The Workbox: Devotions

A look inside the Box #1

Today we will look inside the Workbox and study the tool of Devotions. I believe that this is a fundamental and essential tool that should be in everyone’s "box". What I mean by Devotions is the consistent time spent studying, praying, and meditating on God's Word. I consider Devotions a tool because it is incredibly useful to "build" many other skills, tools, and help create a God-centered worldview.

Foundationally, Devotions are necessary for the Christian life. We must have an intimate knowledge of the Word of God. This is one of our greatest connections with God as He has given His Word directly to us. The Word details to us what the standard of the Christian life is and how we should live it out. It is sufficient for all of life and godliness (2 Timothy 3.16).

Since the Word is sufficient for all of life, it is fundamental for Devotions and is an essential part of the toolkit. Next, is the second part of Devotions, prayer. Prayer is our chief means of communicating with God. Since, as Christians, Jesus is our mediator forever, we have direct access to God. The Bible is explicit about the need to pray and why we should do it. There are multiple commands in Scripture to pray and it also explains what we should be praying about such things as rulers, our brothers and sisters, governments, ourselves, and our enemies. Praying during Devotions is an excellent habit, as we trust the Holy Spirit to show us Truth as well as give us wisdom to understand what we have read. It is important to pray and we should recognize what a marvelous blessing it is! Talking with God is no small thing and we should not treat it as such, since we are coming before an Almighty God.

The third part of Devotions is meditation. David in the Psalms states that he meditates on the Word day and night. I take this to mean that we should be reflecting and purposing to act upon what we have read. This is doable by the power of the Holy Spirit. As we walk according to the Spirit we will be bearing fruit by which we manifest the glory of God in the world. I also believe that meditating means we should be striving to live it out day and night (Deuteronomy 6.6-8). Because our thoughts are set on the Word it becomes the driving force in our life that we live for God. As we grow in our love for Christ we will be more consistent in our obedience to what he has commanded. The Gospel of John is clear that following Christ is synonymous with loving Him (John 14.15). Meditating is the last part of Devotions because it needs the other two placed first. We must have the Word first to meditate upon, and as the Word grows and reaches its roots down into our hearts we will draw upon that truth and bear fruit by the Spirit. Meditating is an action that produces an effect. David hid the Word of God in his heart, by meditating or pondering, so as to not sin against God. Internalizing truth means that we bear fruit in accordance with the truth.

Devotions can be short or long, but they need to be consistent. David meditated day and night (Psalm 1.2-3). He desired to read the Word of God and through that, he was able to hide it in his heart to the point that it became written on it. Devotions culminate with the working out of our faith in the everyday. Jesus states that we are to pray in the inner room – the second part of devotions – and that bears fruit in the public world. John Piper says that,

“the root of our salvation glorifies God privately and the fruit of our salvation glorifies God publicly.”

I believe that Devotions prime us to be excellent servants of God and useful to fulfill the will of Him who made us.

In summary, we are to be devoted to the Lord. Nowadays, that may look very different than it did in the 1st Century. We have Bibles everywhere, access to thousands of devotionals, Bible studies meeting weekly, church online, and everything in between. But, ultimately, God sees our heart and desires to be held supreme in it. We want to be devoted to the Lord, Devotions are a good step toward that, but we must check our hearts. The Pharisees were excellent rule-followers and they missed the point, they were not devoted to the Lord. The greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. With the right heart, we can use the tools that God has given us to glorify Him.