The Practice of Personal Devotion

The Practice of Personal Devotion

Psalm 119: 147-149

I rise before dawn and cry for help;

I hope in your words.

My eyes are awake before the watches of the night,

That I may meditate on your promise.

Hear my voice according to your steadfast love;

O Lord, according to your justice give me life.

As a young man I heard over and over again the value and benefit of spending time with God. I was the oldest of seven children; Our house was busy most of the time and very few minutes could be truly defined as “quiet”.  Nonetheless I strove to develop in this area of personal devotion to Jesus and found it to be such a struggle. I would start with grand ideas that I would spend an hour each day lost in Scripture and in prayer. The reality I lived with though was distraction, tiredness, and lack of focus caused my best effort to crumble into personal disappointment and failure. What could I do?

Let me tell you the secret! Make it two minutes; that’s all. I can do anything for two minutes a day. I can be faithful month after month for two minutes a day. God can receive my consistent devotion.

Here’s what happened. Two minutes was not only possible, but I was successful. Days ran into months and minutes accidentally added themselves to the two minutes that were my resolve. God met with me in those few minutes, and I found Jesus early in the morning on most days. This time soon became the most important time of my day and Jesus’ presence rubbed off on me more and more. I started reflecting on his love.

It’s still early in the year.  I want to encourage you and challenge you to seek him daily but make it only two minutes and watch how those two minutes change the tenor of your day. If you need some encouragement or guidance, I’m here for you and would be glad to share with you some things that might work for you like they’ve worked for some really good friends of mine.

Prayer for the day:

Jesus, I’m learning from you how to be more like you. I promise to give you two minutes tomorrow and every day after that offering you, my day. Please give me the drive that I need to meet you every morning. Amen.

 

Blessings,

 

Pastor Wes