Importance of God's Word, Prayer, and the Church

I just wanted to write this post to talk about what I have found to help in my walk with God. This thought came about because I asked myself the question "What good is it if we use our talents God has blessed us with to play for Him in worship services or cell groups, when we ourselves are not grounded firm in His Word?" How can we know God more?

To me, the answer is quite simple. In order to grow in a deeper relationship with God, we need to read His Word. What better way is there to know God more than to read His Word which He has so graciously revealed to man? Through reading the bible, we get to see God's characteristics, His nature, His justice, His love, His mercy, His grace, and the list goes on. We also see in the New Testament that Jesus himself was grounded in the Word. He would regularly go to the synagogues to teach the Word and to correct the Pharisees and Sadducees from their erronous teachings. This would only be possible if we are grounded in the Word.

The other aspect which we should have is prayer. Prayer is something which helps us to communicate with God. We read in the bible that people would regularly pray through their sufferings, pray for thanksgiving, pray as a form of worship etc. Jesus himself would even pray to his Havenly Father. If Jesus found prayer important, I think we should take it seriously as well. Another good example would be King David. We read in Psalms of all his feelings and how he relied on God for his strength and support.

The Church is also important. When I refer to the church, I am not referring to the physical building, but the people. God knows that we are not meant to live like a hermit on a remote mountain without any human contact. In fact, Jesus even chose his 12 disciples to help him in his ministry on earth. Furthermore, we read in Acts that the church community was very closely knit and they all shared whatever they had, so that no one was found lacking. This is why I believe the church is important. In life, we go through trials and temptations, and without the support that the church can provide, we would find ourselves going through the ordeal alone.

So in conclusion, I believe we need three things in life: God's Word, Prayer, and the Church. How does this tie in with our worship to God? Well, I believe if we have these 3 in increasing amounts, our worship to God will be that much sweeter as well. How can we worship God if we do not know him intimately?