God asks us to give Him the highest and first place in our lives (Matthew 6:33, Exodus 20:3, Matthew 22:37-38).
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” – Matthew 6:33
But, how exactly do you practice that? I myself believe that as long as you are receptive and humble to His will in your life, and you learn to crucify your own flesh, you don’t really have to do much more. God does it for you in you. I personally don’t believe that it is a complicated formula or checklist that you have to work through.
I think it is more about letting God lead, and letting go of, trusting on yourself. Admit when He points something out to you, and daring to look critically at yourself, your actions and walks with Him. Being honest with God and giving Him the space to let Him do His thing in you, that requires trust and letting go.
“Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” - Matthew 22:37-38
However, there are a number of things that I have learned from God in the past years that have helped me change into the person I am today. Am I there yet? Nope. Do I have all the wisdom? Another big Nope. But practice makes perfect, from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18).
When I look back at how I was a few years ago and how I was in life, I see a huge difference, praise the Lord! So besides letting go and trusting God and giving Him space, there were still a number of practical points for me that definitely helped and that is why I would like to share them with you. I pray that it will bless you too.
Getting practical
Putting God first, what does that mean, and how can you put it into practice?
The first thing that has helped me a lot to make putting God first practical is to start the day early, and early for me is: five o’clock.
I can then start the day with Him in peace and lay everything at His feet. In this way, I give Him the first and best of the day. It is a wonderful start to the day and I recommend it to everyone, that does not mean that it should be at five o’clock for everyone, you do not have to do anything, because everything is grace, but starting the day with God is what allows you to put Him first right away.
“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”- Mark 1:35
Finding a time that is feasible and practical for you is of course different for everyone. Jesus himself also started the day with the Father (Mark 1:35) and because Jesus is our example and our Guide, this is also something we can learn from Him.
For me, it did cost some “blood, sweat and tears” to “get the hang of it”. I snoozed a lot those first months and put my phone (which I have my alarm on) further and further out of reach in the hope that that would help me not turn it off in my comatose state..LOL.
But nothing helped. Demonstratively and in a sleepwalking state, I turned it off every morning and then walked back to my bed and continued sleeping. To the point of annoyance…very frustrating.
But I kept on going, morning after morning, for months and months. Eventually it paid off and things went well more and more often. Persistence pays off, so to speak 😊, Praise the Lord.
You just start your day differently when you start it with God.
Pray without ceasing
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
The Bible also teaches us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). I am now succeeding more and more in this, and it is becoming more and more of a habit to be in conversation with Him throughout the day, but of course it did not start out that way.
Previously, I prayed very consciously at certain moments, I then separated myself to speak with God and after my prayer there was actually no contact between me and Him, until the next moment that I separated myself again. Although there is of course nothing wrong with this, God actually desires more for a continuous “open line” between Him and us and that He may be involved in everything in our lives. I must say that I personally did not have to make much effort for that, it has grown over the years so that I now involve Him in almost everything.
At school (Charis Bible College) I learned that a relationship with God works the same as a relationship with your spouse. One day you talk to each other a lot and the next day, perhaps because of work or other matters, a little less. On days off you can spend hours with each other, or take the time for a good conversation, than on workdays. And this does not have to be a problem for your relationship. It can also be that relaxed in your relationship with God. One day you can talk to Him for hours and hours, and on other days that is sometimes a little less. We do not have to make it difficult or complicated about that, that is simply the relationship that you may have with Him, in all relaxation, not from work but from love and relationship.
But involving Him in everything is, besides a wish from His Father heart to us, also just fun 😊, cozy and adventurous! And sometimes just practical, like when you lost your keys, when you can’t decide what to eat that evening or when you, like me, lost your cat and don’t know where to look 😉. He also wants to be with you and involved in those things, and with that we put Him first in our lives again.
The temple of the Holy Spirit
Another thing I have learned, mainly from the Bible text Romans 12:1, is to treat your body as a temple of the Holy Spirit, and my lesson was mainly in the area of health and exercise.
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship.” – Romans 12:1
A year ago I was a bit overweight and I ate and drank a lot of sugar. This resulted in extreme fatigue. God pointed me to this verse from Romans 12 at that time. With this, too, we can honor God and put Him first.
Our body is a blessing from God and our responsibility to take good care of it. Proverbs 23:20-21 also teaches us that overeating is seen as a sin. Which we can also read in the context of Galatians 5:22-23 in which self-control is part of the fruit of the Spirit. Self-control by not eating excessively is something that God showed me at the time. This led to me, under God’s guidance, making better and more conscious choices regarding food, drink and exercise. Eventually I lost many kilos, the fatigue disappeared, I became fitter and felt better about myself. 
“Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.” – Proverbs 23:20-21
In this, too, we can honor God and put Him first; by simply taking good and conscious care of the body He has given us.
Words of life
Before I knew Jesus, I would just blurt out whatever came into my head, or rather, before I thought of it, it was already out. There was no restraint, no sensitivity. I was as impulsive and impatient as a three-year-old, and my heart was on my sleeve.
Whether you liked to hear it or not, I gave my unvarnished opinion. And if I didn’t like it, you got the wind from the front too.
God had a tough job with me…LOL, Praise the Lord I’m not like that anymore.
The Bible teaches us that words have power (Proverbs 18:20-21) and that it is important to speak life, not only about ourselves, but also about other people or situations. This also allows us to put Him first and give Him the honor and glory that He deserves and asks of us.
“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,” James 1:19
In James, we read that we must learn to speak slowly but listen quickly (James 1:19). But how do you do that practically? You cannot change by yourself from your own flesh. As with everything this is also a process, but what it mainly has to do with, I think, is again, giving God the space to change you and surrendering yourself to it.God tamed the impulsiveness in me 😊..this also has to do with having that “open line” with Him continuously throughout the days. This way you learn to do everything in consultation with Him, and that impulsiveness has no room because you start doing everything more thoughtfully and together with Him. You learn to wait for His answer and His guidance.
He will teach you to speak words of encouragement and gentleness. Words that build people up and not tear them down. Words that bless people. When we surrender ourselves to this, He will take us by the hand, although of course we also have our own responsibility by learning to be more thoughtful with our words and non-verbal words.
Tithes
One thing that was a long and difficult learning process for me was tithing. Growing up in my mother’s home, we were not well off. At one point, there was no money left to even go to college. I wanted to study to be a secretary, but my mother did not have the means to provide that, and my father was miles out of the picture.
At a later point, once I had my own family with the father of our children, money was no longer an issue at all. Financially, everything was possible, and we basically did not have to watch the money. The lack of, and later the abundance of, clouded my view on money and by the time I was on my own after my own divorce, I had a hard time getting a grip on it.
Not that I had debts, fortunately, but I just found it difficult to deal with. Besides the fear of not having enough, on the other hand, I sometimes had trouble controlling myself from buying useless things for the children or for myself. But God let the hunger for the truth about Biblical prosperity and finances grow and grow in me. I had to know what God’s Word says about it and I had to get this “under control” too. I wanted to be free from those struggles in my thinking.
By giving God the first thing in your new month in terms of finances, we also show that He comes first because we give Him the first and best. Giving your tithes comes from the Old Testament. Mostly, it is about the period after God gave the law to Israel through Moses. But also in the period before that, tithes are mentioned a few times.
The first person recorded as giving a tithe was Abram.(Genesis 14:18-20, Genesis 28:20-22, Leviticus 27:30-33, Deuteronomy 14:28, Numbers 18:21-29).
God asks us to give our tithes, not because He wants to take from us, but to release the blessing that rests on it over our lives. God has simply established certain laws. Just as we know the law of gravity in nature, so there are also certain laws in the spiritual and certain blessings cannot be released without using certain principles or steps.
It is the same with tithing. When we give God the first part of our increase, He will bless us financially and correct those who have been tricked (Malachi 3:10) Money is the least important thing in the Kingdom of God, and by tithing we show God and the spiritual world that we are not stuck with the least, that we want to put God first in everything.
It was a long process for me of months and months before I really dared to take steps and finally “just” did it.
Walking with God and in His will requires faith and trust. Not being afraid of the unknown, learning and daring to step out of your comfort zone. But I have also learned with this; put God first in your finances, and He WILL open the windows of heaven for you.
He cares. He provides.
Final tip
The last, but not unimportant, tip I want to give you to put God first is through fasting & prayer.
The whole fasting and praying thing was at least as much of a struggle for me as all the other things I mentioned above. Boy oh boy, is my flesh stubborn about food…LOL 😊.
I really had to practice fasting because every time I “failed”. I couldn’t keep it up, forgot to pray so it was more of a hunger strike than a spiritual matter or my flesh screamed bloody murder as if it was dying. Apparently my flesh is a master of exaggeration and could have won a serious Oscar award.
Finally, after many “falls”, I managed to fast for twenty-one days at the beginning of 2024. It was a wonderful period and from that moment on I decided to give the first three days of the month to God by fasting those days.
Many ways to honor God
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” - Matthew 7:13-14
There are many, many ways to put God first in our lives. He gave us the best, His Son, so out of love we should want to give Him the best. Not out of works, but just out of love for Him. He deserves to be involved in everything, and it helps us become more and more like Him and keeps us on that narrow path (Matthew 7:13-14).
I want to encourage you to search your heart, ask and pray for areas where He is not yet first in your life and where you may need to work on or grow. Ask Him for help and revelation, and He will lovingly show it to you. And when He does, be humble and receptive to receive. And allow Him to mold and shape you.
He wants the best for us and when we give Him our best, a beautiful relationship with your Heavenly Father is created.
Trust Him, and then let go.
