Mrs. Gifty Dansoah Appiah, the wife of the Winneba Area Head of The Church of Pentecost (CoP), has charged Christians to make personal devotion or “quiet time” a non-negotiable part of their daily routine.
“If we seek to know the Lord better, be like Christ, be worthy before the Lord, grow in knowledge about Him, then daily personal devotions cannot be underestimated or disregarded,” she stated.
Mrs Dansoah Appiah, the former National Director for Compassion International, Ghana, made this call on Wednesday, February 8, 2023, during the second day of the ongoing Sekondi Area Ministers and Officers’ Retreat (Apostolisation) at the Ketan Central Assembly church auditorium in Ketan.
Preaching on the topic, “Encouraging Personal Devotions and Small Group Prayer Meetings to Strengthen the Local Church,” Mrs. Appiah defined devotion as an act of prayer, private worship, or religious practice rather than the regular worship of a congregation.
She explained that personal devotion is a discipline one undertakes or commits in order to develop an intimate relationship with the Lord.
“Devotion, in its literal sense, comes with the idea of loyalty, love and care for someone.” she added
Quoting Psalm 63:1-2, Mrs. Appiah said that King David prepared for the day through his personal devotions and encounter with God.
“As a member of The Church of Pentecost, you should not go through a day without having your quiet time,” she stated.
She iterated that even Jesus Christ, being the Son of God, communed with the Father in his personal devotion every dawn before He started the day.
She, therefore, urged Christians, particularly Church leaders, to endeavour to emulate their Master Jesus.
“To be a leader in The CoP is not easy; virtue always leaves you, and the only place to refuel your strength and spirit is in the presence of God during your quiet time,” she noted.
Mrs. Appiah, therefore, encouraged members of the Church not to use their busy work schedules as excuse to avoid having this all-important exercise.
Among other benefits, she said “daily personal devotions helps us to grow spiritually, it is a regular appointment that we keep to commune with God, it gives us strength for daily battles spiritually and physically; helps us to grow in grace, and quenches the thirst of one’s soul.”
Mrs. Appiah, however, advised that, for an effective quiet time, the individual must seek the right environment, choose the right time, sleep in good time, go before God with a clean heart and be willing to obey God’s Word always.
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