If we are to cultivate habits of private prayer and devotion that will weather the storms and remain constant in crisis, our objective must be something larger and greater than our personal preoccupations and longing for self-fulfillment.
Alistair Begg, Made for His Pleasure
We all know that we need a consistent devotional life, but we may struggle to keep up. We may resolve to stick to a Scripture reading plan and fizzle out when we miss a few days. We want to pray daily but lose consistency when we realize that we may be going through the motions with our minds wandering rather than staying focused on our God.
Why is something that God promises to be for our good such a struggle for us? We forget why we are doing it. The effort and discipline can evaporate if we lose sight of the blessing of walking daily with The Lord. Our devotion through His Word and prayer lead to godliness - and that’s for our good. But more than anything else, it is for His Glory.
When my family moved to West Chester in 1983, we began to search for a place to worship. Having been in the same church for my then twelve years as a believer, I remember feeling a bit lost without Wednesdays in prayer meeting and the myriad of church activities that had become so much of my life and that of my family.
Around that time someone gave me a newly released book (really a booklet) by Jay Adams, Godliness Through Discipline. I can’t find that little booklet in my library, but the central message of it has stuck with me. I remember the key Scripture passage was 1 Timothy 4:6-7, “If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness.”
It dawned on me that, while sitting under the teaching of others is of great benefit, the real responsibility for growing in Godliness rests with me. The NASB translates the end of verse seven as “discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness". This resonated with me. I had no problem recognizing the need for daily discipline in physical exercise. I would often exercise even when my heart wasn’t in it because I knew it was for my good. Adams was saying I should pray, read Scripture, and meditate on it even when I would rather not.
In other words, I should discipline myself to consistency in devotions. I began to see my time with Him in the Word and prayer in a different light. I began to look for ways to stay on track. I wrote on my desk calendar “Pray” at the top of each day. Every time I looked at the calendar, I remembered that Grace provided by him. (It’s now on my Outlook calendar).
Even if we were not clearly commanded to do so, Scripture gives us other wonderful reasons to make our devotional life a priority. Here are a few:
Do you desire to discern the Will of God for your life?
I think all believers would answer very quickly “Yes!.” But many of us might give that answer with a closed copy of the Word of God by our side. You are probably very familiar with Psalm 119:105 which says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." We must open the Book.
Have you considered what a gift it is that our Father has not left us to just speculate about His Will but in fact has blessed us by revealing it in His Word. The Psalmist is saying that our paths will be ore straight and our ability to navigate decisions will be stronger if we prioritize meditation on Scripture regularly. What greater motivation do we need than the knowledge that spending time consistently in the Scriptures is the main method through which God reveals His Will.
God's Word Reminds Us of Our Sin
Paul reminds us that Scripture convicts us of sin. Romans 7:7, “What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’" Scripture reveals what is truly in our hearts and lives.
When I spend time in the Word and in prayer, I am convicted of one or more sin or shortcoming in my life. The Word reminds me of God's holy and perfect standard and my inability to meet it. This should keep me humble and dependent upon His Grace.
God's Word Brings Revival
All of us need revival. We pray for revival for our country and for our world – nothing wrong with that But I need revival personally again and again.
In Psalm 119:50, the psalmist prays, " This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise has revived me." (NASB) All of Scripture points to glory of the Gospel. God uses the Word of God to revive us with love, joy, peace, patience, and the rest of the fruit He has promised us (Galatians 5:22-23).
Asking God to revive you should be a frequent prayer and should continue until we are with Him in Eternity and revival will not be in our vocabulary.
To Summarize:
There are many reasons why our devotional lives are important, It’s likely that nothing I have written here is news to you. I am encouraging you (and me) to make it a priority to be in The Word and in prayer daily – even when we don’t feel like it. Prayer is not something to put an asset on our ledger with God. We don’t read the Bible to gain God’s approval. Our devotional life doesn’t gain God’s love for us. In Christ, God already loves us.
Spending time with Him is meant to be a means of God's grace in your life. It will become a terrible burden that will rob you of joy if you perform it with a wrong motive. We should pursue God in devotions because He has first pursued us.
I don’t think it is contradictory to trust God and discipline yourself in devotions. In his book, The Hole in our Holiness, Kevin DeYoung writes “When it comes to growth in godliness, trusting does not put an end to trying.” Don’t wait for your heart to be automatically set on Scripture and prayer every day – that time will not come.
If you have ever undergone physical therapy in recovery from an injury or surgery, you know that those exercises you are to do each day, at home and on your own, are for your good and intended to make you whole. My experience is that there are days when that is the last thing I want to do. But the benefit is from doing the exercise and I have found that, if I miss a day, I feel like I may have retreated in my recovery. If I can discipline myself to be consistently in a physical thing, I should discipline myself more so in my devotion to my God.
“Habit” is not a bad word when describing your devotions.
Pastor Dan Williamson
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