a mature christian isn't the one who achieves a lot, or the charismatic leader, or the very successful evangelist. they may be a good, great, wonderful, excellent christian, but even if they give everything they have to God, full "maturity" isn't achieved unless they come to this realisation:

a mature christian is like... hmm... the baby that cries for help, or the toddler that clings on tightly to the parent, because they know that they are absolutely helpless on their own; as christians, we need to realise that without God, we are absolutely nothing. we need to see that we are absolutely helpless and confused and at a loss without the guidance of the Lord. coming to terms with that, accepting that, and then as a result turning to God with complete humility is the true demonstration of christian maturity.

that's what i think, anyway...

ok, so probably it isn't that much of an epiphany, it's more of something i've known all along yet chosen to "ignore"... *cough*

but yeah, it's so easy to forget that in the world we live in today. the world i live in. a world where i don't have to worry about my next meal, where i'm going to sleep at night; a world where i don't have to fight to survive - no, on the contrary, a world where i have everything i could ever possibly need, a world where the distinction between "need" and "want" has almost become non-existent.
surrounded by all this, it's just too easy to forget that without God, i am nothing. it's just too easy to dismiss Him, to push Him to the corner of my mind, to be satisfied by materialistic "luxury" (as compared to say - no offence - the ppl in underdeveloped/developing countries)

haha, well, i couldn't have come up with all this completely on my own XP i'm not THAT bright.
no, today in youth group we were talking about prayer.
then we were reading Acts 4:23-31 and Acts 12 (and we ended up focusing just purely on verse 12:5)

-sidetrack-
btw, leading worship for the early morning service today was soo cool xDDD yay! =]
it's been a long time since i've felt so... bonded as part of a group. the oldies loved the instrumental item, hahahaha xDD and it was just, 10 min before the service started, because a lot of the younger girls were so nerve wracked, we all got together and prayed for strength so that we may not be nervous and that God may just make use of us to our full potential. and then it just seemed that all of us were suddenly filled with this surge of confidence and self-assurance, that we COULD do this. yay xDD
-end sidetrack-

back to prayer
first point, as clearly seen in Acts 4:23-31
1) prayer is INFORMED. it is in alignment with what is said in the Bible. hard to explain, really... it's like, it sort of requires a certain understanding of God's word and will, and well, that means reading the Bible. not to say that er.. God doesn't listen to other prayers, just that well... prayer doesn't change God, but it can change things, and er hmm.. informed prayer is more "effective"? ahhh this is bad i don't know how to explain it T_T it's like, you can't pray "God i hate this person so can you please strike him down with lightning" *cough*
Acts 12:5 (NIV)
2) prayer is earnest. and fervent. and whatever-other-synonym-you-can-think-of, which means deep within... ditto, no further explanation needed
and hmm, the third point was the trigger for the thoughts above (before the sidetrack)
and the third point is an inference as well
the inference was that
3) prayer is desperate. prayer is when you have absolutely nowhere else to turn to, and you know that God is the only solution. that was most definitely the case back in the days of when the Bible was written. it may still be the case in some parts of the world (immediately thinks of "The Heavenly Man" *cough*) but today, now, where i am, it's just way too easy to forget. sigh...

it's more of a "thank you for this, thank you for that, i hope that you will grant health and happiness and blah blah blah -mind drifts off- and yeah er.. thank you a lot a lot for everything" and that's being painfully honest. ><"

hmm, but yes, when prayer is informed, earnest, and desperate... God will always be there. and i can bear witness to that. =]

and so well, let's just hope that i can slowly gain maturity in the walk of Christ. that apart from my most basic needs to survive, i can come to disregard materialistic wealth - not to say that i shun it (like that will ever happen) but hopefully i will be able to refrain from coveting it.

and i just really really thank God, that i am strong in my faith in the sense that i realised i've never have had to deal with thoughts such as "does God really really exist? what if He doesn't? then what am i doing all this for?"
and i've only come to realise how much of a blessing that is, and i pray for those who lack this belief. i'm grateful that if anything, i've been taken to church since i was a toddler, and even though i may have resented going to church at certain stages, the fact that there is a God has never been questioned - He was always there from the very beginning (and thus a little taken for granted sometimes ><" hopefully not anymore ><")

ahhh it's late, bleah...

yay, beyond year 10 starts tomorrow! looking forward to 2 weeks of absolute slacking xDD no homework at all, YAY!
getting timetable tomorrow, and hopefully we get free periods? *cough*
it HAS been a speculation that we will get free periods, hmmmmm... then can go slack in music room or library xDD
=]
shall stop talking nonsense. after a certain amount of words, i start spouting rubbish T_T