By: Monique L. Francis
Ok, so what does it mean to “Put God First”? You probably hear this phrase often but may not be 100% sure of what it TRULY entails to put him first. Our priorities are a bit mixed up ladies and gents. We prioritize and glorify (intentionally or unintentionally) things such as a job, music, tv, people,etc. I'm not tryna make anyone feel bad but I have to be honest from the gate: It is a huge mistake. If we are not careful, we will not only miss out on the awesome plan that God has for our lives but we will miss out on the wonderful opportunity of spending eternity with him. Yes ladies and gents-Eternity.
Our Generation is often coined the “Microwave Generation”. We want things FAST AND NOW. We become impatient and very seldom stop to think about consequences or even our futures. This leads to poor choices and bad investments that affect our lives. (and sometimes the people around us) Additionally, we have removed God from our homes, our neighborhoods, our jobs and our schools and replaced him with “Worldly” things. And we wonder why the world is corrupt!
The good news is-there is HOPE. God has given us the gift of free-will but most valuable and importantly, the conditional gift of eternal life. God loves us more than we could ever understand! Much like a marriage, we should faithfully and wholeheartedly live for and serve him all the days of our life. He has given us the tools and direction to navigate while we are here on this earth, serving our purpose. Jesus overcame the WORLD! So he is automatically qualified to guide us through. He longs for a relationship with us, however, the choice is OURS…we have free will.
The advice on this site will be completely irrelevant if God doesn’t have the opportunity to be first place. We are each given a gift of "free will", which means you have A CHOICE. If you will have an open mind and are sincere about putting God first, but just not sure HOW, continue reading.
Putting God first is more than just a phrase. It should be a LIFESTYLE. Putting God first means to:
Submit every area of your life to him. This is the first and most crucial step. Submitting every area of your life is acknowledging that God is the OWNER, and you are simply the “manager”. This requires relinquishing control, trying to make everything happen by yourself and predicting the outcome of every situation. He is in control over everything. He cares about EVERY AREA AND DETAIL OF YOUR LIFE! So trust him as he has your best interest at heart. He promised to “never leave you nor forsake you"-Deuteronomy 31:6
- Find a place of solitude where you will not get distracted. (Your room, bathroom,etc) Turn on a Gospel tune, get on your knees before him, lift up your hands, and just LET GO! When the song ends, get quiet. Crying is ok, too. Once you let go of your worry, heartache, pain, anger, don’t take it back! It is now God's battle. ("The battle is not yours"-By Yolanda Adams is a GREAT meditation song) Satan is real and is one of those spirits we must fight off daily. Don’t worry, God will see you through. Satan is all about deception, fear, doubt and just flat out a promoter of negative! (I will topic about that later)
- Pray. Communicate with God and seek him for guidance and instruction. When we first start out in prayer, we want to avoid selfish prayer. Prayer is not designed to TELL god of our expected outcome of a situation. Instead we should come to prayer in REQUEST form, informing him of our desires and wait PATIENTLY for an answer. God may answer at that moment, a week later or even a year later. But remember, God has your best interest at heart. “…no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly- “Psalms 84:11/ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”declares the Lord.” Isaiah 55: 8. He is saying they are better!
- Ask God to align your life with his will. If there is something in your life that is not according to his will but you are unsure, ask him to reveal it with signs, etc. I was once sort of doubtful, a bit of a skeptic too but when I tell you PRAYER WORKS, MAN, IT WORKS!
- Be Grateful for your life, everything in it and the people in it. Everyone’s day here on this earth is numbered. Cherish your friends, family, your neighbors and strangers. Don’t wait until they are gone to tell them you love them.
Read his word daily (The Bible). This is the best way to get closer to god. It is his written word, instruction manual and guide. There is nothing new under the sun to God. There are hard copy versions (New living translation) to help you decode his word. There are also phone apps you can download for FREE that also offer the many translations. You will learn SO MUCH and acquire great wisdom to apply to your daily life in order to navigate through life. If you can log on to facebook as if it is the daily paper, you can take 15 min out of your day (the day God GAVE YOU) to read his word.
These tips are placed in no particular order but do you notice how these are all verbs, action words? See, our human minds and the world we live in put money, material possessions, our jobs, our kids or other things in the forefront. Did you know that God is our source for EVERY SINGLE THING WE POSSESS? Again, he is the OWNER and can take it away in an instance. And there is NOTHING we can do to stop it. We often give him the scraps of our time. “You shall have no other gods before Me.” Exodus 20:3. The benefits of placing him first place outweigh anything our jobs, money or people can ever offer. Just imagine if God gave us his time when he was “good and ready”? We’d be in some serious trouble. But thankfully, he loves us wayyyyy too much to do that. Let's not abuse his grace and mercy. Including him in every area of your life is super important and very beneficial . Some of us only include God when saying our grace at the dinner table or when we need something. Unfortunately this is a mistake and our priorities are a little out of order. God DOES want us to come to him. Sometimes it is when we hit ROCK BOTTOM..and that is ok. "...But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul" Deuteronomy 4:29. Lets be intentional in our walk and begin to have a genuine, intimate relationship with him. It is never too late. Again, God is so graceful and merciful. He loves his children.
I want to help you place God at the forefront of your life. Here are some practical DAILY tips that I practice. You can start applying these today in PUTTING GOD FIRST PLACE: Hold tight, for it is life changing! Ready?
Morning
1) Thank him for waking you up. Before your feet touch the ground, say: “This is the day the lord has made. Let us rejoice in it.Psalm 118:24. Thank him for all the blessings in your life. This requires a positive perspective, even IF there are uncertainties and trials going on in your life.
2) Meditate on scripture. Meditation is when the mind is focused; a mode of consciousness, either to realize some benefit or as an end in itself. It is reflection, concentration, and understanding. Get a bible you can understand. My bible is highlighted, underlined, written little side notes, etc. I realized a lot us don’t pick up a bible because we may not understand its version or too hard/too much work to decipher meanings. New Living Translation (NLT ) is a wonderful translation. Don’t miss out on the bible as it is sooo valuable. How can you expect to get to know God, his character and all of his great works if you don't know anything about him?
3)Meditate on daily devotions. Daily devotions provide daily readings and are sent to you usually via email or paper books through the mail. They are my favorite! They keep you on track and offer great wisdom and teachings on how you can apply God's word into your own life. You can sign up for:
There are many more great pastors that offer Daily Devotions. These are just my fav's to name a few. Each one offer's a different style of delivery but the common goal is the same. GODS message remains the same!
4) Pastor's on Television. Instead of flipping to the news channel, why not tune into the word via tv? Our minds are fixated way too much on the bad news in this world, reality shows, music videos glorifying sex, drugs and money. I want to be clear: I am a filmmaker so I too watch reality shows, music videos for it's visuals, camera shots, entertainment, etc. Not ALL TV is bad. It's simply entertaining. The key is learning how to decipher what's ok and where to draw the line. Only YOU can determine that. The media is "wordly" and can contaminate our minds if we are not careful.
And every Pastor on TV is not about money or doing it for "show" (I've heard this a few times) I believe that is a defense mechanism for individuals whom find it too difficult and selfish to change and submit their life to God. Your focus should not be on the pastors "life style", it should be on GOD'S MESSAGE. If someone is doing something for the wrong reasons and not serving God's purpose properly, god will take care of them. Who are we to judge? The Trinity Broadcast Network is a great channel and covers many Godly topics.
- Watch Youtube videos. You can find many pastors sermons uploaded on youtube. Joel Osteen has a ton
6) Talk to him: Getting ready for work? I talk to God in the shower. It's the perfect setting to cleanse your mind and soul while cleansing your outer body!
7) Blast some Gospel music in the bathroom or while putting on your clothes. Some of my fav gospel musicians include: Marvin Sapp, Yolanda Adams, Mary Mary, Ian holmes. Very uplifiting & motivational!
8) ** Recite "The Lords Prayer". I say this every morning before I step foot out of the door. It's posted on my wall as a reminder.
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your Kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom,
the power and the glory are yours.
Now and for ever.
hallowed be your name.
Your Kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom,
the power and the glory are yours.
Now and for ever.
Amen.
These morning tips will help you set the tone for your day!
During the day
In route to work:
- Talk to him in your car. What is going on in your life? What are some things that are bothering you? What are some of your worry's and fears? "…casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you"- I Peter 5:7 . God actually already knows exactly what is going on in our life. It is NO surprise to him. He has our life all mapped out. "So why do we have to talk to him and tell him if he already knows?", you may ask. It's not just about telling him- it is the act of communicating, submitting, letting go and trusting him that's important to him. He wants to hear from you, and wants you to rely on him 100%. " I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me."-Psalms 8:17. And don’t feel silly as He REALLY is listening to you. I mean REALLY! Communication is TWO WAY, so he also responds. His reply is in his word, through people, situations, through signs, in our hearts, and our instincts. The holy spirit is our helper. There are no limits to God.
- Blast some more Gospel Music. I play so much gospel music in the car that my 5 year old daughter knows the words! I naturally love music so playing gospel music further affirms God's goodness. Gospel music also allows you to experience and relate to other people's trials and testimony's.
- Purchase/download audio sermons. Audio sermons are "Church on-the-go" . They keeps you focused. You can purchase these on iTunes, at your churches bookstore, etc. Joel Osteen has some AWESOME PODCAST!
{At Work}
- On your lunch or bathroom break, Take a min to reflect and truly thank him. Even if you’re not 100% happy at your job, not too thrilled about your boss or co-worker, at least thank him for our resource of income. If permitted, you can even play some gospel music at your desk.
{At home}
- Thank him for the existence of your kids and family. Be thankful they are alive and breathing. Some people do not even have a home to come to. We must thank him for the little things we take for granted: running water, heat, lights, electricity, food.
Night
Before you go to bed:- Pray. Talk to god and inform him on how your day went. Ask him to forgive you for any sins (aware and unaware of) and ask him to continue in making your heart like his. I actually just started a Journal for God. In it, there's no editing,no filter, nothing. I let him know about everything that's going on, my feelings, my gratefulness for friends and family.....i just let it all out. It is sooooo liberating.
- Meditate on scripture. You can re-read the one from that same morning to reinforce its meaning OR move on to a new one if you are comfortable.
- Finally, thank him for allowing you to experience another day of life. This is my night ending prayer:
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take
It's a simple prayer that I learned at about age 5 but it does the job :)
- ".....for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.." Hebrews 11. Here, God promises to reward those you diligently seek him and those whom are obedient. I'll never forget this message from Pastor John Hagee: "God is not responsible for you until you are a believer"...
- You acquire a friend who will have your back in any situation. I'M REFERRING TO JESUS, THE SON OF GOD and the HOLY SPIRIT. The holy spirit is on the inside of you. To befriend someone who knows how to navigate through this world, has overcome the world, knows the “tricks of the trade” is a WISE decision. It’s like having a dedicated coach on a basketball team: He is going to help you win!
- A crucial step toward eternal life (I will write about that in a later blog)
- Clarity, peace, and guidance on decisions
- Comfort in the time of weariness
Soooo what is your excuse for not putting God first and including him in every area of your life? There is None. God lives on the INSIDE OF YOU. Saturate your mind with the lord. Remember, God is not responsible for you until you are a believer! I promise you, continuing walking on this path will help you be Forever a Christian :)
I Love you all. God Bless
PS: Stay tuned for the next article in the Back2Basic Series: The 10 commandments.
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