the Lord to change the circumstances around us, but instead we should seek His will and demands with a God-fearing, obedient heart, and practice according to the Lord’s words. Only this kind of prayer is approved by the Lord. When the Lord sees that we pray with an honest heart, He will enlighten and lead us.
Third, we must perform our duties. Mark 10:29–30 records, “And Jesus answered and said, Truly I say to you, There is no man that has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, But he shall receive an hundred times now in this time, houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.” The Lord’s words are very clear. As Christians, we should perform our duties to repay God’s love—this is the responsibility that we created beings should fulfill. For example, spreading the gospel, bearing witness to the Lord, and supporting those negative and weak brothers and sisters with love are all what we should do. However, we should also know it is not true that we are satisfying the Lord’s will as long as we do these things. Instead, truly fulfilling our duties is willingly expending for the Lord without personal motives and impurities. It isn’t making deals with the Lord to gain blessings or a crown, nor is it for gaining others’ praise, admiration and respect. Rather, it is solely for meeting the Lord’s will, for repaying His love, and for caring about and loving Him. Only if we fulfill our duties with that kind of intention will we please the Lord. On the contrary, if our abandoning things and expending ourselves are just for our own personal profit and extravagant desires, then we are not following the Lord’s words, let alone being praised by God; instead, we are committing evil. Just like the Lord Jesus said, “Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name? and in Your name have cast out devils? and in Your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from Me, you that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:22–23). Clearly, only by fulfilling our duties willingly, with the correct motive can we be genuine believers in God and win God’s approval.
Fourth, we must practice the truth. The Lord Jesus said, “If you continue in My word, then are you My disciples indeed” (John 8:31). The Lord Jesus expressed many teachings, such as how to love the Lord, reflecting on and knowing ourselves when encountering issues, how to forgive others, how to pray to the Lord, and so on. These are all things we should practice in our daily life and in doing church work. For instance, the Lord Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like to it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37–39). Some brothers and sisters believe that merely by working hard for the Lord, making donations and expending themselves, they are loving God, but when faced with trials and refinements, they blame and misunderstand God. Only by pondering the Lord’s words can we understand that, to love the Lord with all of our heart, mind, and soul, however we expend ourselves in our duties, we should do it willingly without personal intentions or ambitions. Whatever trials or refinements befall us, we should not complain against God or rebel against Him, or even betray Him. Instead, we should submit to God, love God, be loyal to Him unto death and stand witness for Him. Only this is truly loving God. From this we can see that, when practicing the Lord’s words, we should not hold on to the literal meaning of His words but should seek the inner meaning of them as well as the Lord’s will hidden in them. Only then can we truly practice the truth. By practicing the Lord’s words, our relationship with the Lord will grow ever closer, and we’ll understand the Lord’s teachings more and more and progress faster in life.
These are the four most fundamental things we must keep in our belief in God. If we pay attention to practicing and entering into them in real life, then our actions and behavior will be praised by the Lord more and more.
