Remember the Difference between Source and Means

It is not the Word of God itself or even prayer that supplies the power and grace to live the Christian life. It is Christ who is our life (see Colossians 3: 4). The Word of God and prayer are the primary means by which the Holy Spirit mediates Christ’s life to us. But we must never so emphasize the Word and prayer, which are God’s instruments of grace, that we lose sight of Christ, who is the source of our life.

--Jerry Bridges, True Community: The Biblical Practice of Koinonia (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2012), Kindle locations 312-315.