21 Day Daily Devotion -Day 8

Inspirational devotional book with spiritual figure and clouds.

Loving the Spiritual Disciplines

Growing up, I hated running. I never could understand why some people enjoyed hitting the pavement ever so often. But as I grew older and went running more frequently, I began to appreciate the peace and serenity that was often associated with my evening runs. Gradually, I began to enjoy my evening runs that allowed me to spend time alone with God, and also kept me physically fit!

“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV))

There are multiple demands on our time from the very moment we wake up in the morning. We often think that the quicker we complete our routine, the more rest we get at the end of the day. Ironically, trying to get through the day without first meeting with God causes us to feel a greater sense of weariness at the end of the day. The Bible promises that even as we dwell in God’s presence, we are renewed, refreshed and gain new perspectives. We also gain fresh revelation of who God is and what He wants to do in our lives, and receive strength to face the day’s challenges.

One key to enjoying your times of worship and prayer is to do it consistently. Start by removing the distractions that we typically encounter first thing in the morning. We can try putting away our smartphones and resist the urge to use it until we have spent time in God’s presence.

We may start with a sense of duty but as we move from discipline to delight, we realise that spiritual disciplines such as fasting, prayer, worship and reading His Word are means to daily encounters and greater intimacy with a personal God.

Reflection

What are some of the benefits of beginning your day in God’s presence?

How can you make small changes to your daily routine to develop a habit of seeking God first each day?

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, help me to regularly practice the spiritual disciplines that help me encounter You. Help me also to set aside every distraction and excuse to cultivate these healthy habits.

Fasting Day 8

8. **Humility and Contrition**: Fasting fosters humility and contrition before God, as articulated in Psalm 35:13: “But I, when they were sick— I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting; I prayed with head bowed on my chest.”

1 CHRONICLES 16
29Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come before him.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

ISAIAH 40

31but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

EPHESIANS 2

Made Alive in Christ
1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Jew and Gentile Reconciled Through Christ
11Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— 12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

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