The Benefits of Personal Devotions
The benefits of personal devotions are unlimited. Once you get into the habit of doing them daily, so many blessings will flow into your spiritual, marriage, and family life. Here are some of the big ones you will see:
Personal Devotions Nourish You Spiritually
Everybody knows this, yet I am continually astounded at how few Christians take daily Bible reading and prayer seriously. Consider these absurdities:
- An athlete who doesn’t train, yet expects to perform optimally at game time.
- A child who does not eat, yet wants to grow strong, healthy, and tall.
- A husband who does not interact with his wife for months yet expects intimacy and love from the relationship.
We would never accept these behaviours as reasonable, but this is exactly what we are doing when we so easily neglect personal devotions. Consequently, our spiritual growth is stunted, we are disoriented by worldly influences, and we remain ineffective in all spheres of our lives.
But the Word nourishes us. “Man does not live by bread alone,” Jesus said, “but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4). It is the perfect food for our souls because it sustains us, strengthens us, heals us, and builds us up to maturity. Just as God has designed this world to include all the nutrients we need to flourish, so he has also designed his Word to include all the content we need to flourish spiritually. As we ingest more of the Bible, we will gain an acquired taste for theology and we will start to appreciate its richness. Keep reading and you’ll keep growing.
It Prepares You to Lead Your Family
Whether you are husband or wife, God has given you the responsibility to lead your family his way. Personal devotions prepare you to do that on a daily basis. The husband is called to lead his family as Christ leads the Church. I can only do that well if I am studying the Scriptures daily and learning how Christ leads and where he is leading his bride. Furthermore, through my example, I also encourage my wife to love the Scriptures and to study it as well. As a result, we are both equipped to know exactly how to order and direct our family.
As parents, we are to raise our children “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph 6:4). Again, this can’t be done well unless you yourself have been walking with God through the lines of the Bible. But If you are, your parenting will be much more effective; your love will be Christ-like and your discipline will be biblical. You will be able to demonstrate a vibrant life devoted to Christ that your children will admire. You’ll also be able to teach God’s Word better. Remember: this is your responsibility and nobody can do this for you. Therefore, doing personal devotions will prepare you and your spouse to lead your family in a godly way.
It Prepares You for Ministry
Personal devotions prepare you for ministry by establishing your purpose, building your character, and honing your gifts. As you get to know God deeper, you will develop a heart that is like his – a heart of service and a heart for people. You will also see that the primary way God calls people to serve and love their neighbours is through the local church. Through his Word, he constantly realigns us to his purposes and ensures we don’t get sidetracked by minor things. Secondly, the Lord builds our character so that we are godly people who are fit for ministry. Undoubtedly, we will be working with other sinners and we will eventually get hurt in some way. The Lord prepares our hearts to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit in all circumstances to keep unity within the church, build up others, and demonstrate the gospel at work to the world. Lastly, personal devotions help us in ministry by honing our gifts. It gives us the content to encourage others, the truth to correct others, and ultimately the gospel to empower our spiritual gifts.
Doing the Lord`s work without the Lord`s power is dangerous. Peter exhorts us on how to serve with our gifts:
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 4:10-11
It`s imperative that we do ministry in the strength of the Lord, so that he may get all the glory in everything. Daily personal devotions help give us the biblical motivation to serve the Lord in ministry.
So those are some of the benefits of personal devotions. What other benefits of personal devotions have you experienced in your life? Let us know below!
Check out some of the previous posts I wrote on the subject:
