Jesus was a huge giver: he healed, encouraged, lifted up. In fact, he gave his life for all humanity. He is our best example of giving freely, abundantly and joyfully. We're not asked to give so we can tick boxes on a list of spiritual acts nor should we give out of guilt or powerlessness. We're to give so we can be a blessing to people. Giving is sacrificial. It can be difficult to do, but when we give of our time, energy and finances, other people are benefitted by receiving. It's not about our efforts; it's about others' needs.

And, giving is something we should be practising now, in response to God's direction. We can't wait until we're in that better job or that bigger house to give extravagantly. If we desire to be more generous, we must allow God to grow our generosity today.

God will change our heart as we act sacrificially, choosing to give, even though it may be inconvenient, awkward or painful. Sometimes the number of needs can seem overwhelming but, as we follow God's guidance and our passions, we will see our giving make a huge difference in others' lives.

So what now? Our time can be the hardest thing to give away. So let's start with that. Set aside a specific amount of time (ask God for his guidance) to do something for someone else in the next 24 hours.

Fast food outlets, superfast broadband, self-service checkouts, credit cards. Do we have to wait for anything anymore? Sometimes, when we're so used to getting things quickly, it's a shock when God expects us to wait for something. The Bible shows us that impatience and independence aren't just signs of our culture; they're a sign of parts of our nature that we haven't yet given to God.

Look at Abraham and Sarah (see Genesis 16): despite God's promise that she would have a child, Sarah focused on circumstances and took things into her own hands to provide Abraham with a son. God still fulfilled his promise, giving her Isaac, but that meant Abraham then had two sons and a lot of trouble on his hands. What if Sarah had remembered that God's promise would be fulfilled by his actions and in his timing? Now, we're not saying it's easy. But when we're overwhelmed by responsibilities or by waiting for God's intervention, it's a relief to know that the work doesn't have to be ours. It's God's and he'll work through us to finish it.

Of course, God won't move our hands and feet without any effort from us, but our efforts are only worth it if he's been invited into them. He's actually been at work in us our whole lives, whether we've known it or not.

So what now? Got a project or task that you've not yet finished? Put aside time today to make more progress. And remember: '[God] who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion' (Philippians 1:6 NIV).

How do we make sure our faith and relationship with God stay strong? Read our Bibles and pray. Tick. But, how do we make sure, as we read and pray, that we're 'trusting-in-the-Lord-and-not-leaning-our-own-understanding' (see Proverbs 3:5)?

Here are some ideas: (1) Go to a good church. Christian friends and mentors (should) love us unconditionally and remind us of God working in our lives. Serving develops our gifts and reminds us of God's love for people. (2) Chat. We don't have to become super extrovert. We're just talking about talking, with God and people about where we're at. God will never abandon us (see Deuteronomy 31:6) and wants to do amazing things through us. 'Chatting' really helps in dry faith patches. (3) Don't live in the past. From our worst exam to the time we really upset someone, failure hurts. But God wants to show us how to rise from it and help others do the same. If we give our past to God (no matter how painful it is), he'll take it and turn it for good in ways we couldn't have without him.

So what now? Ready to walk fully with God? Let him know your fears and plans and tell him you're ready to follow him 100%. Scary? Yes. But most importantly, first... 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding' (Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV).

We know that God speaks to us in many ways: directly through his voice or our thoughts, through others or through the Bible. But the next vital step to hearing God is obeying him; actually doing what we have heard him say. It can be hard to put what God asks into practice, especially when we're bombarded by the relentless stuff that life brings. But, it's clear...James 1:22 GWT says: 'Do what God's word says. Don't merely listen to it, or you will fool yourselves.'

A great way to help us keep obedient is to keep track of it - through a prayer journal, or a list of 'God notes', or audio messages to ourselves. Let's record what we think God says to us, whether it's a specific message for our life, or a general Bible verse that applies right now. Then let's pray for the inspiration, strength, courage and opportunity to do it.

And, let's celebrate our journey of obedience, through a record (written or mental) - of when we showed kindness or mercy when we would rather have not, or when we rejected a usual temptation, or considered something from God's perspective instead of our own.

So what now? Get yourself a journal or planner. Spend time praying. Write down what you think God is saying to you. You are well able to be obedient, because he is always with you anyway, cheering you on.

Let's say we've taken yesterday's advice and got over our discomfort to ask God to guide us. What's next? Well, listening. There's no point in asking a question if we're not ready to listen.

And listening is a process that takes practise. Let's look at 1 Samuel 3. God called Samuel twice, and he went to Eli (his mentor) thinking he was the one calling. It took a third call from God and some advice from Eli for Samuel to even realise it was God speaking to him. From there, he received an epic message. It's about consistently taking the time to say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant hears' (1 Samuel 3:9 NKJV). Now, it's worth pointing out that God still speaks to us today. Not always with a booming voice, but he most definitely is still 100% interested in communicating with us.

A really good place to start listening for his voice is Scripture. Even if God isn't speaking to us audibly/visibly/in any heart-stopping way today, he is speaking to us through his word, written down centuries ago. The Bible is always ready to be heard, in our situation, at any time. It's a great place to begin to build (or re-build) that openness to hearing God speak, after having asked him to.

So what now? Try memorising bits of the Bible. Unsure where to start? Try the famous Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1 - 7:28). Then, in future, see how God brings verses back to mind when you need them - that's listening.

God's pretty good at giving guidance. As the one who created the bigger picture, he knows where each person uniquely fits in. On the flipside, however, we're not necessarily great at asking him for that step-by-step guidance. Check out Psalm 32. David's chatting with God, about chatting with God. David knows about admitting his issues, asking for help... those things result in God being found.

We know that asking God to guide us is good to do. But we so often don't do it. Why? Because deep down it scares most of us. It's a risk. It's uncomfortable. It asks God to be in control. What if we don't get what we were planning? What if we have to make drastic changes to our thinking? And, sometimes we don't really want guidance; deep down, we just want safety. And God isn't often safe in the way that we'd like.

But he is really good. He wants us to develop a clear sense of his will, and there's no way to do that without asking for his guidance and then making decisions depending on what we know about him and what we've heard from him. He wants mature children, not robots, and that means us taking risks to chase after his will. Occasionally we will miss (or mis-interpret) what he's saying, but his purpose isn't to get us to 'perform' the right actions, but to become the right kind of person.

So what now? Have a good heart to heart with God, today. Ask him for what you need from him.