There is only one way to a healthy Christian life. I am not talking about how we become Christians: that is through faith in Jesus Christ and in no other way. But it is a fact that the average Christian has little to distinguish him from the people about him. Although he is “saved,” there is little joy or peace in his heart, little power for living above the plane of ordinary human existence.
Like those in the Chinese proverb who are “rich men living like beggars,” the average Christian is living in spiritual poverty when he should be reveling in the fullness of God’s grace. With the revelation of God’s wisdom at hand, he nonetheless lives in the blindness and ignorance of sophisticated paganism.
This should not be so. By using the “means of grace” available to us we will find that a loving heavenly Father has made full and complete provision for our daily living and our relationship to him. He offers to give us the peace and joy reserved for the Christian alone, as well as compassion for and usefulness to those about us.
There is no substitute for a consistent daily devotional life. Without it days can prove chaotic and nights filled with restless foreboding.
What do I mean by daily devotions? A time when I surrender my mind, will, and body to the supernatural presence and teaching of God, my heavenly Father, Christ, my Saviour and Lord, and the Holy Spirit, my Comforter and Guide. It is a time when I can rest in God, wait on him, listen to him, and talk with him.
Many Christians think of prayer solely in terms of asking God for things, or for help in times of emergency. Actually prayer is a two-way communication of God with us and us with God. Our prayer should be, not an arrangement of stilted phrases, but natural conversation, as one would talk to any loved one. It should include worship, praise, petition, and thanksgiving. There is the statement of a problem, as when Hezekiah of old took the threatening letter of the Assyrians, “spread it before the Lord, … and prayed” (2 Kings 19:8–19). And there is the claiming of God’s promises with reference to any problems we may be having.
Our petitions include those personal matters that seem so large to us and yet are so simple for God. They include requests for others and their problems. And they include broader concerns about such matters as those who make and administer laws, the witness of the Gospel in every land, and the moral conditions through which Satan would make a hell on this earth.
What about the daily reading of the Bible? Like the charts of the pilot, the maps of the traveler, so is the Bible to the Christian. In this Spirit-given Book we learn of the nature of God, his perspective on time and eternity, and his will for us personally.
As combat pilots are briefed in the “ready room,” so Christians are briefed through their daily reading of the Bible. It is true that “all scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16, 17).
This briefing for immediate tasks and problems is the most important time of the Christian’s day. With it we are prepared for all contingencies; without it we walk as blind men, stumbling over we know not what.
Who of us does not need wisdom? The deepest wisdom of the ages is found through communion with the God of time and eternity. Who does not need guidance? We have God’s promises to guide us if we acknowledge him above all else. In the frustrations of life in our time, who does not need assurance? And in the Scriptures we find assurance that rises above any contingency.
What about the practical problems involved in daily devotions? The answers will vary with each person, but the general principles would seem to be the same:
1. Decide on a regular time and let nothing interfere with it. If you ever get “too busy” to spend this time in prayer and Bible study, then you are indeed too busy! To permit laziness, or trivialities, or the routine pressures of daily living to interfere is like performing plastic surgery on a harelip while the patient is dying of cancer. I find early in the morning the ideal time for devotions. Others may prefer late at night or some other time. Each person must decide on a time in the light of the circumstances of his own life.
2. Find a quiet place where you will not be interrupted, some part of the house not frequented by others during that particular time.
3. Get a good chair and use it. There is no reason to inflict punishment on the body and every reason to be comfortable.
4. Have good light, where you can see without straining your eyes.
5. Have at hand a notebook and pen or pencil. Spirit-directed thoughts and impressions, if written down, can be the basis for helpful conversations and teaching.
6. Get a fine-point red pencil and use it to underline passages of Scripture that speak to your heart as you read them. As time goes on, your Bible will itself become a commentary, and these underlined verses will catch your eye and refresh your memory.
7. With that red pencil use a six-inch plastic ruler. Why underline verses with quavering lines?
8. As you read the Bible, have an attitude of openness to the Lord. Ask him to speak to your heart. Present to him an obedient will. Ask him to open your mind so you can see and understand the wonderful teachings of the Holy Spirit. And as you read, be assured of God’s faithfulness, love, and power.
9. Get a good concordance. As you become familiar with more and more passages of which you may remember only a word or two, you can find them again by using a concordance. If you are studying by subjects or topics, get a Nave’s Topical Bible.
The daily devotional hour should begin with a confession of sins in which we hide nothing from the One who sees and knows all. With confession we know we have forgiveness, and with forgiveness there is healing and preparation for anything God may have in store for that day. When we have complied with those things God requires of every Christian, we find ourselves on “praying ground.”
The devotional time can become a joyous experience, for by it we are nourished in the things of the Spirit and prepared for the business of living. Although we may not know the future, when we know the God of the future and surrender our lives to him, we will find him sufficient for any and every thing, today and every day.
L. NELSON BELL
