I know, it's a sensitive subject. But why? I remember a few years ago I was at a youth conference listening to Chris Tomlin present in a break-out session. Near the end of his talk, he asked if anyone had any questions. After a few of the typical, "What do you think of the modern worship movement?" questions, a younger kid in the back of the room asked about Chris's devotional life. You could immediately feel people get uncomfortable, and Chris responded something to the effect that his was probably pretty much like the kid's. The kid then pressed the issue further by asking, "No, what do you do specifically. Like how long, how often, do you pray and read the Bible?" There was an audible gasp from the crowd, which I'm sure I was a part of. No one could believe how rude and obtrusive this kid was being. Ask someone point-blank about the specifics of his devotional life? That's simply not acceptable. But why?
Looking back on that incident now, I wonder about my reaction. Sure your devotional life is something very personal and intimate you share with God, but is it so sacred that you don't talk about it with others? I guess I blanch at the question because I'm afraid of someone asking it of me. What is my devotional life like? Well, pretty sad if I'm being honest. If I try to do my devotions in the morning, I'm too tired and fall asleep. If I try to do them in the evening, things get so busy that I find myself trying to squeeze them in the fleeting moments I'm waiting for the sheets to warm up when I crawl into bed. So I've resorted to a "do them when I can" method. Which really means "inconsistently, without depth, and more days without than with." I want to get better at this. If you're like me, I want you to get better at this, too. If you're currently experiencing dynamic, regular devotions, I'd love for you to help those of us who struggle to get better. So I guess my essential question is two-fold. What is your devotional life like, and what can be done to turn a weak life of devotion into a foundational strength?
10 comments:
The reason that I don't talk about my personal devotions is because they are so personal. It seems like everything in my life is part of a community somewhere. I have my work life, my church life, my family life and my social life. Devotions are the time spent between me and HIM. I don't mind sharing what has worked for me or speaking in generalities but I think devotions are intensely personal. My peronal time spent with him should manifest itself how I interact with my communities (be it social, family...) but I think we all need to have that time that is just us and HIM, otherwise it is just another kind of community. Am I making sense or just rambling?
Just curious. How did Chris answer the "how long, how often" question?
Sometimes (like a lot of things in life) my best devotions are spontaneous and completely unexpected. I hate it when my time with God feels like one more thing I have to do and I can admit that this happens. You can't always wait for it to be the perfect spontaneous moment because then you might never have those important times but God is impeccable in his timing with teachable moments. Just had one recently and it has literally changed the way I view my faith.
I guess the point to this is that I have never felt that devotions have to be a certain length or even a certain frequency. Quality and Quantity are both important but letting God lead the way makes the most sense to me.
Welcome, Heather! I guess my fear with leaving my devotions open is that I manage to get in the way. I let my schedule get too full, or I find monumental wastes of time to fill the space where my devotions should go. Thanks for the comment, and for being so vague about your recent teachable moment that has changed the way you view your faith. Naturally, I'm very intrigued by that statement.
Chris responded to the "how long, how often question" this way. "Come on man, well I'd be lying if I said that I did my devotions every day. I try to spend quality time with God as frequently as possible, and I try to make sure that includes prayer and the Bible." That's probably a paraphrase, but that's the gist of what he said.
Thanks, Ben. You said the youth conference was a few years ago. I wonder if this kid's question challenged Chris to change anything.
Wow, what a good (and uncomfortable) question. This is a question that probably needs asking more often.
I read this question this weekend and put off responding until now. I noticed that my initial response was more of an intellectual curiosity. I read everyone's post and tried to make sense of the question, responses, and my own experience... but I think I also realized that I was a little uncomfortable with the question because of my own inconsistencies with something so fundamental to following Christ. I am quite shamed to admit that being inconsistent with my devotions is a very, very generous description of my behavior. I think this shame stems from my belief that daily devotions are a necessary (but insufficient - see comments below) component to spiritual growth.
Also, the past few years, my (albeit sporadic) devotional time was more of an intellectual journey. I became fascinated with the historical context of scripture, philosophy/theology, and apologetics. I traded my Max Lucado books for Dallas Willard and others... and along the way became less passionate... I think I miss the passion and emotional connection with God that I experienced in fellowship, ministry, and devotions. And I think that might be part of the answer - that "good" devotions are only part of the formula, a piece of the puzzle. I remember hearing about a five component model of spiricual growth (my wife and I can't actually recall all five right now) and I think this type of model might be one way to address Ben's question of "what can be done to alleviate any difficulties". One assumption with this model is that each component is related to other components; therefore, increasing the quality/quantity of one will likely impact the other areas... I am obviously rambling now so I will stop.
I also realize that another challenge I have ahead of me is to respond to these posts in less than 5,000 words...
Matt2
Dear Mysterious Anonymous Who Isn't Matt2 (I think),
I'm not sure if the kid's question challenged Chris, but obviously years later, it's challenged me. God sure does work in amazing ways, and that's evidenced so frequently when we take a step back and view the history of our lives.
Reedspeed- I think you're right about the specifics of our devotions being time spent alone with God, but I wonder if more Christians wouldn't benefit from more open conversations about their personal devotions. I don't mean like relaying every minute detail that takes place during your devotions; I mean more like being willing to say that you've made it a goal to read through the Bible in two years and pray once a day for at least fifteen minutes. Prayer is a whole separate issue that I'm sure will come up for discussion in the future. I also know different things work for different people (see Matt2's comment), but I guess there are times when I feel like I'm in the desert and need the help of fellow Christians to get me back into the dynamic times with God that I once had.
Maybe the answer is actually more community. I think about Acts 2:42-47, and I wonder if that's something that is sorely missing in our society. We don't live in community anymore. We're so caught up in our own lives and schedule and things we need to do that we lose sight of how important it is to die to ourselves and live together as believers. I know there's a balance here somewhere of keeping certain aspects of our devotional life personal and sharing what we can with others, but I think Christians have become so closed to the discussion that the whole issue of personal devotions has become muddied. I know Jesus went away to be alone with God very frequently, and He is God for crying out loud, but I can't think of any other place in the Bible where we're told how we should conduct our devotional life. I'd love it if anyone could help point out what you think the Bible says about it. I think I've written almost as much as Matt2 now (by the way, I need some time to think through your comment so I can respond intelligently, Matt2), so I'll sit back and wait for your responses.
I think openness about faith in general is wonderful. It's in isolation that I personally screw up all the time, so it's good to have people to encourage one another to be closer to God in all areas of life. If discussions about faith became part of everyday conversation, just something we're always thinking and talking about, how great would that be? Why reserve it for church or conferences or even blogs? It's so easy to get wrapped up in yourself and forget about God, especially when we relegate God to places or times. A constant openness with one another about this sort of thing is the kind of collaborative, selfless effort we need to correct our selfish tendencies. Of course, this is all much easier said than done...
Well, You can tell that I am on vacation mode because I have not checked this site since " vacation" began. I have started doing my devotions in the morning as I found that it relaxes me a little more before I go to work. This started after I had a panic attack and fainted in the shower one morning. On the subject of vacation, I took advantage of this week to clean and get organized. It is always nice to do the spring cleaning. Like some of you I found things I didn't even remember that I had ( among the mouse droppings). I threw some out and gave some away. Now that is a teachable moment about my faith. How much junk do I hang on into my life that needs to be cleaned out ? How many awesome tresures in life that could be a blessing to someone else have I failed to share?
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