When a person wants to receive salvation and become a follower of Christ it all starts by praying and receiving it by faith. But what should you do once you’ve prayed the sinner’s prayer? Read on!
1. READ YOUR BIBLE DAILY
Now that you’ve become a follower of Jesus, the most important thing to do is to grow in your relationship with Jesus. Just as you would spend time with people to get to know them better, in the same way, you also need to spend time with Jesus. Set aside some time every day to read your Bible and pray.
Jesus Himself modelled this for us. Mark 1:35 says,
“Very 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.”
If Jesus, who was fully God and fully man needed to spend time with God, then it’s an absolute necessity that we do the same.
If you are wondering where to begin with reading your Bible, it can be helpful to start in the gospels that give an account of the life and teachings of Jesus.
A helpful tool for understanding the Bible better is The Bible Project on YouTube. Each book of the Bible is thoroughly explained using easy-to-understand illustrations. This is an effective way to understand what a book in the Bible is about before you start reading it.
2. BUILD A RICH PRAYER LIFE
Remember that prayer simply means talking to God. It’s mind-blowing really when you stop to think about the immense privilege we have of speaking to God anywhere, anytime. God is the most powerful being, yet we have full access to Him and can speak to Him day or night. This is truly incredible and we can only be amazed at His incredible grace and love for us.
Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
God encourages us to approach Him freely with all our requests. Make prayer a habit in your life and seek God in every situation. Let prayer be such an integral part of your life that it becomes as natural as breathing.
3. NEVER FORGET THAT WE’RE IN A SPIRITUAL WAR
Ephesians 6:12 says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
When you became a Christ-follower God took you from the kingdom of darkness and transferred you into His Kingdom of Light. We see this in Colossians 1:13 which says,
“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves”
We are in a war with the Devil and the kingdom of darkness so expect attack and hardship. Remember that suffering and hardship are part of our lives as believers. It’s part of the cost of following Jesus.
The most important thing to do, therefore, is to stay close to God. Read your Bible daily, memorise scripture and pray always. When those hard times come you will need to stand on the Word of God and use that as your sword against the Devil.
It’s also equally important to remember that we are not at war with people no matter what they do to hurt us. The Devil and his kingdom are the only ones we are at war with. He uses people for his purposes but we need to understand that our struggle is not with people. Love everyone, forgive those who hurt you and pray for them.
4. SHARE THE GOSPEL
It doesn’t matter whether you’ve been a Christian for only 1 day or a lifetime, share the gospel wherever you can. Remember that the most powerful way to do this is through your testimony (story of how you came to know God). If you come across someone who is closed to the gospel and doesn’t want to hear, then always respect that and don’t force the issue. In a situation like this, you can pray for them and share the gospel through the way you live. You’d be surprised by how many people take note of how Christians live.
5. MEET WITH OTHER BELIEVERS
It’s important to connect and meet with other believers so that you can encourage each other to grow in the faith. Pray and ask God to place you with other believers. This is such an important support and encouragement that we all need.
In closing, always remember that your main job now is to grow as a Christian. So invest deeply in your relationship with God and build a strong relationship with Him. And share the gospel wherever you can.