This is part three iN our series exploring the rhythms that are required of a believer, THE FUNDAMENTALS OF OUR FAITH: what we call the four “Selah Moments”.
Prayer and personal devotion is like oxygen for the soul.
If you’re not breathing this oxygen in, what toxic fumes are you taking in? We begin today’s meditation with this beautiful passage from scripture that presents the idea of personal devotion in the best way possible:
“‘They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.’”
Let’s focus first on the word “devoted”. A devotion of themselves to the apostle’s teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. What people then saw was their devotion, not their discussion and not their distractions. And everyone saw this, and a sense of awe descended upon every soul: not just those who followed Christ.
What are we known for in our lives? And what would we like to be known for? In the book “Blue like Jazz”, the opening pages talk of how author Donald Miller never liked jazz; a chance encounter on the streets of Portland changed his attitude towards jazz: he saw a man playing saxophone soulfully for a spell. As he puts it, “Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way.” What do the people around you see you doing? And what do they take away from your actions?
In the documentary “The Last Dance”, Michael Jordan talks of focus and dedication in a life given entirely to his pursuit of excellence. “The minute you get away from the fundamentals is when the bottom can fall out of your game, your job, whatever you’re doing”. There’s a sense of devotion to his game that we may use to question our own devotion to the fundamentals of our faith.
What then are we devoted to? Whatever we are devoted to will produce results. In fact, we get better at the things we spend our time with, and we see that our lives get more of that. The easiest way to understand a man’s priorities is to look closely at where he spends his time, and examine what he prays for. Where do we spend most of our days, and when we go to God, what are we praying for?
What does devotion actually mean?
The passage in Acts we read above uses the word “devotion”. In the original Greek of Acts, it’s rendered as “proskartereo”. Which means to join, to adhere to, to be ready, to give attention to, to be faithful, to be devoted to, to spend much time together and be fully committed to. If this is the definition of the word “devotion”, if this is the standard that we must reach up to to be considered truly devoted, if this is the measure of how deeply immersed in God we are, would we make the cut? Where do we stand if we were to question ourselves about this: are we truly devoted to God? Are we joined with God, adhered to him, are we giving attention to him, are we faithful and devoted to him, are we spending time together, and are we fully committed to him?
“When someone from the outside sees us, do they see our devotion to God? And are they filled with awe?”
/Selah
Prayer, petition, privacy.
Each of us has experienced a spell of dryness in our relationship with God, each of us has faced a season or two of loneliness, however short or long. Having a channel of communication open through the day with God is what keeps the dry season away, it’s what keeps loneliness at bay. It’s a choice we have to make: is He priority, is time with Him priority, is communication with Him priority. But first, how do we approach prayer? And what does the Bible tell us of our role in prayer?
“‘ “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ‘”
When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we first need to understand who he is for us: he is our father, and that should guide our language, our attitude, our words, and our personal life with God when no one is looking.
What our friends need from us, what our partners need from us, what our bosses need from us, what our families need from us is what our relationship with God is when no one’s looking, what our petitions are filled with, and how much time we spend with God. They need to experience this sense of awe through us, to see what true devotion is. We have this responsibility, this very practical responsibility. It’s also an invitation that God is extending to us to spend time with him for a purpose that goes way beyond us.
“Your religion is what you do with your solitude”, said Archbishop William Temple. Where then do your thoughts flow when you wake up, what are you consumed with when you lie down to sleep? What’s taking over your heart when no one’s around? These simple questions are a great start for us to evaluate ourselves this season, and they are excellent questions that reveal to us what we ought to seek repentance for before God.
Devotion has its origins in our creation.
“‘Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. ‘”
Notice that our companionship with God and our prayer is a holy duty, but it is also meant to be delight. It’s not something that our emotional state should dictate, it’s not something our physical state ought to control. Note also that when God created us, he formed us. He didn’t just speak us into existence — he formed us up close, he breathed the breath of life into our nostrils up close and personal. There is an intimacy here that is not shared with anything else in creation, no other thing in the universe shares this with God. It’s this intimacy with God that brought us to life, it’s this intimacy that formed us.
When you consider our creation this way, we see that we long for intimacy with God because we were created in intimacy. God created us for himself. And we need God to know ourselves. That then, is the need for personal devotion.
When troubles consume us, when the waters seem like they’re way too high for us, when it feels like we have run aground and are being battered by waves, we should check if we are still intimate with God. The source of our life is that intimacy, and how well have we cared for it, how well have we nurtured it? Sometimes, suffering and confusion and pain is a reminder for us to check ourselves: are we still intimate with God today?
“Human beings are hardwired for awe: we are worshippers. We are searching for joy, hope and fulfilment. This longing is deep in the heart of every human being — it wanders around in your soul. Your heart cries out every day to be enveloped by the glory of God. Whether we know it or not, the desire to be amazed and satisfied is actually a universal craving to see God face to face. We are on a quest for life. We have only two places to look: you can search for life in what he created, or we can look to our creator, for whom and by whom all things exist. ”
The nature of personal devotion.
There are four rhythms within personal devotion, and they spell out the word ACTS: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. Let’s close today’s meditation with a quick look at each of these.
Adoration is the first. Give God praise and honour for who he is as Lord. In other words, respect him, be in awe of him, and say wonderful things about him. Consider that the gifts you have been given — everything from the breath you possess to the strength in your arms — are tools you can employ in service of your adoration. Paint something, write something, make something. In adoration. Time will cease to be of essence, your focus will shift from anything and everything else, and you’ll find yourself immersed. Use your gifts. Make something for God, in adoration.
Confession: [Read 1 John 1:9]
Confession is the next. Honestly deal with your sin in your prayer life. Admitting that God knows who we are, who we have been, and who we will be is important: it’s the only way to know that God has forgiven our sin today, our sins from yesterday, and the sins we may commit tomorrow.
Thanksgiving: [Read 1 Thessalonians 5:18]
Thanksgiving is key. Give thanks in all circumstances, says Paul, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Be thankful, for the will of God, and for the community that surrounds you. This too is part of devotion.
Supplication:
And finally, supplication: praying for the needs of others and yourself. Asking seems to come naturally for children, so appropriate that mindset. It helps to be mindful that prayer is not about always getting what we want, it’s about submitting ourselves to the will of God. As it is said, if we want to get what we pray for every time, pray for the will of God.
““No one can believe how powerful prayer is and what it can effect, except those who have learned it by experience. Whenever I have prayed earnestly, I have been heard and have obtained more than I prayed for. God sometimes delays, but He always comes.””