Hope and Devotion

What kind of daily discipline of devotion do you practice? Do you read your Bible everyday, pray in a certain place at a certain time, keep a journal or some other record of your daily worship practice?

It is interesting how our church culture puts a certain emphasis on daily rituals or habits of discipleship in order to, in effect, measure one's devotion to God. When, in actuality, we see little emphasis of this type of behavior in Scripture. That is, we do not often get a glimpse of what the saints, OT or NT, were doing in their daily devotional lives. Daniel is a rare exception. In the Book of Daniel 6:10 we are told that "He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously."

That practice is something that we seldom, if ever, see divulged about other people - patriarchs, prophets, disciples, or Apostles. Yes, Acts 2 gives us a glimpse of what the early church was doing, but not individuals. I am sure there may be instances recorded in both the OT and NT, but I am not aware of them at the moment.

So why do we, meaning our culture, put such an emphasis on daily rituals? What do those expressions mean regarding our devotion to God? Is someone who reads their Bible daily and prays in a particular manner more devoted than someone who does not?

My habits are rather unexciting compared to my wife's. Now, as I may have indicated before, she is far superior in her faith than I, but I do not believe it is because of her daily devotional practice. That may help, but there are other contributing factors. On the other had, my daily readings and impromptu prayers are different. I often read for content and understanding more than devotion. My prayers are not regular, in fact they are rather spontaneous.

At the heart of all this may indeed be one's understanding of God and what He expects, compared to the pastors and what they often "demand". Also, one's comprehension of God's sovereignty comes in to play.  Are our devotions intended to teach us to learn about God, yield to His sovereign will, or perhaps affect His will with out petitions? Some would say all three, but I would challenge that person to ponder their intent and they may find it is really one over the others.

I read and study to learn about God, to think about God, to seek to understand the nature of God. My prayers are often petitions to God for something or about something. Rather a bizarre contradiction when I think about it, and I DO think about it. Nevertheless, that is my tendency.

It is my suspicion that there is no right way. No magic formula that makes one person's devotional habits more effective than another's. We may find ourselves kneeling and praying three times a day toward Jerusalem, or simply reading scripture for ten minutes then praying a prayer of thanks and petition. I suppose whatever works, works.  Whatever a person's habits are, it would be poor thinking to bounce mine against theirs to measure one's devotion to God.

Father Spirit, I am devoted to you much more than my devotions are devoted to you. You desire more than habits or rituals. You desire my life lived out in harmony to who I am in Christ.