As I mentioned in my previous article, my prayer and my anthem for this year is the song “Follow You Anywhere" by Passion. My prayer is that I would go where He leads me, whatever the cost. One major factor in this is keeping my faith in God.
We all can grow even more in our faith in this new year and a new decade. We can help one another grow, as we're called to do as believers in a community. How can we do this though?
One way we can do this is by diving into the Bible with a group of believers, studying what He has to say to us. Proverbs 27:17 says, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another (ESV)." What this means is that when we dive into the word together, we can sharpen one another's faith by sharing what it is saying to us.
Another way to grow our faith in 2020 is to not only study the Bible with a group of believers but study it with yourself as well. Just as a college student has to study to prepare for a test, it is the same way with the Bible. Think of it like this: we are all taking an open book test in this world while we are here. We have to study the book (the Bible) to know what we are supposed to do as Christians.
Prayer is important as well. It is important to note that your prayer shouldn't be, “My name is Jimmy, and I'll take all you'll give me." Rather, we should model after the Lord's Prayer, which is found in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. Prayer is our way of talking to God. Sometimes, He doesn't speak right away, and sometimes, He points to a specific scripture that directly talks about what you had been praying about. Regardless, our faith grows in our spiritual talks with God.
Lastly, our faith grows when we share the Gospel with others who haven't heard or haven't been receptive to it in the past. It is our call, as Christians, to share the Gospel. This call is found in the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:18-20. We are called to share our faith with others, whether it is here, or if we are called to do so, abroad. We share the Gospel through sharing the story of Christ, as well as sharing how Christ has worked in and through us and shown us His love and promises are faithful and true.
Overall, as Christians, our faith should be continuously growing. With a new year now upon us, we have a new opportunity to see how God will strengthen our faith in 2020. We have the opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus where we are, whether it is in our jobs or on our college campus.
My prayer for all who read this is that you will ask God to help your faith grow in 2020. Ask for Christian friends who will help encourage you and push you in your faith.