Daily Devotion | Spiritual Practicesنموونە

Seeking God

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (James 4:8 CSB).

Chances are you’re reading this plan because you’re looking at how to connect with God in a daily way. Maybe you want to learn about why a devotional life is important and how it fits into the Christian life, or how to have one and how to get into the rhythm of making it a regular part of your life. Our hope is that over the next several days, this plan will guide you.

For a lot of people, going to church seems like a first step in connecting or reconnecting with God. That’s good. Worshiping weekly is an essential spiritual practice. (See our earlier spiritual practice plan called “Worship Every Week” for tips on that.) But if you want to grow deeper in a relationship with God, that’s not enough. God wants you to build on weekly worship. He doesn’t just want to connect with you on Sunday. He wants to connect with you throughout the week.

Having a daily devotion is about that. Connecting with God in an intentional way each and every day.

Whether you’re brand new to Christianity or have been following Jesus for most of your life, carving out some intentional time with God throughout the week has proven to be a key practice essential to discipleship. Jesus calls us to be his disciples. Discipleship calls for deep, personal connectivity to Jesus. That will include practicing a rhythm of personally connecting with him.

Because faith is highly personal. It is communal, but it is also individual. At some point, we alone stand before God and are responsible for our life with him. Devotional times are when we get special moments with God. Alone time. Time to talk to him like a friend, listen to what he has to say to us, and nurture the personal relationship. And through it, God draws us near with times of refreshing. Here God inspires us, guides us, and shapes us.

Next step: Think about your current devotional practice. Do you have one? How is it going? Is it as often as you’d like? If you’re happy with it, keep at it! Otherwise, we’ll help you start one or build into the one you have.