Components of Discipleship

Pray: Worship

Worship is to love, adore, reverence, and acknowledge who He is and His attributes.

"Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker." "God is spirit and his worshipers must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24).

Praise

Praise is to honor His name.

"Shout for joy to the LORD all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations" (Psalm 100).

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is to remember His mighty works, show gratitude, and appreciation for what He has done.

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Dependence

Dependence is to humble yourself before Him, acknowledge your reliance on Him and your inability to do His will apart from Him.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).

Confess

Confession is to agree with God that you have fallen short of His standard for holy living.

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed" (James 5:16).

"I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin" (Psalm 38:18).

Warfare

Warfare is to acknowledge your need for protection from God, the Lord of Hosts.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 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. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand" (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Request

Request is to make known your needs, petition God, implore, and plead.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:4-7).

Study the Word

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Examine Lifestyle

"So I say, live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law" (Galatians 5:16-18).

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22-25).

Teach what is right and wrong, how to make right choices and overcome temptation. Use your life as an example and what God's Word says concerning various subjects.

Train

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously about your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander" (1 Peter 3:15-16).

Train to give a testimony, to look forward to the Lord's return, to live a life that is pleasing to God, to fast and pray, to acknowledge and recognize the work of the enemy, to journal, to spend time with God, to abide in Christ.

Encourage

"See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness" (Hebrews 3:12-13).

Daily, if not moment by moment, the pressures and temptations of life have the potential to overtake us. We need consistent encouragement so that we may continue to walk in righteousness.