Did you see professional football player Jerry Rice the first time he appeared on Dancing with the Stars? It wasn’t nearly as pretty as seeing him with the 49ers in 1989, the year he had 82 receptions for 1,483 yards and 17 touchdowns during the regular season. The difference had a lot to do with practice and discipline.

It’s the same for us in our walk with God. If we only spend time worshiping God at church on Sunday, we’ll never experience the full joy and blessings that come from a daily intimate relationship with him. Imagine a professional football player like Jerry Rice showing up for football games without ever practicing with the team. Sure he makes catching balls look easy. But there’s a lot of effort behind that.

We need to connect with God every day to stay at the top of our game. It’s easy to worship the Lord when things are good. But he wants us to stay in constant touch with him in order to develop an intimate and fruitful relationship. It’s like a marriage where the couple doesn’t spend time together and only unites for major events. You may be glad to see your partner, but there’s no way you can develop a healthy and truly intimate relationship without putting in the time to connect, talk, trust, experiment, regroup, and love.

The Bible tells us to take the time and trouble to keep ourselves spiritually fit (1 Timothy 4:7). The way we stay connected to God is to show up for practice every day and develop the habits of Christ. Just like committing to an exercise program, hobby, or marriage, it takes discipline and work to produce results.

Developing Christian habits is like any new activity that requires a commitment. The question we need to ask right out of the gate is, “How much time am I willing to put in?” God beckons us with that question. It’s his plea to spend time with us, not his plan for punishment. His goal is to help us develop the discipline we need to receive him and his blessings.

God also wants us to be disciplined and develop Christ-like habits so he can use us to help others find him.  God knows how powerfully we can influence others by allowing his light to shine through our speech and actions. That’s why it’s so important for us to stay connected.

Staying connected with God on a daily basis creates a spiritual rhythm that reveals his patterns and promises. In this rhythm and flow, we can see his direction applied in our lives and gain confidence to do even more for him. And if we stay connected with God on a regular basis we’ll be ready to respond when he creates the opportunity to model his ways to help others.

Even Jesus “often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Mark 1:35). By checking in on a regular basis, God helps us make course corrections and keeps our lives on track.

Connecting with God every day helps us:
• Decompress from life’s stresses
• Move past our own feelings and thoughts
• Turn off Satan’s persistent voice in our head
• Discover God’s perspective on our daily lives
• Get the courage to take action on our faith
• Believe and expect God to bless us
• Remove our tendency to be fearful, negative, and full of worry
• Make sure we drive past the temptation exits, no matter what
• Be ready to hear God and see opportunities to model him on a daily basis
• Find and embrace God’s protection
• Read, examine, and memorize God’s Word
• Acknowledge our sins and receive forgiveness
• Understand his purpose for our lives and ministry

By giving God every part of our life, we honor him and recognize his strength and promises. Connecting with God every day is the engine that drives our Christian life. It’s our faith’s life blood and the ticket to joy and peace. It is the essence of our walk with God and the source of all our power.

God’s word is clear on this. “Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.” (Proverbs 8:34) He invites us to come to his doorstep each day and spend time with him.

Will we always feel like doing it? Absolutely not. In the beginning, it was a major struggle for me. I literally forced myself to stick to it no matter how bad I felt. And I felt pretty bad some days. I was full of anxiety. I felt like I was wasting time and should be working on something more “productive.”

Over time, though, I began to crave my morning time with God. I looked forward to it more than any other part of my life. Now, I can’t imagine life without it. Every day I get to talk with God about my aspirations and hopes. Every day I get to bring my problems and fears to the maker of the universe. Every day I get to tap into God’s supernatural perspective. Every day I get to say my prayers directly to a God that is listening and cares about every part of my life.

I encourage you to give it a try. Set aside some time each day for God and get ready to receive his special insights, peace, and guidance. Every time.

Every day is game day.

Mark Affleck