How can we be more obedient to God?

Psalm 119:2Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts.

John 14:15-16, 21-24“If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. . . . Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.” . . . “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me.”

Hebrews 11:8It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going.

Commit to trusting God to guide your daily decisions, do what is best for you, and care for you as he promises. The more we trust God, the more we will want to obey him. Obedience is an act of faith.

Hebrews 8:10“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

Commit to walking more closely with God. The closer we walk with God, the more we will want to obey him. Obedience is easier when it is an expression of love resulting from a personal relationship with God.

Philippians 2:5-13You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. . . . Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

Commit to an attitude of humility, which gives us the proper perspective of who God really is and who we are. The more we understand who we are in relation to who God is, the more we will want to obey him. Obedience requires humility.

Luke 6:49“But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house right on the ground, without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”

James 1:22-23, 25Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. . . . But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

Commit to not only listening to God (through prayer and reading the Bible), but acting upon what he tells you. The more we listen to God, the more we know what he wants and the more we will want to obey him. Obedience involves more than simply listening or knowing what is right or wrong.

Deuteronomy 30:15-16“Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy.”

Joshua 22:5“Be very careful to obey all the commands and the instructions that Moses gave to you. Love the Lord your God, walk in all his ways, obey his commands, hold firmly to him, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul.”

Commit yourself to make the little daily choices to serve God. Serving God with our lives begins with little decisions to serve him. The more we commit to serving God in the little things, the more we will want to obey him. Obedience is a life-long commitment to daily godly choices.