Praying to become a mature Follower of Christ
When you are a child, your parents feed you milk, as you mature, your parents start feeding you solid food. It would be remiss of your parents to continue feeding you only milk into your adult life. You would most likely develop medical problems due to malnutrition.
Just as physical babies grow and mature by graduating from taking milk to eating solid food, so spiritual babies grow and mature by graduating from taking spiritual milk to eating solid spiritual food that comes from reading and applying the Word:
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“A person who is living on milk isn’t very far along in the Christian life and doesn’t know much about doing what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who have trained themselves to recognize the difference between right and wrong and then doing what is right.” Hebrews 5: 13 – 14.
Starting with His Disciples, Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to His followers, to counsel them and help them after He had returned to heaven:
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“When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not be presenting His own ideas; He will be telling you what He had heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by revealing to you whatever He receives from me. All that the Father has is mine; this is what I mean when I say that the Spirit will reveal to you whatever He receives from me.” John 16: 13 – 15.
The benefits of becoming a mature Christian are (in no particular order): 1, to resist temptation (Luke 4:1 – 13); 2, to bear fruit that brings glory to God ( John 15: 5 – 8); 3, to finish strong and be ready to meet the Lord (Matthew 25: 1 – 13).
Example of a prayer that an adult can pray:
“Father, I thank you that by reading and dwelling on your Word and applying it in my life, I can grow into a mature, fruitful, follower of Christ. Also, thank you that when Christ returned to you in heaven, He did not leave us alone, He sent down the Holy Spirit to teach us everything. Increase my understanding of your Holy Word, help my roots grow deep, I pray, and help me remain connected to Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, so that I may grow into a mature disciple and bear fruit for your Kingdom. Lord God, as the Psalmist declared in Psalm 119, let your Word be a lamp to my feet and a light to my path, I pray, so that I may no longer walk in darkness. Instill in me the discipline of studying and applying your Word in my life daily, to help me mature spiritually, and mentor other people into your Kingdom, to your glory in Christ Jesus, I pray. Amen.”
Example of a prayer that a younger person can pray:
“God, please help me make time to study your Word every day so that I may grow. Let your Holy Spirit help me understand your Word better and know how to obey you. Help me practice what I’ve learnt and honor you, so that I will be a good example to other people, I pray in Jesus’ Name. Amen.”
Scripture References
Acts 1: 8; 2: 1ff.
John 15: 1 – 8
Ephesians 3: 14ff
Psalm 1: 1ff
Psalms119: 1 – 16
1Timothy 1: 15 – 17; 4: 7 – 8
2 Timothy 2: 14 – 19; 3: 16.