Why does one have to pray, have meetings, and read God’s words while believing in God so as to receive a new life?

The answer from God’s word:

“Prayer is one of the ways in which man cooperates with God, it is a means by which man calls upon God, and it is the process by which man is touched by God’s Spirit. It can be said that those who are without prayer are dead ones without spirit, proof that they lack the faculties to be touched by God. Without prayer, they are unable to attain a normal spiritual life, much less are they able to follow the work of the Holy Spirit; without prayer, they sever their relationship with God, and are incapable of receiving God’s approval. Being someone who believes in God, the more you pray, the more you are touched by God. Such people have greater resolution and are more able to receive the latest enlightenment from God; as a result, only people like this can be made perfect as soon as possible by the Holy Spirit.”

from “Concerning the Practice of Prayer” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“The purpose of prayer is for people to come in front of God and accept what He wants to give them. When you pray frequently, when you come to God frequently, then you frequently have a relationship with God. You are always moved by Him in your heart and you always accept what He is supplying you with. As you always accept His supply you will change, and your conditions will become better and better and you’ll no longer feel downcast. Particularly after brothers and sisters have prayed together, there’s an incredible amount of energy, faces are covered with sweat and you feel that you have gained a great deal. Actually you haven’t shared anything special in fellowship for several days, and it’s a prayer that is so energizing that you feel eager to throw aside your family and the world, that is so energizing that you desire nothing—God alone is enough. That’s how great this energy is. The strength which the work of the Holy Spirit gives to man can be enjoyed inexhaustibly! If you do not rely on this strength but walk with a hardened heart and a stiff neck or walk by your perseverance and will, where can you go! Before you walk long or walk far, you will tumble and fall. That strength will disappear after you walk for some time. Man should keep in contact with God all the time. However, man always casts God aside after he walks for some time. God is God and man is man, and they each walk their own way; God speaks His words and man walks his own way, and they are on two paths. When man has no strength, he sometimes goes to God and speaks several words to draw some strength. After receiving some strength, again he runs away. When he has no fuel after running for some time, he once again goes to God and takes in some fuel. As such, man cannot sustain himself for long. Leaving God, man will have no way to go.

… If one does not read God’s word and does not contact the things of life in the spirit, he cannot even have a grasp of his state. To grasp the state of life in the spirit, one cannot do without prayer or without the church life. Do you have such a feeling? Believing in God, you must pray like this. If you do not pray, you do not have the likeness of a believer in God.”

from “The Significance and Practice of Prayer” in Records of Christ’s Talks With Leaders and Workers of the Church

“Although I have finished My words, people still do not completely understand them. This is because their caliber is poor. This problem can be solved through the church life and fellowship with each other.”

from “Practice (1)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“Seeing that God is always speaking, some become tired of His words and think that it is of no consequence whether or not they read His words. That is not a normal state. Their hearts do not thirst to enter into reality, and such men neither thirst for nor place importance on being perfected. Whenever you find you do not thirst for the word of God, it shows that your state is not normal. … So you must eat and drink of the word of God whatever the situation, whether you are busy or not, whether the circumstances are adverse or not, and whether you are being tried or not. All in all, the word of God is the foundation of man’s existence. None can turn away from His word and must eat of His word as if they are the three meals of the day. Could it be such a simple matter to be perfected and gained by God? Whether or not you understand at present or whether you have insight into the work of God, you must eat and drink more of the word of God. This is entering in a proactive way. After reading the word of God, hasten to put into practice what you can enter into, and set aside for the moment what you cannot. … All those who place no importance on the word of God and always have another attitude toward His word, one of carelessness and the belief that it makes no difference whether they read His word, are those without reality. Neither the work of the Holy Spirit nor enlightenment by Him can be seen in them. Such people are merely coasting along, and are pretenders without true qualifications, like Mr. Nanguo of the parable.[a]

…………

… Since you believe in God, you must eat and drink of His word, experience His word, and live out His word. Only this is belief in God! If you say you believe in God yet cannot speak out any of His words or put them into practice, you are not considered to believe in God. This is ‘seeking bread to satisfy hunger.’ Speaking only of trivial testimony, useless matters, and superficial matters, and not having even the slightest bit of reality do not constitute belief in God. As such,[b] you have not grasped the right way of believing in God. Why must you eat and drink more of God’s words? Is it considered belief if you do not eat and drink of His words and seek only to ascend to heaven? What is the first step for one who believes in God? By what path does God perfect man? Can you be perfected without eating and drinking of the word of God? Can you be considered a person of the kingdom without the word of God as your reality? What exactly is belief in God? Believers in God should be possessed of good behavior externally, at the very least, and of utmost importance is to have the word of God. No matter what, you can never turn away from His word. Your knowledge of God and fulfillment of His will are all achieved through His word. All nations, sects, denominations, and sectors will be conquered through the word in the future. God will speak directly, and all people will hold the word of God in their hands; through this will people be perfected. The word of God pervades throughout: People speak of God’s word and practice according to God’s word, while kept within is still the word of God. Both within and without, they are steeped in the word of God, and thus are they perfected. Those who fulfill the will of God and are able to bear witness to Him are those who have the word of God as reality.

When you enter into the Age of Word, you will be in the Age of Millennial Kingdom. This is the work that is being achieved now. From now, practice fellowshiping about the word of God. Only through eating and drinking of His word and experiencing it can you exhibit the word of God. Only through your words of experience can others be convinced by you. If you do not have the word of God, none would be convinced! All those used by God are able to speak the word of God. If you cannot, this shows that the Holy Spirit has not worked in you and you have not been perfected. This is the importance of the word of God. Do you have a heart that thirsts for the word of God? Those who thirst for the word of God thirst for truth, and only such men are blessed by God. In the future, there are many more words that God will say to all denominations and all sects. He first speaks and utters His voice among you and makes you complete before moving on to speak and utter His voice to the Gentiles and conquer them. Through the word, all will be sincerely and utterly convinced. Through the word of God and His revelations, the corrupt disposition of man has diminished. All have the appearance of man, and man’s rebellious disposition has so too lessened. The word works upon man with authority and conquers man within the light of God. The work that God will do in the present age, as well as the turning points of His work can all be found within His word. If you do not read His word, you will understand nothing. Through your own eating and drinking of His word, fellowshiping with brothers and sisters, and your actual experiences, your knowledge of the word of God will become comprehensive. Only thus can you truly live it out in reality.”

from “The Age of Kingdom Is the Age of Word” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

“The truth that man needs to possess is found in the word of God, a truth that is the most beneficial and helpful to mankind. It is the tonic and sustenance that your body needs, something that helps you restore your normal humanity, a truth that you should be equipped with. The more you practice God’s word, the more quickly your life will blossom; the more you practice God’s word, the clearer the truth becomes. As you grow in stature, you will see things of the spiritual world more clearly, and you will be more powerful to triumph over Satan. … Therefore, you can go everywhere with truth, but if there is no truth in you, don’t even think of trying to convince religious people, much less your family. You will be like fluttering snow without truth, but with truth, you can be happy and free, where none can attack you. No matter how strong a theory is, it cannot overcome truth. With truth, the world itself can be swayed and mountains and seas moved, whereas a lack of truth leads to ruin by maggots; this is simply fact.”

from “Practice the Truth Once You Understand It” in The Word Appears in the Flesh

Footnotes:

a. The original text omits “of the parable.”

b. The original text omits “As such.”

From in“A Hundred Questions and Answers on Investigating the True Way” | The Church of Almighty God