Accountability Partners

When I read the devotion below from my dear friend, Pat Aman, I felt the need to post it for you. Thank you, Pat, for allowing me the privledge of using one of your devotions. Her site link is below her devotion (it's also on my links - on the side of this page)

I pray you will seriously and prayerfully consider asking God to bring an accountability partner into your life.

My dearest friend is Judith George and she has been my accountability partner for over twenty years... what a blessing it has been to have such a friend! Thank You Father God!

"The Lord bless thee, and, keep thee. The Lord make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace " ~ Numbers 6:24-26.

In His tender care always,
Dot

"Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us."~~ HEBREWS 12:1

"Anything that dims my vision of Christ, or takes away my taste for Bible study, or cramps my prayer life, or makes Christian work difficult, is wrong for me, and I must, as a Christian, turn away from it."
~~ J. Wilbur Chapman (1859-1918)

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Accountability Partners

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!"

Lets talk about the value of being in a regular small group of believers to share and grow in Christ. Small groups, in my opinion, are where growth occurs -- while worship services are where we acknowledge God for Who He is, and celebrate our growth in Christ.

I want to take this a step further and talk about having an "Accountability Partner." Being accountable to someone, gives us more incentive to be even more like Christ and to be more intimate with Christ. One of the reasons we slip in our Christian walk is that generally, we answer to no one. We don't intentionally start out the day and say "today I will fail at walking the talk." We all have good intentions. A person does not walk in a bar and say "today I think will become an alcoholic". No one wants to fail, no one intentionally misses the mark; a devoted Christ-follower does not intentionally fall into to the traps and snares that are placed before us in life.

Okay, let's get practical. How do I find a partner, and what is my accountability partner going to hold me accountable for? We must carefully chose our partner.

Proverbs 13:20 "He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm".

The primary issue which people I have talked with hold each other accountable for, is the area of Spiritual Disciplines. A daily check-up on Bible reading, prayer, quiet time, etc. In another words -- holding you accountable for your relationship with God. Other areas are family relationships, use of time and money, moral behavior and personal struggles.

Building an accountability relationship with someone takes time. Lots of time. The most successful partners that I have seen have formed as an offshoot of a small group environment. Two people may connect in the group and then start meeting once a week on their own, to further develop their trust in each other, which leads to a true accountability.

Let's look at what the Bible tells us about choosing an accountability partner.

James 5:16 (NRSV) "Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective".

1 Th 5:11 (NRSV) "Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing".

Prov 17:17 (NCV) "A friend loves you all the time, and a brother helps in time of trouble".

First: Two things an accountability partner is not: This person is not a counselor to you, nor are you a counselor to them. A counselor is someone that you ask questions of and seek answers from. An accountability partner is someone that can ask us questions, and we are able to disclose the true answers. See the difference? In a counseling situation, I go to someone and ask questions. In an accountability situation, my partner comes to me and asks me the questions about my life. The partner can ask any question to help keep me on course.

An accountability partner is not a fellowship partner. You don't go to breakfast once a week and talk about the weather. You have to get beyond the mundane and surface-level conversations. You are allowing someone to see inside of you, to see past the smokescreens that we put up. It means getting past the Sunday morning conversation of "How are things?" and you say "great, nice weather we are having," when actually you are struggling with sin, your kid is flunking in school and your dog has quit speaking to you. : )

Is the picture of an accountability partner becoming clearer? This person must be someone on the same page or close to you spiritually. He or she also needs to be someone trustworthy and discreet. And it needs to be, on balance, an equal partnership. One partner does not dominate the other with their own problems. Now, of course, life challenges are not always equal. Some meetings or conversations with your partner will be one-sided; sometimes we need to just unload our burdens and that is great. But... over the course of the relationship, there is balance and equality in the sharing.

Finally, It just plainly and simply takes a lot of prayer and time to find the ideal accountability partner. As I said, the ideal place to find a partner is in your small group. People will tend to gravitate toward each other based on common interests and spiritual maturity.

Oh, and you will not find these persons in gossip groups, but in real sold-out-to-Christ Bible and Prayer Groups.

Father, guide us and lead us today. Help us find a partner to hold us accountable. The plan you have laid out for us in Your Word is a perfect plan. Help us to live by your plan for us. Father thank you for Your Son Jesus, Who gives us the perfect example for our lives. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

(Nehemiah 8:10)"The Joy Of The Lord, Is Your Strength."

Coffee With Pat:
http://coffeewithpat.org

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