“As we keep his commands, we live deeply and surely in him, and he lives in us. And this is how we experience his deep and abiding presence in us; by the Spirit he gave us.” 1 John 3:24 (The Message)
Do you have to pray? Memorize Scripture? Tithe? Etc…?
If you are a believer and you must do such things, my question is, “Why?”
Could you NOT do those things and still be acceptable to God?
If you are not sure, then you need to hear this: You were a sinner. Jesus Christ died taking your sins on Himself. He received the punishment your sins warranted. When God raised Jesus from the dead, Jesus was free of our sins and so were you. When Adam sinned, God’s perfect relationship with him ended. God could no longer live in Adam or any of his descendants (that’s us) because of sin. By Jesus taking away your sins (past/present/future) you become sinless in His eyes and He can now live inside you as He did in Adam before he sinned. God now finds you completely acceptable to Him.
Can you do things to “upgrade” or “enhance” your acceptability in God’s sight? No! Your sins are gone. You are as clean in His sight as you will ever be.
If someone told you that God accepts them because they have done this-or-that, you would be quick to note that they can’t work their way to God. Yet, as a believer, are you trying to work your way into His good graces by doing your own version of Christian this-and-that?
What if you did not pray or read/study the Bible, would you feel guilty? You need to examine that guilt. It is not coming from God. It’s from Satan. He wants you to feel inadequate, discouraged, and frustrated. God has already accepted You. He’s in you and He loves you. He does not come and go based on what you do. Live with that assurance.
Understand that praying and Bible study are not bad things. But they are not the measure of our acceptability to God. That acceptability has already been taken care of.
His Word For Me 