Thought I should wrap this series on “Spiritual Habits” up with generosity. This one was something very personal to me, and I felt compelled to share it through the video below:
Blessings,
John
Tag: Spiritual
Spiritual Habits: In the Word
It amazes me how often we say “God, I just want to know your will for my life!” And we act as though we’re waiting for a burning bush, or a voice from Heaven, or Elvis to come back and tell us what God wants for our lives. And yet we’ll spend no time in the Word where God has already revealed His will to us.
The problem with many Christ followers and creating the spiritual habit of getting into the Word, is that most don’t know where to begin, or how to read it.
When it comes to where to begin, most go for “the beginning,” Genesis. They usually get to chapter 10, hit a long line of genealogies and ask, “Why am I doing this?!?” If you are a newer believer, or if you are still on the fringe with God, church, and faith – there’s probably no better place to get started than the Gospel of John. Out of the 4 Gospels (accounts of Jesus life) , John is the most unique. If you have been in church for awhile, or if you just finished reading John, I would strongly suggest that your next reading be James, then Philippians, then Romans.
If you don’t have a Bible, read online at either biblegateway.com or youversion.com, or get one at a local Christian bookstore. Everyone asks about translations, and not all translations are made equal. You need one that is easily readable, and yet accurate and close as possible to the original languages. Without getting into that conversation, I suggest a New English Translation (NET) available online everywhere, New King James Version (NKJV), New American Standard (NASB), New Living Translation (NLT), or English Standard Version (ESV).
As far as how to read it, start with 1-3 chapters, 3 to 6 times a week and try to develop into reading 5-10 chapters daily. While reading, look for, and ask, the following questions:
- What command is there to obey?
- What example is there to follow?
- What sin is there to avoid?
- What character is there to develop?
- What promise is there to claim?
- What good is there to praise God for?
Pray before and ask God to speak to you through His word. Take one thought away to remind yourself of the rest of the day. And pray again afterward and thank God for opportunity to know His will.
May God richly bless you, and may the resurrected power of Christ fall on you as you read and obey His Word.
Blessings,
John
Spiritual Habits: Prayer
Prayer (noun): communion of the soul with God.
Little prayer, little power. Much prayer much power.
Daniel 6:10 tells us that Daniel prayed 3 times a day “as was his custom.” In other words, he was in the habit of having “communion of the soul with God.” As followers of Jesus, this sounds like something we should greatly desire. Unfortunately, prayer becomes a last resort when we’re in trouble, instead of our primary tool for living by faith.
3 rules for having your own habitual communion of the soul with God…
- Set a regular time. There is a lot of merit to praying first thing in the morning everyday. The Bible certainly advocates it. Can you think of a better way to begin your day? Imagine if everyday, before your boss was breathing down your neck, bills needed to be paid, and children began screaming, you made time for your soul to commune with God. But if you just can not pray in the morning, anytime is better than no time.
- Protect your time. It is easy to get distracted! Protect your time by refusing to allow other good things get in the way. We don’t normally miss our prayer time because we were too busy robbing a 7-11 to pray for a few minutes. Usually, it’s other important – but less important – stuff that deviates us from our time of communion with God. Plan ahead and protect your time.
- Have a plan. I’m a little torn on this point. On one hand, familiarity breeds contempt. But on the other hand, there is something very powerful about having a consistent routine. While my prayer routine is the same almost every time, the words that I pray are nearly never exactly the same. My prayers usually flow like this:
- Praising God for who He is and all that He’s done.
- Repent of any sin in my life and claim the promise of forgiveness in Jesus.
- Call upon God’s promises according to His Word. (“God has not given us the spirit of fear…” ” I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he grows old, he will not depart from it.” “There is now therefore, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” “He who began a good work in you, will perform it til the day that Christ returns.”)
- My character and integrity with God.
- Family.
- The Church (Not just The Awakening, or Edgewood).
- Specific people.
- Thank God in advance for how He will work.
If you’re struggling to build a consistent prayer life as a spiritual habit, doing these things could help you get out of a spiritual funk, and into sommunion with God.
Blessings!
John