5 DEVOTION
New Disciplines
And they devoted themselves to
the apostles’ teaching and the
fellowship, to the breaking of bread
and the prayers.
ACTS 2:42
What made the early church vibrant and healthy was
their devotion to God. Because they were devoted to
grow in their relationship with Him, they developed
disciplines that expressed this devotion. Two of these
vital disciplines are reading the Bible and praying.
WORD
More than just a random collection of stories, poems,
and letters, the Bible is the inspired written Word of
God. We must follow the example of Job who valued
God’s Word more than food.
“I have not departed from the commandment
of his lips; I have treasured the words of his
mouth more than my portion of food.”
JOB 23:12
Before turning to Christ, we lived by the world’s
standards. Now we accept the Bible as the final
authority for what we believe and how we live.
DEVOTION 25
God’s Word is the ultimate and absolute standard for
every area of life.
The measure of our spiritual progress is not how
much of the Bible we know, but how much we obey.
Those who constantly learn but fail to obey end up
deceiving themselves.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers
only, deceiving yourselves.
JAMES 1:22
The Bible is our key to spiritual growth. It is also how we
resist temptation, how we become successful, and how
we can know God’s will for our lives.
2
Like newborn infants, long for the pure
spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into
salvation—3if indeed you have tasted that the
Lord is good.
1 PETER 2:2, 3
9
How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word. . . .
11
I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
PSALM 119:9, 11
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from
your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day
and night, so that you may be careful to do
according to all that is written in it. For then
you will make your way prosperous, and then
you will have good success.”
JOSHUA 1:8
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Do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewal of your mind,
that by testing you may discern what is the
will of God, what is good and acceptable
and perfect.
ROMANS 12:2
PRAYER
Christianity is more than just a religion. It is first and
foremost a relationship with God. The foundation of any
healthy relationship is communication. The better the
communication, the better the relationship will be. God
talks to us in many ways but primarily through His Word,
the Bible. We talk to Him through prayer. We learn to
listen to the sound of God’s voice in our lives when
we read His Word. He listens to us when we pray. We
respond to His Word with action. He responds to our
prayers with action.
Jesus is our best example for prayer. By observing
His personal prayer life, we can learn how to have an
intimate time of connection with the Father.
Now Jesus was praying in a certain place,
and when he finished, one of his disciples
said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John
taught his disciples.”
LUKE 11:1
Jesus told us not to pray like the hypocrites and those
who don’t know God.
DEVOTION 27
5
“And when you pray, you must not be like the
hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in
the synagogues and at the street corners, that
they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you,
they have received their reward. . . . 7And when
you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as
the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be
heard for their many words. 8Do not be like
them, for your Father knows what you need
before you ask him.”
MATTHEW 6:5, 7, 8
Jesus told us to pray to the Father, not to the mother,
saints, or angels. We are to pray through Jesus,
because He is the only way to the Father.
“But when you pray, go into your room and
shut the door and pray to your Father who is
in secret. And your Father who sees in secret
will reward you.”
MATTHEW 6:6
For there is one God, and there is one
mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus . . .
1 TIMOTHY 2:5
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth,
and the life. No one comes to the Father except
through me.”
JOHN 14:6
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Jesus taught His disciples to pray for God’s will to be
done, provision, forgiveness, victory over temptation,
and protection from the devil’s schemes.
9
Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name. 10Your kingdom come,
your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11
Give us this day our daily bread, 12and
forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven
our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.”
MATTHEW 6:9–13
As we read and obey the Word, and as we pray and
trust God with our lives, let us not forget that God really
answers prayer. The more specific the prayers, the
more specific the answers will be. The secret is to pray
according to His will. We know His will by knowing His
Word. Therefore, as we pray according to His Word,
we know He will answer.
14
And this is the confidence that we have
toward him, that if we ask anything according
to his will he hears us. 15And if we know that
he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that
we have the requests that we have asked
of him.
1 JOHN 5:14, 15
DEVOTION 29
Personal Application
• Do you have a set time and place for daily Bible
reading and prayer?
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• Are you involved in a discipleship group?
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• Have you forgiven all who have sinned against you?
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• Begin praying for your daily bread.
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