It Does Me No Good

Last night we finished our second week of our Men’s Discipleship class, taking a deep dive into what it means to be a disciple through the book, Real-Life Discipleship Training Manual: Equipping Disciples Who Make Disciples, by Jim Putman, Brandon Guindon, and Bill Krause. It is a fantastic book that I hope will change the heads, hearts, and hands of the men that go to this class.

In our studies, it reminded us of our commitment to Jesus through the verse:

“Jesus said, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.'”

Matthew 4:19 NKJV

Following Jesus is a head-level commitment that decides every day that He is the one that is leading as the authority in my life and that He is out front, and I am behind. It puts Jesus first each and every day. This precedes the heart-level change that through the Holy Spirit works in my heart to change it from a heart of rock to a heart of flesh. This in turn will change a disciple’s heart and will be poured out in the hands-level commitment in their lives. This is the physical, tangible action in which the Holy Spirit works through us to give God glory, and to make disciples. When we are committed to the mission of Christ, it affects how a disciple lives, moves, and plans their day.

Where I lack

One of the things I lack in my walk is prayer time with the Lord: sitting at His feet, giving Him adoration, asking Him for help, and lifting up those who need Him to intercede on their behalf. Like many people, I have a hard time concentrating, sitting still, and not getting distracted by the squirrels outside. Also, this time escapes me as I get up, do my devotion and get ready to start the day.

But the real stupid thing about all of this, which I shared with the group, is that I have an app on my phone called, PrayerMate, which helps a person pray consistently for the people and causes you care about. You develop a discipline of prayer as PrayerMate helps you organize your prayer life, know what to pray for, and actually pray. It gives you notifications on a schedule that suits you, because you are the one that sets it up. I love this app and it has been life-changing…

…when I use it.

Another reminder

To add fuel to the fire, I was reminded by a devotional my wife, Lisa is reading from Andrew Murray. He goes on to say:

“Bread must be eaten [daily]. I may know all about bread. I may have bread and give it to others. I may have bread in my house and on my table in great abundance, but that will not help me unless I eat it. Similarly, a mere knowledge of God’s Word and even the preaching of it to others will not benefit me. It is not enough to think about it. Rather, I must feed on God’s Word and take it to my heart and life. In love and obedience I must take hold of the words of God and lit them take full possession of my heart. Then they wil indeed be words of life.

Word of God. by Andrew Murray

Therefore, it does us no good to have the Bible on our tables, the books on our shelves, or the apps on our phones if we don’t pick them up and use them. Today, if you are like me and struggling to pray each day, consider PrayerMate. It’s totally free, and available on Google Play or the Apple App Store. Click this link to find tutorials and videos on how to use it. You’ll be glad you did.