📖 READING OF THE DAY
✨ Spiritual Disciplines: Practicing What We Teach
📜 1 Samuel 12:1–25
Today’s reading reminded me that spiritual discipline isn’t simply about what we believe—it’s about what we consistently practice.
One of those disciplines is prayer, and not just prayer for ourselves, our families, and the people closest to us. God calls us to pray for others—even those who frustrate us, disappoint us, refuse to listen, or seem determined not to change.
And whew…that will test your discipline! 🙌🏾
It’s easy to think, “I’ve prayed for them long enough. Nothing is changing, so why keep praying?” But Samuel showed us something different.
Israel had repeatedly wandered away from God. They had been warned, corrected, and given opportunity after opportunity to turn back. Yet Samuel declared:
“Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.” — 1 Samuel 12:23
That spoke loudly to me.
Samuel understood that someone else’s disobedience did not give him permission to become disobedient. Their behavior did not determine his faithfulness to God. He would continue praying. He would continue teaching. He would continue doing what God called him to do.
That is spiritual discipline. 🙏🏾
Teaching others what is good and right requires discipline too. It takes sacrifice to prepare a Sunday school lesson, mentor a younger Christian, encourage another believer, hold someone accountable, or lovingly remind someone that our choices have consequences.
But before we can effectively teach anybody else, we have to examine ourselves.
We cannot teach prayer and refuse to pray.
We cannot teach obedience while willingly living in disobedience.
We cannot teach holiness while refusing to pursue it ourselves.
We cannot tell others to trust God while constantly placing our trust in everything but Him.
We have to practice what we teach.
Samuel earned the right to be heard because his life supported his message. And that challenges me to ask myself: Does my lifestyle agree with what comes out of my mouth? 🤔
Another powerful reminder from today’s reading is that God does not abandon His people when they stumble. Israel had sinned, yet Samuel reminded them not to turn away from the Lord. Instead, they were instructed to serve Him wholeheartedly and not chase after worthless idols.
That same warning applies today. Our idols may not look like statues. They can be money, relationships, careers, businesses, possessions, social media, status, approval—or even ourselves. Anything we place above God can become an idol.
God is merciful. He forgives. He restores. His faithfulness gives us every reason to turn back to Him when we fall. But His grace should never become an excuse to deliberately continue dishonoring Him. Actions still have consequences.
So today I’m asking myself—and I encourage you to ask yourself too:
Am I practicing what I teach?
Am I still praying when I don’t see immediate change?
Am I willing to pour into believers outside of my own circle?
Is there anything in my life receiving the devotion that belongs to God?
Spiritual discipline isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it means praying when you’re tired of praying, teaching when it requires sacrifice, obeying when you would rather do things your own way, and standing on God’s Word when nobody else seems to be listening.
But we keep going.
🙏🏾 Keep praying.
📖 Keep teaching what is good and right.
❤️ Keep serving the Lord wholeheartedly.
🚫 Keep the idols out of His place.
🪞 And most importantly—practice what you teach.
Because before God uses our words to influence somebody else’s walk, He is concerned about the walk behind our words.
Be blessed, Beauties & Cuties! 💕🙏🏾
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