Deep and Wide

Deep and wide, deep and wide.

There’s a fountain flowing deep and wide.

Throughout this prayer series, I’ve been talking about how to tap into that flow of the Holy Spirit, and how to develop an intimate relationship with God. Thinking about that river of life, that fountain of living water, calls to mind the traditional Sunday school song above. It reminds me that in addition to going deep into God’s word and prayer as I’ve been encouraging us to do, it’s also important to go wide. So let’s look at deep and wide in reference to our prayer and devotion time in several areas.

Personal Communication with God

Most of the topics I’ve been writing about for the past few months have encouraged you to go deep into your prayer life, spending quality intimate time with God. Check my bi-weekly Thursday posts or my personal blog for more info in this area.

However, it’s also important to go wide in our communication with God. To always have him in our hearts. To direct our thoughts to him throughout our day. In this way a concern becomes a petition. Joyful moments become a time of praise. Thankful moments an act of worship. Painful moments a sacred encounter. Remember to keep your thoughts continually tuned to God, but to take that deep time to really focus on him and listen for direction as well.

Another area we should remember to go deep is in spiritual warfare. When under attack from the enemy, it is important to take out that shield of faith and that sword of the spirit of the word of God and to go on the offensive to do battle in spiritual realm, giving quality time and attention to the issue. 

Intercession for Others

Similar to personal communication with God, we should be regularly sending petitions to him for those we encounter throughout the day. When we hear an ambulance siren or see a crashed car, take a moment to whisper up a prayer. When we hear about a sick child on facebook or see someone looking sad in the grocery line, offer up a petition.

But we should also take time to go deep into prayer for other people, offering them before the Lord. Holding them in the light of his glorious presence. Speaking scripture promises and blessings over their lives, and going to battle in the spirit for them as well.

Bible Reading

In one of my posts I talked about an ancient Bible reading technique called lectio divina. This calls us to read small sections of scripture, taking time to mediate and picture specific words or phrases that stand out and shimmer to us. Incorporating prayer and listening into our Bible reading time. I love this technique. It truly brings God’s word alive. Another great way to go deep into God’s word is by memorizing scripture. Finally, copying it in your own handwriting is great for getting God’s word deep into your heart.

But it is also important to go wide in God’s word. To make sure that you’ve read the whole Bible, hopefully several times. We should know the voice of the good shepherd and not follow that of a stranger. The best way to learn God’s voice is by reading his word in large chunks. All of the techniques I’ve mentioned for hearing God’s personal voice and direction work best when you are well-acquainted with God’s written word.

And these days there are so many opportunities to go wide in God’s word. You can listen to scripture on CD while driving or exercising. You can read the Bible in multiple translations online. My church has held Bible reading marathons where people take turns reading the scriptures out loud. If I remember right, you can read through the entire Bible in a 24 hour marathon.

Praise and Worship

We can also go both deep and wide in praise and worship. I think most Christians know about focused praise and worship through music on Sunday mornings. However, it is also a huge blessing to your mind and your spirit to keep praise and worship playing in the background throughout the day whenever possible.

You know, this whole topic of deep and wide is similar to what we call quality time versus quantity time. And since experts have argued over which is more important in relationships, I think it’s safe to assume that both are essential. We need to know God on a deep level, but we need that quantity time spent with him and his word as well for familiarity and a sense of closeness.

So remember to go both deep and wide with your prayer and devotion.

Which are you better at spending in relationships, quality time or quantity time? Which do you find more important? What are the benefits of each? Please share any of your personal tips for going deep and/or wide with God.

A Time to Pray

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. ~1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

“Today we’re going to talk about prayer.” The youthful pastor glanced over the faces of the congregation lining the pews. One by one smiles turned to frowns of guilt and remorse. Several sets of eyes glazed over with disinterest, while others turned away from him. A sweet, elderly lady in the front row continued to gaze up with a beatific grin.

He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. This should be good. “How many of you have heard a sermon before that instructed you to rise early each morning and pray?”

Every hand in the audience shot up. “How many of you have tried to do this?”

Over half the hands stayed in the air. “And how many have succeeded?”

As he suspected, only five or six remained, including the saintly white-haired woman up front. “Well, I have good news for you. Jesus liked to pray at night.”

A few sighs met his ears, followed by a murmured, “Thank God.”

The pastor chuckled. “Different question. How many of you have been taught that you should set aside an hour a day to pray?”

Again every hand rose. “And how many of you actually pray an hour a day.” All hands fell. Even his friend in the front row lowered her wrinkled one and wobbled it back and forth to indicate hit and miss. Then one brave soul in the back raised his hand high. Several nearby parishioners glared at him and grumbling exploded about the building.

Oh, great. The last thing he needed was to get in trouble with the senior pastor. Again. “Settle down everyone. Today we’re going to talk about a different approach to prayer.”
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Would it surprise you to know that every school morning for four years straight I’ve had a devotional time with my children? Often when I mention that to people, I’m met by disbelief, glares, or guilt. But we’ve found a simple formula that works for us. And if ever one child is running late, another will fuss at them because they love our prayer time. They crave that special moment to start the day.

However, we do not wake up early, and we don’t spend an hour. Allow me to share our recipe for prayer success.

1) Keep it short: Our prayer time is five minutes long.
2) Build it into your daily routine: We pray every morning at 8:00 am by the front window right before the youngest has to go outside and catch the bus.
3) Have a plan: We say the Lord’s Prayer together, then I read a 5-10 verse passage of scripture from a specified book. Finally, I (or Dad if he’s home) close with a prayer for our day.

Perhaps that sounds too simple. Too easy. But if you read my last post you will remember that prayer is meant to be enjoyed. Not dreaded. Let’s look at these simple steps in more detail.

Keep it short. When you first attempt to enter into a daily habit of prayer, start simple. Choose a reasonable goal that you feel confident you can conquer. Five minutes a day. Ten at the most. Once this becomes a habit and you begin to enjoy your prayer time, chances are you will find this time too short and want to pray longer. But take it easy on yourself and start out slow.

Build it into your daily routine. What do you do everyday? Have a cup of coffee in the morning and read the newspaper? Check your email when you get home from work? Read before you go to bed? Take a lunch break? Go running? If you’re super busy then what about drive to work? Or take a shower? Choose one of these times and add your five minutes of prayer to it. Once it successfully becomes a habit and you are enjoying it, consider extending it, or adding a second, and later a third time.


Have a plan: It certainly doesn’t have to be the same as my family’s plan. Maybe you’d like open with a worship song, read a devotional, listen quietly, and close with an out loud prayer. Maybe you’d like to read a scripture and meditate on it and then journal about it. Maybe you’d like to begin with a time of thanksgiving, then pray for friends, and finally for yourself. You might enjoy trying something different such as deep breathing, repeating a single scripture, and imagining meeting with God to talk about your day. Traditional folks might like to use a liturgical prayer and light a candle. Our more charismatic friends might want to incorporate praying in the spirit or even dancing. The plan is only to help you, and you get to set it. One day you might want to change it, or scrap it completely. No problem! But a plan will help you see how you can easily fill that time. In fact, before long you’ll find that five minutes is not nearly long enough.

And this is just a starting point to help you enjoy your prayer time. Also keep in mind what we learned in my posts “A Place to Pray” and some of the prayer techniques we’ve discussed. Soon every hand in our audience might go up when the pastor asks who prays an hour a day. The goal is not to sit miserably, whiling away the time. The goal is to enjoy God’s presence so that you seek it more and more. To long to meet with him again. To dream of those moments. To pray without ceasing.

Because you want to!

Do you have a prayer routine that you’d be willing to share with us? What helps you to enjoy your time with God? If you don’t have a regular prayer time, what might help you establish one?