Win Your Devotional Battles

"Lately I haven't been able to sense God speaking during my quiet time," a friend said. "I go and hear nothing, but I keep going. I know there's a battle, and I want to let the other side know that I am still determined to be faithful. I don't want the enemy of my soul to gain the victory over my devotional life. If I forget there's a battle, he's gained a victory."

When we sense nothing, hear nothing, feel nothing, we can still make a powerful statement to the enemy simply by showing up. Eighty percent of being successful in practicing devotional habits is showing up. Not only does God notice but also Satan takes notice and realizes he's lost yet another battle.

"A faithful man who can find?" (Proverbs 20:6). Faithfulness is rare, but when God finds a faithful person, He takes special notice just as He did with Cornelius. Cornelius faithfully met with God according to Acts 10, but surely there were days when he didn't feel like meeting his routine or didn't know if being devout made a difference. God remembered all those faithful prayers, even those prayed more out of routine and duty than inspiration. And one day God sent an angel to tell him that his prayers "have come up as a remembrance before God" (Acts 10:1-4). Our reading habits tell God how strong our desires are to hear from Him and He notices.

Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint on his knees. Or we could say that when we feel the weakest and we're on our knees, he is trembling.

Jesus, I'm thankful that even when my prayers have not been satisfactory to me, You value them. You value faithfulness!

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:9).