It is up to us to develop an intimate relationship with God. Having an intimate relationship with Him is preferable to pursuing legitimate daily tasks or the demands of leadership responsibilities in the gospel ministry. As Christians, we should not overwork ourselves to the point where we neglect our relationship with God. Being productive is not the same as just being busy.

Photo source: Timothy Eberly

Even though Jesus was extremely busy, He did not let it interfere with His time spent in prayer. Jesus prayed to God every day in private. He prayed intermittently throughout the night. One of His disciples begged Him to teach them how to pray after observing His practice of praying by Himself for some time. They learned from Jesus how to say what is known as the Lord’s Prayer.

“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.” – Luke 6:12 NIV

For every one of us, having an intimate relationship with God is crucial, thus if a leader in the gospel ministry struggles to do this, he may be carrying out God’s will independently. He will not be acting in a way that pleases God since he is not in contact with Him.  God is equal in importance to His work itself. While claiming to be doing God’s work, we should attempt to avoid drifting away from Him. The priority for us should be fellowship with God. God and Moses shared an intimate relationship. Moses had a face-to-face conversation with God. When we spend enough time with God, He will continually reveal things to us, and the influence of the Holy Spirit on our lives will grow.

“He said, “Listen to my words: When there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in visions, I speak to them in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” – Number 12:6-8

Benefits of a Devotional Life

  • Increases our faith

Our faith grows as we become intimate with God. The Bible is filled with examples of God accomplishing the seemingly impossible. To name a few, He healed the ill, raised the dead, split the Red Sea, fed thousands of followers with manna, and many other miracles. So, if we are experiencing fear and doubt, maintaining a consistent devotional routine will help us strengthen our faith as we will continue to learn as our intimacy with God deepens.

  • Enables us to focus on God

There may be a lot of distractions vying for our focus away from God. We could succumb to life’s stresses, and occasionally even the positive things, like ambitions and dreams, might supplant God in our lives. Though the world could try to draw us away from God, a daily devotional lifestyle helps us keep our focus solely on Him.

Photo source: Tara Winstead

  • Enables us to persevere in life

We will discover that the lives of individuals in the Bible like Moses, Joseph, Mary, and even Jesus are the model of steadfast faith as we reflect on their lives. Even though they faced challenges while on earth, they persevered in their faith because God was by their side, not because they were particularly brave people. As we develop a daily devotion to Him and increase intimacy with Him, God will also grant us the grace to persevere.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer, and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV

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Dominion TV, Africa’s Christian Lifestyle Network for Inspired and Empowered Living.