It is an important thing to read the bible daily! As Psalms tells us we must meditate on the word of God day and night in order to prosper and be blessed.

Psalms 1:1-3

1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers

This became even more evident to me recently when I read God’s word just before I went to bed because it blessed me immensely. God caused my reading to be centred around:

Colossians 4:2 (NIV) 2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

The word DEVOTE resonated with me as it has a depth of meaning behind it.  Researching the meaning  in the dictionary to ensure I get the fullest appreciation for its substance; I found the following.  

Devote:

  1. To give or apply (one’s time, attention, or self, for example) entirely to a particular activity, pursuit, cause, or person.
  2. To set apart for a specific purpose or use e.g. land devoted to mining, body devoted to prayer.
  3. Fervently or Earnestly believing in or advocating an ideology or position. Typically characterized by devotion to religious obligations

Actually, devout and devote come from Latin de- and vovere, meaning “promise“. Therefore, peeling back the root of the word it also reveals that it can be associated with – making a declaration assuring that one will do something; a vow.

Therefore , the writer did not use the word devote here by chance. The meaning of the word is levels above other words that could have been used. The writer uses devote to signify how we should attack and attach ourselves to prayer.

Immediately my mind started to draw parallels and think about what areas in my personal life that I am devoted to more than God. If all of us pause for a minute and think about the same thing, I am sure some of us can see areas in our lives where we are overly devoted to people or possessions.  Some might even go as far and say that they don’t really attach themselves to things nor connect or commit to others for any length of time.

Although the aforementioned might be the case, God is mandating us as His children to unequivocally devote ourselves to this one thing –  PRAYER.  

We must pray by:

  1. Location: Pray in church, Pray in our homes, Pray on work, Pray when we are at an event.
  2. Individual: Pray for Friends, Pray for Families, Pray for Foes
  3. Situation: Pray for Finances, Pray for Good Health, Pray for strength in Life’s Challenges.

What does God want to achieve by instructing us to pray? In other words, God is saying, “I want you to be in constant communication with me”. God wants us to acknowledge Him in all our ways (Proverbs 3:6) so that He can truly guide our paths and praying is the avenue which makes this possible.

Family of God, I leave us today with the following passages as a remembrance on prayer.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Mark 11:24 “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”

Luke 6:27-28 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”

Matthew 6:6 “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

PS: Dane Miller was last seen listing down the things he is devoted to and identifying where prayer ranks on this list.

Your Brother in the Lord,

Dane Miller | Author

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