Friday, September 22, 2006
going deeper
Posted by at 12:21 PM
What do you tell someone who says they want to “go deeper” in their walk with God?
I think most believers would say that they want to know God more as they continue through life. Growing in Christ is a necessity, because if you’re not growing, you’re stagnant and that means you’re dying and not living. I also see that a lot of growing can be the result of practice and yes, even method. (Harkening back to the convo on prayer as something that is taught and learned…) But if we substitute method and “activity” for the person of Christ then something has gone sour. So what would you say…. How does one go deeper in their walk? What do you think is meant by that? Surely a person saying this isn’t… dissatisfied with God… but maybe dissatisfied with themselves?? Just throwing that out there.
Also, what methods or practical advice could be given to someone who wants to, first, go deeper in their prayer life, and second, go deeper in their time in the written word?
Another prayer tangent: how does one plan prayer activities for a group? Uhhhhhhh…. Is this an oxymoron? Planned prayer? Maybe not but…. thoughts??
I think most believers would say that they want to know God more as they continue through life. Growing in Christ is a necessity, because if you’re not growing, you’re stagnant and that means you’re dying and not living. I also see that a lot of growing can be the result of practice and yes, even method. (Harkening back to the convo on prayer as something that is taught and learned…) But if we substitute method and “activity” for the person of Christ then something has gone sour. So what would you say…. How does one go deeper in their walk? What do you think is meant by that? Surely a person saying this isn’t… dissatisfied with God… but maybe dissatisfied with themselves?? Just throwing that out there.
Also, what methods or practical advice could be given to someone who wants to, first, go deeper in their prayer life, and second, go deeper in their time in the written word?
Another prayer tangent: how does one plan prayer activities for a group? Uhhhhhhh…. Is this an oxymoron? Planned prayer? Maybe not but…. thoughts??
I
When I was younger and lusted for growth, I complained to a brother that I wasn’t growing much. He said, “Maybe it’s not time to grow right now. Maybe Dad has you here to bless some people.”
II
Growth is such a tricky thing to measure. I pruned this bush; some of the branches were way too long,
and the whole thing was lopsided.
I cut off growth that seemed great until I stepped back to look at the bush as a whole.
It was better off after the pruning.
III
Methods to cultivate depth in prayer and reading:
devotion.
It may be good to get a commentary and go through that. I tried some, and one must be careful here, because a few of them are put out by people who are a little too smart for their own good... (Statements like: "The Israelites probably never celebrated the year of Jubilee because that would have required them to live off the land two years in a row (the 7th Sabbath year being the 49th year and the Jubilee year being the 50th year.)" Making that statement presupposes that God is not able to make the land sustain them for two years in a row.)
Something that has helped me is to read some and then respond in writing. I kinda write stream of consciousness, so there is exegesis mixed with prayer and just flat out questions all roled up in one...
I really liked doing a prayer liturgy. There is one book I used for about 2 years on and off called "Celtic Daily Prayer" It is kind of neat because it has some stuff you say every day, some that cycles through each week, month and each day of the year... it also had some special liturgies for days like easter and christmas etc. The daily stuff mostly concentrated on little meditations on the lives of Celtic saints, which was neat to learn about: Patrick, Columba, and all those guys. Most of the daily stuff is right out of the psalms. While I was in MN, my bro and I did it together some, which is cool because it is kinda designed that way.
Looking at both prayer and bible study more "holisticly," I found that lots of the stuff I read that isn't necessarily theological in nature matches up with where I was at the time. I was reading Mere Christianity at the same time we were reading Aristotle whatever year that was (I think Sophomore?) and their styles really matched up. It was cool to read some of the bible, some C.S. Lewis, some Aristotle, and then pray, the whole time making connections between them all...
The big lesson I have learned is that there isn't a (specifically) right way to do it... try different stuff, keep what works, toss what doesn't. That works individually and in groups...