By Pastor Doug Cox
  
Three things came to mind this morning that I want to encourage you with in your walk with the Lord. The first is to stay prayed up. You know that prayer is vital to a healthy Christian lifestyle, but for various reasons we can let ourselves slip in that area. We get interrupted or distracted, that’s why Jesus said “…when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” (Matthew 6:6 NKJV)
 
Sometimes we procrastinate. We tell ourselves we will pray after we do this or that, but then at the end of the day we realize we didn’t pray at all or very little. Jesus taught that “…men always ought to pray and not lose heart.” (Luke 18:1 NKJV) The Holman translation says men should “…pray always and not become discouraged.” Isn’t it interesting that losing heart and being discouraged can be linked to lack of prayer, so let’s make sure we keep prayed up.
 
The second thing is to keep yourselves read up. I hope you are taking time to read your Bible. You probably know the story about when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by the devil and how He overcame temptation by quoting God’s word. Jesus told the devil, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4 NKJV)
 
In the same way we must know God’s Word and what He says to us, then use it in the face of our trials and temptations. Psalm 119:11 says “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” I know I stay spiritually stronger when I apply what God says to my circumstances.  
 
So, let’s pray up and read up and then we will find ourselves rising up into what Jesus called us. Jesus says in Matthew 10:39 that “he who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” Christianity is about abandoning our own selfish pursuits to find and walk in the purpose that Jesus has called us. It’s the only way we will hear Him say well done good and faithful servant when that time comes.