Do you want more of the presence of God?
Today I offer the third of a three-step process.
On Tuesday, we discussed the first step in drawing closer to the presence of God. We must intentionally choose to spend less time with other things and more time with God! “Just do it!” as Nike says.
Yesterday, we addressed the second step. We need to be less proud, rebellious, and compromised. We need to humble ourselves, submit, and obey. Indeed, we said, “start by attacking the one big thing that you know you’re holding back.”
Today we focus on the final step – practice.
- We need to craft a disciplined way of spending time with God daily.
- And we need to keep practicing it until we experience more and more and more of God’s presence.
That doesn’t mean we can’t tweak and adjust the details of the plan. But our discipline must be consistent until we break-through to God’s greater blessing.
Here again are the three scriptures that will guide our daily discipline …
- Joshua 1:4 [God said … When you] cross … into the land … 6 be … 7 careful to act in accordance with all the law … 8 [Furthermore,] this book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night … 11 [Then Joshua commanded] “… in three days you are to cross over the Jordan, to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God gives you to possess.'"
- Joshua 3:15 [When] the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the … flood, 16 the waters flowing from above stood still.
- 2 Chronicles 7:14 if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves … and pray … and seek my face … and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.
Step 3: Practice
If you want to experience the Presence of God it is imperative that your daily discipline includes three primary elements (and then anything you want to add to make it more joyful and purposeful for you) …
1. “Pray” (2 Chron 7:14)
Prayer is a conversation. It is talking. It is also listening – part one of listening involves silence, solitude, and stillness (which is hard in a busy, noisy world), part two is below.
Most of all, prayer is relationship. It is sitting regularly in God’s Presence – whether you can feel it or not – until a relationship develops. And that’s why I say it takes practice and discipline.
Assignment: If you don’t do either of these pieces already, spend two minutes a day speaking to God AND spend two minutes a day (in silence) listening for God. (Since my mind wanders, I have to have a phrase from scripture or a scripture-inspired picture – like Jesus as a shepherd – to focus on as I’m otherwise sitting in silence.)
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2. “Meditate [on his Word] day and night” (Joshua 1:8)
Scripture is the second way in which we listen. Why? Because scripture is literally God’s Word. While my prayerful listening is important, it is often subjective. The written Word is clear, objective, and unchanging. God has promised to meet us on these pages. Indeed, he’s intentionally revealed himself here.
Assignment 1: Pray to develop a hunger for the Word of God. At first, reading scripture can be hard and it may require intentional discipline. As you become more familiar with “sound of God’s word” and as a hunger develops, reading scripture can be your day’s greatest joy.
Assignment 2: Read (at least) a “section” a day. What’s a “section”? If you do not already have a reading plan, let me give you some suggestions:
a. Read a Psalm a Day; or …
b. Or … read a New Testament chapter a day; or …
c. Or … if you’re less experienced with reading scripture find a good devotional book that starts with a scripture passage (a good devotional will help you make sense of the scripture passage) BUT THEN ALSO look up in the Bible that Scripture passage and read the paragraphs surrounding the scripture that you found in the devotion (this will help you learn to make sense of verses in context and gradually acquaint you with more of scripture).
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3. “And seek my face”
The final discipline is seeking God’s face. Another word for this is worship. As part of time with God, make sure to 1) thank him, 2) praise him, and 3) spend time worshipfully with him. For some it will involve more silence. For others it may mean singing a hymn of praise. Others, after reading and praying may want to walk outside and enjoy the beauty of his creation.
My wife, spends the first few moments of devotion on the back porch, looking out over creation, and thanking God (until she wakes up enough to focus on the more intentional parts of her discipline – which include scripture and prayer). (By the way, coffee is part of her routine. For her, the smell of coffee is both a reminder of God’s blessings and the scent of God’s presence getting ready to break in!)
Assignment: If you don’t know how to worship, praise, or seek God’s face, add one more minute to the two (plus) minutes of your prayer time, starting with telling God as many things as you can think of that you are thankful for. (Hint: I find doing this alphabetically helps me … God, I’m thankful for air that’s fresh, breakfast in a few minutes, children – Paul, Jay, and Rob, d …, e …, etc. )
Ahh … there’s one more practice, one more discipline … When?! I’d suggest first thing in the morning. And that’s from a person who is definitely not a morning person. Some days I’m not sure if I’m alive til noon! Nevertheless, if I don’t start with discipline, I seem to never fully make it back up.
Furthermore, morning provides us with one other blessing. When we start the day listening to God, we’re more likely to live that day with his guidance, purposes, and power (rather than charging out unarmed and unfocused).
So … if you’re new to this, set your alarm ten minutes earlier.
One minute to praise.
Five minutes to read scripture.
Two minutes to pray.
Two minutes to listen.
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