Let’s be real for a quick second. I went through a season of life where I was tired of praying and reading the bible. I found myself asking God, “can I take a break?” Like seriously, can I actually take a break from praying and reading the bible? Sounds extreme, but can you relate? Have you ever been tired of doing the same thing over and over again?
That season of life taught me that I really can’t take a break from doing these things. Why? Because the branch cannot survive without the vine. John 15:4-5 says, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.“
Apart from God, we can do nothing. Without His voice, guidance, and leadership, we would basically walk in darkness. We need God to function as our best selves each day. The branch of the tree cannot live apart from the tree. That branch has to stay completely hooked into and grafted into that tree for it to continue to remain fully alive. If for whatever reason the branch of the tree ever gets fully disconnected from the tree and falls to the ground, it will wither and die. And once that branch gets fully disconnected from the tree, it can never repair itself again.
Choosing to disconnect from God (taking a break from praying and reading the bible) is like intentionally choosing to wither and die. It’s like intentionally cutting off your source of life. You know the song that goes like this: Read your Bible, pray every day, and you will grow, grow, grow. Don’t read your Bible and forget to pray, and you will shrink, shrink, shrink. This song is actually very. We have to stay connected to God [the vine] in order to grow and bear good fruit. If not, we will definitely shrink ( wither and die). Disconnecting ourselves from the vine is like choosing to journey through life blindly. I cannot imagine getting through a day without hearing God’s voice, sensing His presence, and having him guide me—that sounds like chaos!
Prayer is the chief of the spiritual disciplines and the one we are commanded to be constantly doing: “[Pray] at all times in the Spirit” (Eph. 6:18); “Continue steadfastly in prayer” (Col. 4:2). We are called to “pray without ceasing.” Prayer is an acknowledgement that we live in total dependence upon the Lord. In my season of wanting to take a break from praying and reading my bible, I found out that the reason for that was because my prayer life was boring, and I wasn’t growing in intimacy with my Father. I wasn’t praying enough and learning about God through reading the word, and so I wasn’t growing intimacy. Not growing intimacy means not having the motivation or desire to pray and read the bible. So my dear, are you praying and reading the bible enough? Are you growing in intimacy with your Father?
The conclusion of the matter is this: without prayer and the word you would be like a withered branch that is gathered together, thrown into the fire and burned (John 15). Sounds harsh, right?! I know but, that’s the truth. Stay connected to the vine. If you need some tips on how to make your prayer life and feasting on the word enjoyable, comment below.
Angelisa is a Jesus enthusiast, Worship leader & Christian youth leader. She considers herself to be the old-fashioned type of girl who loves spicy food and belly bottom laughter. Among her passions are singing, working with children, and encouraging others.