Devoted to Devotions?
by Keith Hoffman
Do you, your spouse, and your children
spend time in prayer and the Word everyday? I struggled to read the Scriptures
with regularity for many years. It seemed as if there was always too much to
do and too little time. My attempts to faithfully read the Bible usually
lasted as long as a New Year’s diet resolution. I was convinced in my mind
that it was the right thing to do and I started out with great fervor, but
before too many days passed, my guilt waxed and my commitment waned. Faced
with the choice of getting up early for devotions or catching an extra 30
minutes of sleep, the latter often seemed much more rewarding. In my attempts
to be faithful, I tried utilizing my lunch hour for devotions, but the office
environment didn’t seem conducive to quiet contemplation. I tried the
evenings, but when I returned home from work, the hours overflowed with
activity until I was too tired to think. My sense of guilt lingered throughout
the day, but as I turned off the lights and went to bed, reading my Bible was
often the chore left undone.
Over the last several years, something
of a transformation has occurred in my life. It is no longer a source of guilt
when I fail to read my Bible, but I hardly ever miss. My time in prayer and
the Word is definitely not a chore anymore, although it still requires
precious time. Have I developed a better sense of discipline? Not really. But
my devotional time has become one of those activities, like eating breakfast
in the morning, which I don’t want to skip.
What has changed? Would you believe
that I no longer desire to have daily devotions? It is true! I can never be
sufficiently motivated by that goal, and I have abandoned it completely. What
I do desire is to hear God speak to me. I wish to be cleansed and
washed daily by His Word. I long for His direction and guidance. I seek
assurance that I am walking in His will. These are goals that I am
motivated to pursue!
A Love Relationship
I remember when my wife and I first
met. When we were not together, we spent hours on the telephone almost every
night. I wanted to talk with her and learn about her. I wished to discover her
affections and thoughts on various topics. I longed to spend time with her and
get to know her better. As I began to know her, I began to love her.
Similarly, my focus must be on knowing
God, not on doing devotions. Developing a deep relationship with God requires
more than spending a few minutes reading a random passage from the Bible as
directed by a devotional. That would be the equivalent of my wife putting
everything she ever said or thought on little slips of paper, stuffing them
into a fish bowl, and then asking someone to pull one out for me to read. It
would take a long time to develop a love relationship if I heard her speak in
that way. Imagine one day reading that said she had a dog named “Peanuts” in
1970, and the next day choosing a note stating she did not like her 9th
grade algebra teacher. While this information is true and tells me something
about her, it would be a poor way to grow a relationship. I would be reading
facts about her, not building a relationship with her. When we pray and study
the Word, we must seek and listen for what He specifically wants to tell us
each day.
Hungering and Thirsting for the Word
Several years ago, I experienced
something of a crisis when I realized that attaining the professional goals I
had set did not bring lasting satisfaction or meaning to my life. It was
devastating to realize that the years I had spent climbing the corporate
ladder had such a small payout in the end. In my search for significance and
purpose, I began to study the Word with gusto! For perhaps the first time in
my life, I drank in God’s Word in big gulps, trying to quench my thirst for
wisdom and truth. Studying and searching the Word suddenly became so much more
than reading a designated passage for the day. It became a critical part of my
life and growth. It became my path to establishing an intimate relationship
with Christ and understanding His will. I searched and dug deep to answer the
cry of my heart.
How do you spend time in the Word?
Devotionals can be useful as thought starters. Books with solid Scriptural
foundations can be helpful guides in focused topical studies. Nevertheless, I
have learned that I also need my own Spirit-directed time in the Word
everyday. My prayers to God are one half of a conversation, and the Holy
Spirit speaks to me and directs me in His Word in reply. I have developed a
deep relationship with God by consistently spending time talking to Him and
hearing Him speak. I moved from just knowing about God to knowing Him through
a love relationship with Jesus.
Do I occasionally miss a day in the
Word? Unfortunately, yes. Is it a struggle for me to read the Bible every day?
No! I long to spend intimate time with my Lord everyday. It is my heart’s
desire to hear Him speak in response to my prayers. I seek His daily cleansing
through the Word to keep my heart pure and holy before Him. I yearn for His
guidance and direction in my life.
As you encourage your family to spend
time in prayer and in the Word, remember the goal is not to “do devotions,”
but to spend time building a love relationship with Jesus.
Copyright ©
2003 by Keith Hoffman
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