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<p>The key to being a good soldier is listening carefully and being obedient. No one, especially God wants a servant that decides to be absent without leave or that is rebellious and always wants to do things their way.</p>
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<p>Every effective military has strict discipline for a purpose and this is for making sure the soldier is focused on what the leader is saying. One reason for going through boot camp is to learn certain skills while training the individual to build strength so they are in excellent physical condition.</p>
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<p>Going into battle is very strenuous and demands for each team member to be strong and confident. But even more important than building physical endurance, their minds must be educated, transformed, and renewed to follow orders and to be ready to respond without fear under the most terrifying and difficult situations.</p>
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<p>To have someone’s attention, the person must trust and respect the one who is in command and these components are crucial to being victorious. As we can see, the concept of awareness and perseverance cannot be over-emphasized in our relationship with our Lord and King.</p>
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<p>In the summer of 2021, I began asking God to help me develop a deeper level of awareness of His presence along with more discipline, wisdom, and discernment. I wrote down a few positive statements to confess in my prayers and whenever it would cross my mind. I do not want to be lukewarm and continued to ask for a revelation of more fire and passion to consume me.</p>
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<p>Information is only a gathering of knowledge until it becomes quickened as divine truth and wisdom to our mind and conscience. Many people know a lot of facts, but until truth energizes and activates conviction within our hearts, it will not change our destiny.</p>
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<p>I have also asked Him to help me recognize errors so that I might know the correct interpretation of His Word. I desperately need a higher level of sensitivity to His voice so that I can comprehend what He is saying. These opportunities are critical components of the Christian experience and will be accomplished or ignored according to our level of desire.</p>
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<p>Knowing God is based on communication, but evidently, many who call themselves a Christian are either not convinced this is true or they are not interested in participating. The overwhelming percentage of these people avoid prayer simply because this is something they do not want to do.</p>
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<p>They have convinced themselves that God does not care if they pray or not because they believe that whatever they do or choose not to do will not make any difference as far as their good standing with Him. As long as He has prepared a beautiful heaven for them after this life, all is good even if they do nothing.</p>
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<p>The truth is they are held accountable for not praying, along with other duties such as personal Bible research and worship, witnessing and praying for a burden for the lost, developing an awareness of God’s presence, and being ready to respond to divine appointments such as laying hands on the sick and confronting evil, being filled with the Holy Spirit, walking in reverential fear of who He is and demonstrating His nature and character, just to name a few.</p>
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<p>So, what is the secret to having an exciting and effective prayer life? We must first decide if this is something we really want. If we desire to invest our time into knowing God He will provide everything needed to make it happen.</p>
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<p>I wonder how many believe yielding our will to Him is just too extreme and radical? For any of us to enter into a walk of faith and love, we must discern His voice as He tells us what He wants us to pray about. Dwelling in the secret place with Him is not based upon systematic theology or a proper scriptural exegesis. It’s simply a lifestyle of discipline where listening and obeying becomes more important than pleasing others or our own agenda.</p>
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<p>How often do you ask Him for a fervent passion to pray? Without love and a burden we will not care and this no doubt explains the enormous lack of interest. It’s not that we are begging to suffer, we are choosing God’s that will probably include it.</p>
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<p>Charles Spurgeon is quoted as saying, “A little faith will bring your soul to heaven, but great faith will bring heaven to your soul.”</p>
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<p><em>Billy Holland is a Christian minister, community chaplain, and author. Read more about the Christian life at billyhollandministries.com.</em></p>
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