Have you ever wondered why pastors always seem to ask you to read your
Bible and pray? It seems like that's the application to every single one of our
sermons. So why should you actually read your Bible and pray? If your answer to
that question is because it's good and that's what Christians do, well then you
probably want to keep watching this video.
It is so important to establish a devotional life and here are five
reasons why. The goal of every single Christian is to
have intimacy and a relationship with God. Jesus wasn't crucified and resurrected
just so we can have a brand new world view. He wants us to have a relationship
with him. In Hebrews 4:16 it says that we can enter the very throne of God to
receive grace and mercy in times of need. We can actually enter into God's
presence because of what Jesus did on the cross and through his resurrection.
And we enter that reality through intentionally seeking God through Bible
reading and prayer, and a bunch of other disciplines, but those are the major two
disciplines. Imagine you had a friend who invited you over to their house and said
you could come over to their house anytime you'd like, but imagine if months
would go by and years would go by and then you never actually take them up on
their offer to go hang out at their house. Are you really much of a friend? Do
you really have a relationship? Well, the same way is with your relationship with
God. If you don't take God up on his offer to actually have a relationship
with him, to be his friend, well then we might actually not grow an intimacy with God.
When we draw near to God through our devotional life
and we grow in intimacy with God, we're actually transformed from the inside
out to look more like Jesus. Going back to Hebrews 4:16 when it says
that we receive grace when we enter the presence of God, when we enter the throne
room of God, well that grace isn't just something
that you receive on salvation when you come to know Jesus. That grace is
actually continually experienced throughout your Christian life and it
transforms you from the inside out. I heard grace explained kind of like
this: imagine if grace is like a train and there's a tracks that the trains on.
When we do our devotions, when we read our Bible and pray, we're essentially
placing ourselves onto the track to be hit by God's grace. It takes actual
drawing near to God to receive the kind of transformative grace that only his
presence can give. In our lives we might not see ourselves changed
instantaneously, but over time we will seem unrecognizable from the
person we used to be. Just a better person, a more moral person, a person who
looks more like Jesus .God has placed us on a
mission to proclaim and to display the good news, the gospel of Jesus, and if
you're anything like me it's easy to get distracted from that mission and from
that goal. Every time I draw near to God in my devotional life it's almost like
I'm refreshed and recharged for the mission of God on a more subjective
level. I'm reassured of the call that God has placed on my life as an individual
who's called by him. When we draw near to God, God draws near to us,
and God draws near to us through the power and the presence of the Holy
Spirit in our lives. The Holy Spirit goes by many different names, but the Holy
Spirit is the comforter. The comforter who gives us peace in times of hardship
and trial. This kind of peace isn't the absence of chaos. This kind of peace is
peace despite the chaos that might be around you. The peace of God makes the
most intense storm manageable, the lowest valley flat, and the largest army seem
small. And the peace of God also gives godly perspective that no matter what's
going on in your life the most important thing is your relationship with God.
It's easy to go through your weeks and your months
thinking that everything relies on you, and when you believe that everything
relies on you you begin to actually not seek God and go towards God and draw
near to God, because why would you if you think everything relies on you and not
him? And when it comes to our devotional life we need to have reliance on God so
by taking some time out of your day to actually sit down and to pray and read
your Bible you're exercising dependence on God which is a good practice because
at the end of the day, really it all depends on God and very little depends
on you. Don't forget that if you liked this video please hit the subscribe
button, and if you think this video could help someone out there you know please
pass it along. And don't forget to always live intentionally.