What Godly Devotion Is

4, 5. What is godly devotion?

⁴ The Greek noun for “godly devotion” (eu·seʹbei·a) may be translated literally as “well-reverencing.”a (2 Peter 1:6, Kingdom Interlinear) It denotes a warm heartfelt feeling toward God. According to W. E. Vine, the adjective eu·se·besʹ, literally meaning “well-reverential,” signifies “the energy which, directed by holy awe of God, finds expression in devoted activity.”​—2 Peter 2:9, Int.

⁵ The expression “godly devotion” therefore refers to the reverence or devotion for Jehovah that moves us to do what is pleasing to him. This is done even in the face of difficult trials because we love God from the heart. It is a loyal, personal attachment to Jehovah that finds expression in the way we live our lives. True Christians are urged to pray that they may lead “a calm and quiet life with full godly devotion.” (1 Timothy 2:1, 2) According to lexicographers J. P. Louw and E. A. Nida, “in a number of languages [eu·seʹbei·a] in 1 Tm 2.2 may be appropriately translated as ‘to live as God would have us live’ or ‘to live as God has told us we should live.’”