Making God First in the New Year | Pray First
PRAY FIRST
Making God First in the New Year…
SOUL TATTOO: Our lives are marked by our priorities, so what we do first communicates something to God.
FIRST: coming before all others in time or order; foremost in position, rank, or importance.
“Prayer should be our first response, not our last resort.”
- Pray First.
Genesis 1:1 (NIV) 1In the beginning God…
Don’t Put Jesus First…The worst thing you can do as a Christian is to try and put Jesus first in your life. I know it sounds good, and Lord knows, I’ve said it plenty…Put Jesus first, your family second, your job third…But it’s a flawed paradigm. Jesus doesn’t want to be first on your list. He doesn’t need your shout out…He’s not content to be first in your life…He insists on being the center of your life…Putting Jesus first in my life means I kind of segregate Him from my other priorities…Making Him the center of my life means I integrate Him into every priority…It’s not Jesus, then my family, then my job…It’s Jesus: in my family, in my job…It’s not Jesus, then anything…It’s Jesus in everything! Pastor Steven Furtick
- God must be first.
Exodus 20:1-3 (NIV) 1And God spoke all these words: 2“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3You shall have no other gods before me.”
- We put God first by giving Him the first of everything.
Leviticus 27:30 (NIV) 30A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.
Proverbs 3:9 (MSG) 9Honor GOD with everything you own; give him the first and the best.
- The first has the power to bless the rest.
Proverbs 3:9-10 (NIV) 9Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
Matthew 6:33 (NIV) 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
First is fine, but where do we start?
SOUL TATTOO: Our lives are marked by our priorities, so what we do first communicates something to God.
START: VERB = To begin or be reckoned from a particular point in time or space, or to happen or come into being. NOUN = The point in time or space at which something has its origin; the beginning. A sudden movement of surprise or alarm.
1. Start the year by giving God the first through prayer and fasting.
Acts 10:38 (NIV) 38God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
(Complete Fast, Selective Fast, Partial Fast, Soul Fast)
2. Start the month with giving God the first of my tithes and offerings.
Deuteronomy 14:23 (LB) 23The purpose of tithing is to teach you to always put God in first place in your life.
Malachi 3:10-12 (NIV) 10Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. 11I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the LORD Almighty. 12“Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty.
3. Start the first of my week by giving God consistent church attendance.
Luke 4:16 (NIV) 16He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom.
4. Start the first of my day with God through the Word, worship and prayer.
Mark 1:35 (NIV) 15Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
Psalm 5:3 (NIV) 3In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.
The First 15:
- 5 minutes in the Word.
- 5 minutes in Worship.
- 5 minutes in Prayer.
SOUL TATTOO: Our lives are marked by our priorities, so what we do first communicates something to God.