I’m a practical kind of girl. If you’ve read any of my other posts, you’ll quickly see that I’m all about encouragement and a bit of exhortation, but I also love to share some practical tips as well.
That’s because it’s not enough to just have a bunch of Bible knowledge in our heads. As Christian women witnessing to a dark world, we also need to walk out the knowledge we have.
We can turn to self-help books and Ted Talks all we like, but when it comes down to it, the Bible should be our number one resource for the “How To’s” of life.
Sometimes I think we overlook the fact that the Bible is chock full of practical life skills and all the how to’s we need. As it says in 2 Peter 1:3, His power has given us “all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him.”
God Himself, through His power, gives us everything we need to live a fruitful life that is glorifying to Him.
But, it comes through the knowledge of Him— seeking Him, getting into His Word, and communicating with Him. We need to tune into the Lord.
So sisters, put your antennas up and dial into the Lord’s station. Turn to 1 Peter in the Bible. Peter, through the power of the Holy Spirit, has a few things to tell us.
This is Part 1 of a 2-part series because let’s face it— Peter was a man of action and always had a lot to say!
But thank God for that, as being one of Jesus’s closest disciples, there’s much we can learn from the first-hand knowledge and wisdom He acquired from the Lord.
Let’s jump into the 4 practical life skills we learn from Peter, focusing on 1 Peter 4:7-11.
#1: Be serious and watchful in prayer.
This life skill is also a very important spiritual discipline!
What is prayer?
Said plainly, prayer is our communication with the Almighty God. Because of Christ’s death on the cross, His blood covering our sins, and His resurrection, we can boldly approach His throne anywhere, at any time. We can speak with Him about our life, our children, our hurts, and our joys— and He always hears us.
The fact of the matter is, that things are happening in the world all around us, whether they directly affect us or not, and— Jesus is coming back. As Peter says in verse 7, “the end of all things is at hand.”
These attitudes and life skills we have should keep this truth in mind. Being serious and watchful in prayer means that we should prioritize prayer. Make it an important, daily occurrence. Pray in secret. Pray corporately. Pray with your spouse and children. We cannot be flighty about it.
“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
When you say you’ll pray for someone, pray for them. When you see things happening around the world, pray for the Lord’s will to be done. When you know a family member or neighbor is battling something, take it to the Lord.
We can pray, knowing that the Lord hears us and wants to hear from us. He is mighty and His hand can move according to our faith and trust in His power to do so.
#2: Have a fervent love for each other.
The word love in this verse is “agape” love.
What is agape love?
Agape love is a strong, genuine love, affection, and goodwill between people, or between us and God. It is the kind of love for which we see the long list of attributes in 1 Corinthians 13.
Fervent means “exhibiting or marked by great intensity of feeling.”
This isn’t just a superficial, “love ya” that so many of us toss around from time to time. This is a passionate, zealous, and intense form of love that we display in our words, actions, and deeds towards others.
What does this “fervent love” look like?
Go out of your way to help someone.
Do the thing, even when it is inconvenient.
Put others’ needs before your own.
Have compassion for those going through trials.
Invite someone over to share joy, or to weep with them.
Pray for them.
Give up your Netflix binge time in order to watch your friend’s children, so she can go to an appointment, or just have some quiet time.
There are so many ways we can show agape love. But, we must remember that love is an action, not a feeling. We may not always feel like being loving, but God calls us to do loving things all the time.
#3: Be hospitable, without grumbling.
Many of us don’t have trouble being hospitable. Maybe it’s not our strong suit– whether we’re not the best cook or we don’t have the best, most comfortable house– but we’re willing to show hospitality.
What is hospitality and how can we show it?
Hospitable means being generous to guests. We don’t have to have the fanciest food and dishes. We just need to have a willing heart– one that is open and always ready to meet people at their needs, whether it’s for a 25-minute coffee chat, or for a warm meal and dessert.
The problem we see in this spiritual life skill is when we start to grumble while showing hospitality. Grumbling, in the Greek means, a complaint or secret displeasure not openly avowed. This is the same word we see in Philippians 2:14, “Do all things without complaining or arguments.”
We can’t truly be hospitable unless we serve for the sake of serving, in brotherly love, and with good intentions. Be generous. Don’t complain under your breath as you serve– in doing so, you aren’t serving with the right heart attitude.
Or, possibly you’re getting flustered because you’re trying to serve them “too well.” Any good, genuine friend won’t care whether or not your floor is spotless or there is noticeable dust on your lamp. It won’t bother them that you didn’t break out the fine china dishes.
This also includes serving guests in your home but being upset that no one is helping you serve them. As we see with Martha, sometimes the Lord would rather have you sit at His feet— and in this case, go sit with your guests as you sit and fellowship at the Lord’s feet (Luke 10:38-42).
Grumbling ruins any servant's heart that we may have at the moment.
#4: Use your gifts for the benefit of others.
The way we are good stewards of the gifts that God has given us is to not bury them and let them go to waste. This life skill is so crucial in our unification in the body of Christ.
What are spiritual gifts and what are their purpose?
God has given each of his children gifts. He doesn’t want us to sit on them, or ignore them. As we read in 1 Peter 4:10, Peter instructs us to use our gifts for the benefit of and to minister to other believers.
Our brothers and sisters in Christ can be strengthened and built up when we use our gifts. This isn’t really negotiable; it’s what enables the body of Christ to be able to function as a whole (1 Corinthians 12:12). When we forsake using our gifts– whether it’s out of fear, laziness, or lack of confidence, it affects other parts of the body.
Yet, when we use our gifts and each member of the body does its share, this results in “growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:16).
Focusing on using our gifts for the benefit of others helps us to keep our hearts set in the right place as well– in that, we’re less likely to use our gifts for show or personal glory if we’re thinking of others first. You can learn more about the purpose of spiritual gifts, here.
If you’re not sure what your spiritual gifts are, ask the Lord to reveal them to you! He wants you to use them, not just unbeknownst to yourself, but in wisdom and intentionally. I also would encourage you to explore these verses to learn about the various spiritual gifts: 1 Corinthians 12; 1 Corinthians 14; Romans 12:3-8; Ephesians 4:7-16.
We have one goal: To glorify God.
The purpose of honing in and intentionally growing in the life skills we see in 1 Peter is not so that we can appear to be some sort of perfect Christian. It’s certainly not so that we can receive all the praise and applause.
Every believer's goal, in all that we do, is to glorify God. We must choose to live for the Lord on purpose, no matter how tired or busy we are. We can draw strength from the Lord, walk worthy of our calling, and live for Him as we serve others.
I exhort you to make every effort to:
PRAY, for your own benefit to grow in Him, and for the sake of others.
LOVE in a way that represents the hands, feet, and heart of Christ.
Show HOSPITALITY and make others feel seen, heard, noticed, and appreciated.
Use your GIFTS to serve and build up your sisters in Christ. He’s given you something to offer.
And, in all of these things, sister– when we are mindful and purposeful in doing them, we glorify Him.
“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ”
