"Focus, just keep your eye on the ball... Good, good, now when the ball comes, keep watching it and swing the bat... remember, keep your eye on the ball."

I remember learning how to hit a baseball, and how untalented at it I was... No matter what I tried to do, I just couldn't focus. I would look at the grass, I would look at the fence, I would look at other people... And before I knew it, the ball snuck up on me.

I remember having the dream to play professional baseball, so I would stay out on the field and toss the ball up to myself, swinging... and trying to hit it. Isn't that what almost every kid does? They toss the ball to themselves, and try to hit it... They practice focusing on the baseball...

The same holds true with God, and following his Word. We first have to learn how to focus on God. We need to take time, and devote ourselves to learning more about him, and more about how he wants us to live. We have to devote ourselves to spending time in the "batting cage," by reading His Word and spending time in prayer.

However, you cannot become good at hitting a baseball, without someone throwing it to you. Tossing it to yourself helps you develop the hand-eye coordination, but having some throw it to you helps develop the practicality of your coordination. It helps you put what you have learned into action.

Just as it is with living out God's Word. We need friends who can encourage us, and who can help build us up. We need a solid church that can teach us his Word, and help us to understand it. We need to be surrounded by those who are willing to correct us when we make mistakes, but in a way that is uplifting and helpful.

Today, after you get done with this devotion, take a little extra time practicing. Spend a few more minutes reading a random verse, or in prayer, or looking at how you can improve your life and serve Him better.

Because it doesn't matter where you are at in your life... whether you are hitting home-runs, or still trying to get your first hit... we all need practice to maintain our faith, and to continue to grow.