Daily Devotional for Thursday January 8, 2009
A Day in the Life of Liveprayer founder Bill Keller
(Acts 20:19)
A day in the life of Liveprayer founder Bill Keller. One of the emails I get almost every day are from people curious to know about my daily schedule. I have alluded to it at times over the years, but never really dedicated an entire Devotional to it. However, since so many people are curious and have asked, I thought it would be good to share my typical day with you. It may give some people ideas how to better structure their day to try and find that balance between our daily relationship with the Lord, our family, and work that we all try to achieve. On a selfish note, it will also give those many friends who pray for me each day detailed information so they can be praying more specifically.
Monday thru Friday my life is lived almost exclusively in what I refer to as "God's triangle." God's triangle consists of my home, my office which is about 15 minutes away, and our TV studio which is about 5 minutes from my house and 15 minutes from my office. I am up each day at 5am and spend that first hour in prayer and the Word. That hour is the most critical and special hour of my day. I could not even imagine one day without spending that time alone with the Lord in prayer, reading His Word, and just fellowshipping. It is during this hour that the Lord feeds me, inspires and encourage me, so that I can feed, inspire, and encourage others.
From 6am-7am, I work on the outline of the next day's Daily Devotional. After that, I take a shower, get dressed, and head into the office. I arrive at my office around 7:30am. Each day as I unlock the front door, I pray a prayer that I began praying during the first weeks of Liveprayer almost 10 years ago, when I didn't know if we would be able to make it. I simply ask God to bless the day, to use me for His glory, to help me to stay focused on those things I need to do and can do that day, and commit into His hands those many things out of my control. It is an act of surrender, realizing that there are so many things each day that God is going to have to handle. My goal each day is to focus on those things I am supposed to be doing and leave the rest to Him.
*To see a video of the Liveprayer offices, go to the Liveprayer.com homepage in the Special Features section, and click on the icon that says "Crib."
From 7:30am until around 3pm each day I am in my office, seeing to all of the things it takes to operate the Liveprayer ministry each day. During those hours each day I finish the next day's Daily Devotional, answer apx 200 emails at random from the 40,000 we receive each day, answer apx 100 personal emails each day that I have to respond to, prepare for the topic of that night's TV/radio program, go through the daily mail, work with our bookkeeper and CPA firm on all of the daily accounting issues, deal with our attorneys on any legal issues we may be facing, speak anywhere from 2-3x up to 30x a day with my head tech depending on whatever technical issues there may be that day, work with my PR firm and do any press interviews, create, implement, and oversee all of the special projects, and personally handle the fundraising activities to insure we raise the $40,000 we need to each month to operate.
It is an interesting blend of ministering to the needs of the people we reach each day and who reach out to us, implementing the vision God gives me each day for the ministry, and overseeing all of the business and financial aspects of Liveprayer. It is a combination of being a prophet, pastor, teacher, entrepreneur, TV/radio host, and CEO. God has brought to fruition a decade of being in the business world, nearly 2 decades of ministry, and all of the lessons and skills I have learned over these past 30 years to serve Him in this unique and creative way.
Most days from 3-4pm I am either visiting someone in the hospital or counseling those who are dealing with any number of issues in their lives. By 4:15pm each Monday thru Friday I am in the gym for my daily 45 minute workout that consists of 20 minutes of cardio and 25 minutes of weights. I head home, shower, take a 30 minute nap, and am up at 6pm. From 6pm-8pm, it is time to spend some quality time with my wife either at home, or out doing the day-to-day things everyone has to deal with. I could never have done what I have done all these years without her also making the commitment to the Lord to sacrifice her life for His work as well. It is a relaxing 2 hours away from the work and all that is associated with the ministry, and quality time to focus on my wife and our relationship.
It is back to work from 8-10pm each night to catch up on emails and deal with any problems that there may be. At 10pm it is time to shower and get dressed for the TV/radio program. I usually arrive at the studio around 10:30pm, 30 minutes before we go on the air. On Tuesday I have to be at the studio at 9pm to record that weeks 7 Video Daily Devotionals for cell phones, and on Wednesday I am also at the studio by 9pm to record that weeks sermon for the Liveprayer Church. The TV/radio program is live from 11pm-Midnight. After the program I head home, handle any emails I need to take care of as well as any problems, and am in bed by 1am. Trust me when I tell you that I am usually fast asleep within moments of my head hitting the pillow and have been blessed to sleep very deep and sound until my alarm goes off at 5am.
On Saturday and Sunday, the only change in my schedule is that I am out of the office by Noon. Other than an occasional hospital visit, wedding, or funeral, with no TV/radio program on the weekends I am pretty much free between Noon and Midnight other than checking email a couple of times and making sure all of the daily operations are going ok. As you can see, Liveprayer is literally a 24/7 operation. This coming August 31, I will have been keeping my finger on the pulse of God's work, overseeing all of the operations of the ministry literally every single day for 10 years.
Another question I get all the time is what do I eat. For the past 4 years now, I have been eating a pretty consistent diet of tuna fish and tomatoes around 8am. Around 11 am I eat a small chicken breast and some rice. At 2pm I eat some steak and vegetables. During the day I'll snack on some fresh fruit. In the evening I have a regular meal, usually Korean food that my wife prepares. Other than on Saturday night, I rarely go out and eat in restaurants. I am not too crazy on sweets, though I do enjoy exotic deserts when we out in a nice restaurant. At home, when I break down about once a month, my favorite is to take 3-4 scoops of Haggan Daaz vanilla, put about 2 spoons of chunky peanut butter on the top, throw in some Macadamia nuts, and mix it all up.
It is a crazy and hectic pace that I would not recommend to anyone. I have been able to keep up this unique schedule for nearly 10 years because the Lord has blessed me with wonderful health, though I do my best to stay in shape by getting semi-annual check-ups, being in the gym 5 days a week, and eating a healthy diet. Most people should get at least 6 hours of sleep every night instead of 4, and if you have children you need to spend more time at home with them. The daily stress of ministering to several million people each day along with all of the ministry responsibilities, plus overseeing the daily operations of Liveprayer is incredible. However, having that strength only God can provide, knowing ultimately He is in charge, allows me to manage the stress and enjoy His peace and joy even in the most difficult times.
I love you and care about you so much. You will never know how much I appreciate your love and support and the fact so many care and worry about me each day. It is your love and prayers that sustain me each day. When I left prison nearly 2 decades ago, I had a group of 13 elderly grandmothers in Pensacola praying for me daily. There are only 3 of those dear saints still alive. Those dear women, so many countless friends over the years, and now the tens of thousands in the Liveprayer family who faithfully undergird me each day with prayer, encourage and strengthen me like you will never understand. Your prayers are my "secret weapon" that enables me to step onto the front lines each day without fear, knowing the saints of God are with me, interceding on my behalf.
Let me ask you to please continue to pray for me. Now more than ever I need your prayers as I have made this fresh commitment of my life to the Lord, taken a step of faith far greater than any before as I lead the Jonah Project. Calling this nation and the other nations of the world to repentance or face the judgment of God, while trying to lead the lost to faith in Jesus Christ, along with amassing millions of true followers of Jesus Christ to take decisive action on the social issues of the day, is a huge and massive undertaking. With God's help and your prayers, we will see His mighty hand move, nations repent just like Nineveh, and millions of lost souls find everlasting life through faith in Jesus Christ. My schedule won't be changing as I live each day to serve the Lord with everything I have and fulfill His will in my life!
In His love and service, Your friend and brother in Christ, Bill Keller