Seeking God Day and Night

Do you desire to be strong in God and His transformative power?  To live a godly life, persevering in your devotion to Christ?  To hear from God and to abide in Him fully?

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As American Christians, we recognize that even though it doesn't earn us salvation, time spent in prayer and Bible engagement is important for our spiritual strengthening and vitality.  I remember, as a young Christian, being encouraged to spend dedicated time every day in Bible reading and prayer, in addition to praying as I go about my day.  Some would even say these dedicated times are essential to maintaining a close walk with God and fulfilling His purposes.

What I didn't understand was where in the Bible it explicitly stated that I should do this at least once daily.  There is certainly a lot about the need to pray and read the Word, but where does it say it should happen at least one dedicated time per day?  I simply trusted in the wisdom of others and generally made it my practice. However, a few years ago, I desired to increase the amount of time spent in prayer and Bible reading, and the only practical way to make this work was by splitting my devotional time into one in the morning and one in the evening. The positive spiritual impact was noticeable and profound and made me go to the Scriptures to find out why.

In the book of Numbers, chapters 28 and 29 describe the regulations for morning and evening sacrifices to be performed by the Israelites at the Temple every day.  These sacrifices were to be performed "regularly" and, as the text explains, that meant twice per day: morning and evening. What's interesting is that the same word for "regularly" in Numbers is used to describe the prayer practices of New Testament Christians. 

For example, after Jesus' resurrection, the last few verses in the book of Luke record: “Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53  and were continually in the temple blessing God.”

The word translated "continually" here is the same word describing the twice-daily Old Testament sacrifice. This would be better translated, "and they were regularly in the temple blessing God," meaning gathering in the Temple to pray multiple times daily.

We see the same in Hebrews 13:15 which says: "Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name."

Again, the word "continually" would be better translated "regularly" meaning twice per day.  Here, Christians are called upon to pray at dedicated times at least twice daily.  There are other New Testament passages which echo this understanding, such as the call to meditate and pray day and night, suggesting at least twice daily, during daytime and nighttime.

If seeking God every morning and evening is part of God's design to spiritually strengthen Christians for engagement with the world, it shouldn't surprise us that we see this pattern practiced in church history during times when God is powerfully pouring out His Spirit.  Scholars tell us that in the first century, the normal practice of Christians was to pray at dedicated times at least twice per day. This was most likely the practice of every apostle, and of every Christian named in the New Testament.

Closer to home, we know that in United States’ history there have been a number of national revivals, and preceding and during these times the church engaged in extraordinary prayer, usually two or three dedicated times every day.

It's also worth noting that the international church has surged forward in the last 25 years with hundreds of millions of new Christians coming into the kingdom in Asia, Africa, and South America. It's been truly extraordinary. Recently, I was sharing with an African Christian leader my understanding from the Scriptures of the need for Christians to seek the Lord two or more set times per day. He smiled and said there was not a Christian in his country who did not know this and live this way.

How are you to be strong in God and His transformative power?  Part of the answer consists of dedicating time every morning and every evening to drawing near to Him in Bible reading and prayer, on your own or with others. If you've never done this, I challenge you to try it for 40 days, and see if you don't notice God's hand on your life, family, and community in a greater way.  This habit will help you succeed as a dynamic Christian in needy world.  

Matt Bennett