One of Your Best Friends
Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city.Proverbs 16:32
Why can’t I lose weight? Why can’t I get in shape? Why can’t I consistently spend time with God? Why can’t I get out of debt? Why can’t I break this bad habit? Maybe it is because of a lack of self-control. Could it be that many, if not most, of our personal problems are caused by a lack of self-control?
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote: “Great is the art of beginning, but greater the art is of ending.”
Somewhere past the starting point a problem exists. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a genie who could help us finish what we start? Or, an angel that would protect us from falling into the snares of the evil one? Or, a guide that would direct us on the straight and narrow path of godly upright behavior? Unfortunately, we don’t have those available to us. But we do possess the inner dynamic of self-control, which is a needed and essential virtue for effective living.
Self-control is one of the best friends we can have. It is one of the best friends we can introduce to our kids. It will enable us to become the persons we want to be and to perform the activities we want to do. We need to cherish this friend always. It is a real lifesaver.
Yet self-control extracts a high price. Following one of the famed Polish concert pianist Ignace Paderewski’s outstanding performances, a fan said to him, “I’d give my life to play like that.” The brilliant pianist replied, “I did.” On another occasion Paderewski was asked by a fellow pianist if he could be ready to play a recital on short notice. The famous musician replied, “I am always ready. I have practiced eight hours daily for forty years.” The other pianist said, “I wish I had been born with such determination.” Paderewski replied, “We are all born with it. I just used mine.”
The point is not that we could all become concert pianists just by exercising enough self-control. But when it comes to effective living we each have the makings of triumph, if we will apply our wills and come under God’s control and pay the price.

Transforming your attitude

Why do we behave the way we do? How did we become the kind of persons we are ? Atitude is developed.

Noone was born with good or bad atitude.Itis just a product of choice and is largely influenced by what you believe.

What determines whether you will succeed and be happy in life may be to.
Take responsibility for your atitude: Wetend to blame circumstance,people ,things, your parents even economy etc for current problems and challenges in our lives and refuse to place the blame exactly where it belongs.


You cannot change what you do not make responsibility for. So stop feeling sorry for self and start doing something about your attitude.
recognise that your attitude can be changed:You may not change your parent or your tribe but you can change your attitude.




Because we are a product of change, there are some area in our thinking and beliefs procuce wrong thinking, which results in a wrong attitude.
Evaluate your preset attitude: This is perhaps the most important step. Be ruthless with yourself be mercilessly honest.

Take your attitude and expose mit to the laser beam of God's word.
These are the key elements of attitude :
Thinking
Emotion
Behavior

Your thinkingwill affect your emotions and both will determine your behaviuor. Remember (proverb 23 :7 Your mind is your power house) shalom.

WHAT IS PRAYER

The simple definition of prayer is communion with God.
It is achannel whereby we gets the attention of God the father throuth his son jesus christ and empowered by holy Ghost.
For your prayer to receive answer from God thre are basic principle and ingre dients it must contain before it can receive answers.
In james 5:16_18. For your prayer to command respect in heaven and in hell, you must be righteous then it must be and effectual well articulated prayer points.
It must also be fervent , it must be hot.