Day 10 of 30 - Making Prayer a Priority - Devotion Over Obligation
Good morning, men. Welcome to day ten of our thirty-day prayer challenge.
I’m honestly just thankful—thankful for what God is doing in my life through this challenge, and thankful you’re a part of it too. I truly believe this is transformational. And prayer is always transformational.
Here’s why: prayer is a spiritual exchange.
It’s a place where God literally takes of Himself and pours Himself into you. That’s why I’m excited you’re showing up. And I believe God is doing great things in your life through this—even if you don’t sense it yet, even if you don’t see it yet. Like we talked about yesterday, you stay faithful to God, and God is going to stay faithful to you.
Devote Yourself Completely to Prayer
For day ten, our scripture is Colossians 4:2, and it talks about devoting yourselves completely to prayer.
Colossians 4:2 NLT—Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.
That word devote is powerful. Devotion is tied to what we give ourselves to—what we hand our heart to. To be devoted means I’m giving myself wholeheartedly to something… or someone.
So let me ask you something that’s worth sitting with:
Have you completely devoted yourself wholeheartedly to the Lord?
And I’m not just talking about salvation. If you’re in this challenge right now, chances are Jesus is already your Lord. You serve Him. Maybe you’ve served Him for years.
But within that framework… am I really devoting myself completely to Him? I’ve talked a lot about faithfulness and availability. Devotion runs in that same line. Am I giving all of my heart to Him in every way—in every area?
What Devotion Looks Like Today
Here’s what devotion looks like for us today:
Prayer is not optional. Prayer is a priority.
That means prayer isn’t just something we fit in if we have time. It’s not “Well, if I get a minute today, I guess I’ll pray.” And it’s definitely not that legalistic mindset that says, “If I don’t pray, God’s going to get me.”
Listen, guys—it’s not like that.
God loves you so much, and He relates to you based on your identity as His son. When you’ve given your life to Jesus and His blood cleanses you and washes over you, you’re a child of God. He doesn’t relate to you based on how you perform. Your obedience—your faithfulness—your growth… it all comes out of relationship with your Heavenly Father. We’ve touched on that several times already.
So being devoted to prayer means this:
I’m going to set aside time for it.
I’m going to plan prayer in my day.
I’m going to make prayer part of my routine.
I’m going to make prayer part of who I am.
And I’m going to pray not because I’m supposed to, but because I get to.
Not to impress God—but because I’m His son. And I’m grateful for that.
Reflection Question (Day 10)
So here’s the reflection question for today:
What does “devoted” look like for you starting today—starting right now—on day ten of this prayer challenge?
What is devotion going to look like in your real life? What changes if you decide, “Prayer used to be optional for me. I prayed if I could. But from this point forward… prayer is a priority.”
In fact, let me challenge you.
We’re already a third of the way through. Today marks that. From this point forward, make a commitment to God:
“Prayer is not optional. I choose to be devoted. I’m making it my priority. I will, as a man of God, find a place to pray.”
And I’m going to promise you—God will meet you there.
Guys, I’m proud of you. If you haven’t had your ten-minute prayer time yet, go take it. And if you know somebody who needs this, share the video and the challenge with them.
I’ll see you in the next one.