Shaping Our Lives through Personal or Daily Devotions

The joy or peace of our Christian lives is either given to us by meeting with God or absent because we either don't meet with God or don't properly conduct our time with God.

Devotions is a time we are reshaped or retooled as we meet in God's presence. From what we have seen and heard, many Christians struggle not only to have devotions but do not even know what good devotional times are like.

We agree with the practice of teaching new Christians to have a quiet time. This time each day with God is crucial to the normal development of a Christian. However, many of these Christians are not showed or even told what quality devotional times are or how to have them. No wonder many Christians struggle with having devotions because of dull times.

Below is a diagram that outlines the important place personal devotions plays in a Christian life.

Tending our Fire for God Devotions is essentially the developing of our relationship with God. It is less focused on activities and more focused on developing a common heart with God. The knowledge of God and the desire to do His will become the wood and oxygen on which our fire of devotion keeps growing.

Strip the flame of good devotional times away and then the knowledge and desires to serve God become more and more distant.

Just think of public worship for a moment. If we learn to daily worship and praise the Lord in our quiet times, then God can much more easily move us during corporate worship. Through regular meetings with God, our hearts are kept tender and soft. Without regularly meeting God, we come hardened out of habit rather than expectant because of His love.

This is just one area that is shaped by our time with God. In fact, each significant area of our lives is shaped by the quality of our time with God.

Come join us in the following page to understand better why we struggle to have quality personal devotions. Next

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| Introduction | Shaping | Struggling | Excited | Meeting God | Prayer | God's Word | Preparations |
| Expectations | Communing | Burnout | Questions | Study Questions | Testimony | Mueller |