Undistracted Devotion

March 25, 2025

Introduction

In yesterday’s post, I spoke to you about the nations being given to Christ as His inheritance. Today, let’s focus on us as individuals being part of this inheritance. We are loved by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Today’s title:

Undistracted Devotion

I like football. Okay, I love football. And for all the NFL fans out there, the Dallas Cowboys may be America’s team, but as any true fan knows, the Denver Broncos are God’s team. That’s why He made the sky blue and sunsets orange.

Several years ago, when my younger daughter, Hannah, was only three or four years old, I was enjoying a great Broncos playoff game (my favorite NFL team at the time). Did you catch that? Not just a game – a Broncos playoff game. I had a great fire in the fireplace, had kicked back in my football recliner, and was into a great game. Hannah did not understand football and couldn’t have cared less about the game.

She plopped down in my lap and, as kids do, began jabbering about something. She wasn’t talking about anything terribly important – at least, I didn’t think it was all that important. But I was listening…sort of. I was actually dividing my attention between her dialogue and the exploits of John Elway. This is real devotion to my daughter, I thought. Sharing my football time with her childish jabbering. Bronco’s playoff football, at that. What a devoted dad I am.

I was doing the typical distracted listening routine, an “uh-huh” here, an “ohhh” there, with a smile or two and a head nod thrown in for added effect. Sure, I was missing a play here or there, but hey, that’s just the price of devotion.

Hannah has always been very perceptive. And, of course, she has the female trait of wanting the men in her life to really listen – to the details! I don’t know when that particular gene kicks in for women, but it obviously comes alive at an earlier age than I realized. After a few minutes of my divided attention, Hannah had finally had enough.

“Dad,” she said rather sternly as she placed one index finger on each cheek and turned my face away from the TV and directly toward her. “Look me in the eye and listen.”

Women manifest these mindsets and tendencies at a young age!

With my attitude adjustment, I looked her in the eye and listened! That, my friend, is undistracted devotion.

Paul uses these two words, “undistracted devotion,” in 1 Corinthians 7:35, speaking of our commitment to the Lord. The phrase comes from the Greek words aperispastos euprosedros. The literal meaning of the first word is interesting, “Don’t let anything pull or drag you away from something.”(1) With this picture in mind, it became the word for “undistracted.”

Devotion is euprosedros. The root word prosedros means “to sit forward or toward” someone or something. Imagine a person sitting in the presence of someone they are completely devoted to, leaning toward them, hanging on every word. The prefix eu means “well,” intensifying the concept to mean “sitting well toward.” In our culture today, we often use a similar phrase, “sitting on the edge of our seats.” Obviously, we mean by this that we’re totally captivated by someone or some performance. Hence, the meaning of “devotion.” Putting the two words together: Don’t let anything or anyone pull you away from your devotion or attraction to Him. 

Hannah wanted me to give HER some face time, not the TV; she wanted undistracted devotion, demonstrating that she, not the Broncos, was number one. And she was. At that moment, my favorite color wasn’t orange; it was brown, the color of her eyes.

God would like some face time with you. He knows you’re busy and can’t live like a monk, giving yourself to nonstop worship and meditation. He’s also aware that you have a family to care for, work to perform, and the need for sleep. He doesn’t want all of your time; He does, however, want some undistracted time. It’s a matter of setting the right priorities. You can’t focus on everything; focus on what matters most.

I have found that priorities are heart-related. What means most to me is what I’ll prioritize the most. If we find ourselves uninterested in the pleasure of God’s company, the place to start is with repentance. We should ask God to forgive us of indifference toward Him, and to awaken passion in us. Then begin spending quality time with Him. As we do, hunger for His presence will increase, and we will look forward to those times.

As King Solomon was about to begin his reign over Israel, he prayed a prayer God couldn’t resist. “So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” (1 Kings 3:9). The phrase “an understanding heart” should actually be translated as “a hearing heart.” Most translators struggle with the concept of a “hearing” heart, so they don’t word it this way. But the Hebrew word is shama, meaning “to hear.”(2) Solomon asked for a hearing heart. God liked that. 

In times past, before we had refrigerators, people used icehouses to preserve food. They had thick walls and were well-insulated. In winter, large chunks of ice were taken from lakes, ponds, or streams and laid on the floor, then covered with a thick layer of sawdust to insulate it. This made a great “refrigerator.”

One day, a gentleman lost an expensive watch in the icehouse. Due to the thickness of the sawdust, his efforts to find it had failed. Others looked, also in vain. Finally, a small boy slipped into the icehouse when no one was around and promptly found the valuable watch.

Surprised, the men asked the young boy how he had so quickly found the valuable timepiece.

“I closed the door, lay down on the floor, and was very quiet,” replied the lad. “Pretty soon, I heard it ticking.”(3)

Hearts can hear, but only when they’re undistracted. Our problem in hearing God isn’t His refusal to speak but our negligence in getting quiet enough to hear. Silencing the soul (the mind and emotions) is a learned art. The psalmist David spoke of this. “Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; like a weaned child rests against his mother” (Psalm 131:2). When we quiet the soul, we can hear His voice in our hearts.

God speaks to those who will listen. Slow down a little and let Him into your world. If you do, He’ll allow you into His. He will find the pleasure of your undistracted devotion, and you will experience the pleasure of hearing His heart.

Look Him in the eyes and listen.

Pray with me:

Father, we thank You for Your undivided attentiveness toward us. The Song of Solomon tells us You are ravished by just one glance from our eyes (Song of Solomon 4:9). What pleasure might it bring Your heart when we choose to not only glance, but to gaze, giving You our undivided devotion. You love Your family!

We repent today for letting ourselves lose interest in the pleasure of Your company; forgive us for our indifference. Awaken passion in us for Your presence, and guide us as we reset our priorities.

Holy Spirit, teach us the art of waiting on You with undivided hearts in order to hear You clearly. You are worthy of our undistracted devotion, sitting on the edge of our seats, watching intently for Your every move, listening to every word You speak.

Like Solomon, we ask, “Would You grant to us hearing hearts!” What a change this will make! Jesus, we choose to prioritize You, taking the time to look into Your eyes, and pausing to listen. 

(Prayer taken from: Song of Solomon 4:9; Matthew 13:15; 1 Corinthians 7:35; Isaiah 50:7; 1 Kings 3:9, 28; 1 Kings 10:24; Psalm 131:2)

Our decree:

We decree that we will silence the distractions, listen intently to the Lord’s voice, and hear Him with our hearts.

Today’s post was taken from my book, The Pleasure of His Company, published by Baker Books.

Click on the link below to watch the full video.

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1. James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 563.

2. Ibid., ref. no. 8091.

3. Edward K. Rowell, Fresh Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching, (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1997), p. 93.