One of our truly limited resources is our time. Yet we can easily forget to guard or protect it. If we mismanage time, it will escape and like sand through the hour glass, once it's gone, it's gone.
When I was recently having a quiet time with the Lord, I reflected on a few things about my time with Him. I find myself leading a bible study or two each week. I make it a goal to have my own bible studies throughout the week when I open and let it speak to me. I find that I spend time praying (never enough) and yet something is missing.
I sensed God speaking to me and reminding me of one important aspect of our time - and that's our time of devotion. In Christian circles, we called it Devotions or Devos. However, I find it easy for me to end up studying or praying and miss the middle time of worship & devotion.
The simple reason why I am prone to not spend time in devotion is due to the way that time is structured. I like checkboxes... check/done... next. The time I spend in prayer is monitored by minutes. Time in the Word is often to study a passage. Both can be very pragmatic for me. Yet it's the middle space, devotional space, I need to enter in to worship the Lord.
While it's likely not a true dichotomy, I find that for me, picking up my guitar gets me right into a devotional mode. The same can be said in how I read the Word by just reading a passage several times rather than opening another person's work (commentary or sermon). I can enter it as well when I change my posture during prayer - getting right on my knees.
When we study others in the Bible they too entered into a time of private devotion.
Isaac meditated in the evening (Gen 24:63)
Daniel prayed three times a day (Daniel 6:10)
David prayed three times a day while meditating on his bed at night (Psalm 55:17; Psalm 63:6)
Jesus also sought to be alone. He went out from the others. He went to a place where He wasn't distracted. And Jesus did it both in the early morning and late at night (Mark 1:35; Luke 6:12).
I was challenged in the past about how I worship. I will pass the same one on to you. Since I am a worship leader, I can often be found spending time to technically learn the song - worship leaders never want to miss a note or the words - but that's not worship. Worship takes place between you and God. It's congregational for the body of Christ when we come together to worship as one. While I can check that activity off each week by attending and participating in worship at church, that's not to replace my time of devotions.
Let us press in to the Lord.
Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
His going forth is established as the morning;
He will come to us like the rain,
Like the latter and former rain to the earth.
Hosea 6:3
~ Dave Geipel
