Ministry is a position that has both a public commitment and a private commitment. Publicly, you are committed to those that you minister to, as well as the “tasks” of ministry. These tasks are found in many other positions, even those in the secular world. Tasks including bookkeeping, filing, and the like. One can learn the skills that it takes to accomplish these tasks and do so in a way that is pleasing to everyone involved.

The private commitment is much greater. This commitment includes the practices of spending time in prayer, reading and studying God’s Word and becoming spiritually disciplined. These private acts are truly more important to God, more than any of the things that you do publicly. These are disciplines/habits that the people you minister to, will never know if you keep or not.  Far too often, even those of us in ministry, will put these things last in our lives; and though you might think that it will not make a huge difference, it will.

Prayer is an essential. Prayer is our communication with God, our Father. How can someone in ministry effectively minister to others without first communicating with their Heavenly Father? We should learn from the perfect example of Jesus, who often retreated to be alone to pray. He made spending time with the Father His priority. If the only perfect man who ever lived, spent time with God daily in prayer; why should we think that we as human imperfect ministers, should be able to do it all on our own?

Reading God’s Word is equally as important. God’s Word gives us direction, pierces our hearts and shows us where we need to add to or take away from our lives. It is the ultimate decision maker when we need to find answers, and will inspire us when we need encouragement. If you’ve been in ministry any length of time, you know you’ll need one or all of those things.

Becoming spiritually disciplined takes time. Spiritual disciplines may not be shared by everyone and can vary depending on your “belief system”. We’ve already mentioned, prayer and Bible study. Others include: tithing, fellowship, worship, evangelism, all things that we know we should be doing, but often struggle to do. That is why these things must be developed over time. We shall never cease “striving”. After all, Christians are on a journey to become more like Christ. We will never get there this side of heaven, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be disciplined in the practice of doing so.

Photo credit: DrGBB

Alyssa  Avant is a Christian writer, speaker, and business owner whose mission is to turn the hearts of girls towards God.  Alyssa recently felt the calling to help those who felt called into ministry but were fearful of taking the “leap of faith”, to help them she created FaithLeaps, a membership training program for those looking to “take the leap of faith into speaking, writing and / or ministry.

Three Essentials for Those in Ministry is a post from: Christian Women Blogging - Women By Grace

Our spiritual lives can be compared to these intruding pests. Are pests eating away at your spiritual life? I know it sounds like an odd comparison, but it can truly be an eye opening one, if you give it some thought.

There are lots of different pests that can eat away at our spiritual lives and will creep ever so slowly into our hearts; the exact place where Jesus is suppose to live and to reign, but somehow the pests are coming in and trying to push Him out.

You see these pests work on your heart slowly, just like the ants that worked on my door. These pests can come in many forms. They can include: distractions, busyness, and negative thinking.

Distractions are a huge part of life.  It could be the telephone, the computer, or the kids; yes, even good things in life can be a distraction to us many times.  Therefore, we often cannot get rid of the distractions. You certainly wouldn’t be likely to get rid of your kids, but you can learn to work around them, even with them. Remember this, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You” Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV)

Busyness is another pest that can eat away at your heart and mind causing you to hurt spiritually. Sometimes even the good things that we do in life can cause us to spend too much time on “other” things and not enough time on the most important thing, our relationship with God. The Bible encourages us to “ seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33 (NIV) So even in the busyness of projects, family and work we should take time to seek Him daily.

Negative thinking is a pest that alludes so many of us. Even with Christ in our hearts, our minds are often swayed by the pests of negative thoughts. God wants us to “be joyful always, pray continually.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 (NIV) It is important to remember both parts of that. Negative thinking often comes in the form of “worry”.  Many of us assume this is “the way we are”, but the Bible tells us plainly in Scripture that this is not so. We can be joyful always through prayer. Prayer takes away our worries, whereas worrying only invokes fear into our hearts.

Don’t let these pests eat away at your heart and clog your spiritual arteries. Don’t let them push Jesus out of his rightful place on the throne in your heart and life. Call in the exterminator, and have Him make sure those pests are driven away.

Photo Credit: prashanthk

Guest Blogger Alyssa Avant is a Christian speaker, writer and blogger.  She is the owner and trainer at FaithLeaps, a membership training site for those looking to “take the leap of faith into speaking, writing or ministry”.  http://FaithLeaps.com

Pesty Problems is a post from: Christian Women Blogging - Women By Grace