Learning to Live Freely and Lightly

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.

About two years ago I chose the above quote as the theme for my life and my writing. Would it surprise you to hear that it’s actually a scripture from Matthew 11:28-30? You might recognize it in this translation.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

I’m sure I had read that scripture a hundred times. And it’s good. Don’t get me wrong. But it never resonated with me. Not until I stumbled across The Message version did it spark to life in my mind.

Boy was I burned out on religion. So exhausted from trying to do things in my own strength. Weary of the judgmental attitudes and external focus often found in Christianity. But God wanted me to recover my life. To take a real rest. He would show me how he did it.

Then it got even better. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. You see, I’ve been a worship dancer for eighteen years. This phrase, I understand. Flowing in the magic of the music. Letting it take you over. Seep into your skin and blossom from the inside out. Nothing forced or regimented. This is how our relationship with the Lord should be. His righteousness should permeate us and flow from the inside out. I saw even more in those few words. I imagined myself twirling in the arms of the Lord. Letting him lead my dance—my life. Responding to his gentle tugs and pulls. His subtle shifts and sways. Yes, this is how I desire to live.

And he won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting upon me? At that time, two years ago, one aspect of my life felt incredibly heavy and ill-fitting. I needed to turn it over into God’s hands. I needed to abandon trying to make it work through my own efforts. I surrendered. Metaphorically and physically. I gave up. I’m still working through that area of my life. Still learning to live freely and lightly in the Holy Spirit. But I’m keeping company with him as the scripture suggests. And much healing has occurred.

So this is now my theme. Learning to live freely and lightly in the unforced rhythms of God’s grace. This is what my books are about. This is what my life is about. Will you join me?

What is your favorite Bible verse? Do you have a theme for your life? Are you living freely and lightly?

Prayer Series Wrap-up

During the summer I did a series of posts on prayer and devotion. Then I got a little sidetracked with my debut novel release ;) But I'd like to review and collect all the posts together in order for you here. If you followed throughout the summer, you might have noticed that I used the word “prayer” in a different way than you expected. That prayer for me is not simply talking at God, but rather time spent in relationship with him. In my posts about prayer, I’ve included information about Bible reading, meditating, praise and worship, art, nature, and simply resting in God’s presence. Have you noticed that the Bible often refers to “prayers and petitions.” Sometimes I wonder if what the evangelical church has come to think of as prayer, is in fact merely the petition part.

My goal throughout the series was to equip you with a sort of “prayer toolbox.” To expose you to styles of prayer from various backgrounds and denominations, so that you could find the type of prayer that best ministers to you and best helps you find intimate relationship with your creator. So let’s go back and re-cap in case you missed anything.

With Unveiled Faces http://awesomeinspirationals.blogspot.com/2011/05/with-unveiled-faces.html In my first installment of this series, we discussed our spiritual senses, and that while we might  begin by “seeing through a glass darkly,” as we spend time in God’s presence, we will view him more and more clearly “with unveiled faces.”

Divine Reading http://awesomeinspirationals.blogspot.com/2011/06/divine-reading.html Do you desire a personal word from God? This post will inspire you to ruminate on scripture looking for those special words that glimmer. Through the process of divine reading, you will be encouraged to mull over those words and hear God’s personal message for you.

Open the Eyes of My Heart http://awesomeinspirationals.blogspot.com/2011/06/open-eyes-of-my-heart.html This article discusses how to use your inner imaging system to picture meeting with God, as well as to imagine the truth of scripture in your life, thereby igniting your faith.

Shut Up and Listen! http://awesomeinspirationals.blogspot.com/2011/07/shut-up-and-listen.html Too often we focus on talking to God in prayer, but how much better to be quiet and listen for his answers. He knows our problems, and only he knows the solutions. This article will give you some practical tips for tuning your inner ear to God’s voice.

A Place to Pray http://awesomeinspirationals.blogspot.com/2011/07/place-to-pray.html Based on the assumption that prayer is meant to be enjoyed, this article will encourage you to prepare a special place to meet with God, surrounded by items that will inspire you and have you longing to return to God’s presence again and again.

A Time to Pray http://awesomeinspirationals.blogspot.com/2011/08/time-to-pray.html Discouraged by your attempts to establish a regular prayer routine? This post provides practical advice to help you incorporate prayer time into your everyday life.

Put Your Mind at Ease http://awesomeinspirationals.blogspot.com/2012/01/prayer-put-your-mind-at-ease.html In response to God’s instruction to pray with both the spirit and the understanding, this article discusses ways to relax your mind and pray from your spirit, including spontaneous artistic expression, repeated scriptures, and praying with a prayer language.

Deep and Wide http://awesomeinspirationals.blogspot.com/2011/08/deep-and-wide.html In this final installment we talked about different methods for Bible reading, prayer, and worship that help us to go both deep and wide, allowing for quality and quantity time with God. 

Did you learn anything new in this series? What is the most important lesson you've ever learned about prayer? Do you have any questions about prayer or intimacy with Christ?

Prayer - Put Your Mind at Ease

I just realized that my "Prayer and Devotion" series from last summer got preempted by my novel release. Here's an installment I missed. And it's a great one. Hope you enjoy :) You can check out the posts through the links on the side for now, but I hope to organize them in order soon.

¹⁵ So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding. ~ I Corinthians 14:15

Last year I led a ladies Bible study for a few close friends. One of the ladies had a hard time praying. She would feel anxiety and even panic when she prayed. How sad! For this woman prayer was scary. A performance of sorts. As if God was judging her words and deciding if he would magically grant her wish or strike her with a lightning bolt for her shoddy job.

If you've been following my bi-weekly series on prayer, hopefully you already understand that prayer is not a performance. Once this woman realized that simply basking in God’s presence, merely listening to his voice, or dwelling on a scripture could be a form of prayer, things began to go much better for her.

Paul instructs us to pray with both the understanding and the spirit. There are a number of prayer techniques, used throughout the ages, that allow our minds to rest and our spiritual awareness to blossom. Let me begin this next section by saying that any hard-core conservative evangelicals might want to skip this post. Or at the very least, I would request that you remove any large rocks from your vicinity before proceeding ;)

Spontaneous Creative Expression

Risen! - by novelist Lisa Samson

Let’s start with one that shouldn’t be too scary. Art. Art is a form of communication. Anything we can do with speech, we can do through singing, dancing, painting, writing poetry, etc... And yes, through these means we can pray.

Letting your mind flow free to worship God and express your heart spontaneously through the arts can provide an amazing experience in God’s presence. Little wonder most churches begin with music. And while planned music or dancing can work well as worship and prayer, how much better to engage in our own personal artistic prayer experience. Allow your emotions to well up from within and express them to God through your chosen medium, engaging your spirit and giving your mind an opportunity to rest. Bask in the tone of the music, the color of the paint, the texture of the clay.

Some churches even allow for such expression on Sunday morning. But I encourage you to consider adding your favorite form of artistic expression to your personal time of prayer. And take a moment to enjoy this worshipful art by one of the Inkies' favorite novelists, Lisa Samson.

Repeated Scripture

Choosing a significant scripture and repeating it in a rhythmic pattern in time with your breath is a prayer technique that was used by both the ancient Hebrews and medieval Christians. This method of prayer is one of the most soothing techniques I’ve ever experienced. And it gives one a sense of entering the kingdom of God deep within.

Here are some of my favorite scriptures that I like to pray:

~“Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty”

~“King of Kings and Lord of Lords”

~“In Him I live and move and have my being.”

~“Be still and know that I am God.”

~“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want..”

Any short scripture of personal significance can work. As you repeat these scriptures, allow your mind to dwell on them, to picture them. Imagine what your life would look like if these scriptures were fully at realized in it. Allow them to do a work deep in your heart. Imagine the change that will take place when you truly begin to believe them.

Prayer in the Spirit

When reading I Corinthians 14:15 in context, you will discover that Paul is specifically referring to…dare I say it? I'm tempted to just call it the "t-word," but that doesn't seem right considering the New Testament refers to it on numerous occasions. Speaking in tongues had taken a bad rap in Christendom. And for good reason. Despite the fact that I was raised in a charismatic church, even I have held reservations about this technique, mostly because it has caused so much division in the body of Christ.

However, just because something causes controversy doesn’t make it wrong. In fact Christianity itself is quite controversial these days. The only theological argument I’ve ever heard against praying in tongues is a single scripture. And I would argue that a single scripture not taken in light of the entire word of God, at the very least, begs for reconsideration. Many churches avoid tongues not for theological reasons but because it is hard to control and has been abused. But that does mean it cannot be done decently and in order. Or even just privately at home. And who’s to say God would not like us to give up our control from time to time and give him the reigns.

As I’ve been doing this series on prayer, I’ve felt God prompting me to reexamine speaking in tongues. And it occurred to me that speaking in tongues serves the same purpose of many other prayer techniques. It eases our mind, it allows us to pray God’s words and not our own, and it is a way for the Holy Spirit to speak through us and to us. Paul prayed in tongues more than anyone around him, and maybe there is something to be learned from that.

Praying in tongues can seem intimidating because it by definition can’t be understood with the logical mind. We might worry we’re speaking gibberish, or something we heard someone else pray rather than an actual earthly or heavenly language. But Paul says in Romans 8: 26, “For we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” And I suspect it might be the release from deep in our spirit that matters more than the specifics of the words themselves.

Maybe speaking in tongues isn’t the thing for you. That’s cool. No worries. The important thing is to be open to how God is leading you to pray. However you choose to pray, remember that prayer is not a performance. Remember to pray both with your spirit and your understanding. And remember that it’s okay to put your mind at ease.

Are you able to put your mind at ease when you pray? Have you ever tried or had an experience, positive or negative, with any of these techniques? How is God leading you to pray?

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.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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?

A Place to Pray

"Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.” ~ Matthew 6:6

For several posts I’ve been sharing my thoughts on tapping into the spiritual realm and truly communicating with God. And while this requires honing our spiritual senses, the physical environment around us can either contribute to or diminish our prayer process. As we see above, Jesus recommended we go into a small, quiet room and pray.

In his book Mystically Wired, Pastor Ken Wilson asserts that many Christians fail in their prayer and devotional lives because they make it too hard on themselves. They make unrealistic demands and set themselves up for failure. God intended for us to enjoy prayer. It is meant to be a relaxing and refreshing time in His marvelous presence. I’ve mentioned some techniques that might help enrich your prayer time including listening to God, imagining meeting with God, and ruminating on specific words from scripture. But today let’s spend some time considering where we pray.

We should prepare for prayer the same way we might prepare for a date with our spouse, making it a special time to meet with the lover of our souls. Choose a place that is quiet and comforting. A place that will bring you joy. A place that is special to you. That way when you go to this place, your body will immediately respond with positive associations. As you have wonderful prayer times in this place, those associations will continue to grow. It doesn’t always have to be the same exact place. I have three places in my house where I like to pray. Find what works best for you.

Next, think about your posture. What helps you enter into prayer and focus on God? Kneeling, laying prostrate on the floor, sitting with your hands folded? For me it’s usually sitting cross-legged or with my knees tucked to my chest in an overstuffed chair or on a plush carpet. It could be lying in bed…or showering…or driving in your car. There’s never a “bad” place or way to talk to God and petition him. However, some environments and positions help us to better enter his presence and hear from him in return.

When you first begin to pray, consider taking some slow deep breaths to relax yourself and enjoy the moment. Imagine breathing in the presence of God and breathing out all the stress of your day.

Here are some other tools that might contribute to your prayer experience.

1)      Art work: Anything beautiful that lifts the soul, photos of nature, religious artwork, even a relaxing screensaver

2)      Water: a trickling fountain or sounds of the ocean or rain

3)       Fire: candles, a fireplace, a campfire, or a virtual fire

4)      Scent: incense or a relaxing aroma like lavender or vanilla

5)      Bible: a special Bible with personal significance in a translation you love

6)      Devotional Books: prayers, scripture collections, poems, writings in God’s voice

7)      Journal: for recording what God speaks to you and your own poems and prayers

8)      Music: classical music, instrumental music, especially worship music

I keep this website book marked because it streams beautiful “soaking” worship music all day long. http://www.soaking.net/

Give thought to what blesses you during your prayer time and keep those items handy in one place. It won’t be all of the prayer aids I mentioned. Certainly not all at the same time. I once experimented with lighting a scented candle, running a fountain, and playing worship music all at the same time. By the time I was done I had entered sensory overload and was completely distracted. But I have been blessed by all of these items individually during my prayer sessions.

This post would not be complete without mentioning the place I spend most of my personal prayer time—what Ken Wilson calls the “outdoor cathedral.” Like many others, I feel closest to God in nature with no ceiling over my head. I love to listen to the birdsong, the rustle of the breeze. To watch scampering squirrels, waddling ducks, and soaring hawks. Even little ants busy at work. There I can see, feel, hear, taste, and smell God all around me. I do much of my praying in conjunction with walking and biking. And can you guess my favorite prayer place of all? Along the beach, of course :)

This post should allow for some good discussion. How do you enjoy praying? Where do you pray? Do you use any aids in prayer? Might any of these suggestions enrich your prayer life? Do you have any suggestions for us today?

Shut Up and Listen!

You don't believe because you're not my sheep. My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them real and eternal life. They are protected from the Destroyer for good. No one can steal them from out of my hand. The Father who put them under my care is so much greater than the Destroyer and Thief. No one could ever get them away from him. I and the Father are one heart and mind.  ~ John 10:25-30

I don’t know about you, but I grew up in a church where prayer was mostly about talking at God…with words. And this process, for reasons I’ve shared during my last few faith posts, didn’t work out well for me. So I’ve been blogging about different tools to add to our prayer and devotional times to help us better tune into the spiritual world and truly communicate with God.

This week I want to talk about the simple process of listening to God with our inner ears. Considering the fact that God is all-knowing and all-powerful, you’d think we’d want to stop and hear what he has to say. I mean, I could spend hours talking to him about my problems. Maybe that would make me feel better. Probably it would just get me more worked up. Besides, he’s already intimately acquainted with me. So wouldn’t it be better to listen and hear what he wants me to know.

Yet don’t most people spend 90% of their prayer time spouting lists at God, or worse yet, trying to order him around and inform him how he should fix the world. I’m sorry, but this strikes me as a terrible plan.

So why don’t people spend more time being quiet and still and listening to God? Maybe because it can be a little scary. Maybe because we’re afraid we’ll fail. Maybe because it requires a loss of control. But listening to God is the most life-changing kind of prayer there is.

Some of the techniques I’ve shared recently like meditating on words and phrases from scripture or imagining God can be helpful in listening. Deep breathing, quoting short scriptures, soaking in quiet worship music, or time spent in nature can also be helpful.

Perhaps the most helpful tool is journaling. By writing down the thoughts, feelings, and impressions that bubble up from that well deep inside of us, we allow them to flow free. Choose not to analyze, but just to capture it all on paper. Then later you can compare what God has spoken to you with the word of God or share it with a spiritual advisor.

What will God’s voice sound like? Fair enough question.

God rarely speaks in an audible voice. You have to quiet your own thoughts to hear his still quiet voice deep in your heart. And it does tend to feel as if it come from somewhere in your chest. God’s words will often take you by surprise and sound like nothing you could have come up with on your own. There is a sense of “flow.” They will bring peace and comfort. They will sound of authority. Even if they convict, they will do so with love and compassion. They will strengthen you and give you hope. They should always align with scripture and will sometimes even take the form of scripture.

Our own thoughts usually come from somewhere in the vicinity of our head. They tend to be logical and predictable. Most of us are pretty familiar with our own thoughts. They often run in circles and get us nowhere.

Satan’s voice can be the trickiest, but you’ll quickly learn to tell the difference. This voice brings negative emotions: fear, anger, hopelessness, condemnation, bitterness etc… It might sound good on the surface, but you can tell it by the fruit it produces. It accuses and twists the truth. Satan loves to use words like “always” and “never” and work you into a frenzy, the opposite of the peace of God. His words twist in your gut and can feel like they come from that area. Rebuke the devil in the name of Jesus when these thoughts attempt to invade.

Don’t focus on Satan, though. Focus on God. He is the good shepherd and his children know his voice. Spend time with him. Learn to listen to him. Use the tools that best help you to relate to him and hear him speak.

So the next time you pray, remember, stop talking so much and listen already.

What helps you listen to God? How do you identify his voice? Have you ever tried keeping a prayer journal?

Open the Eyes of My Heart

In a previous post, I proposed that we have spiritual senses, but they are generally crowded out by our more powerful physical senses.

This week I would like to talk about a style of relating to God that has revolutionized my personal life more than any other. It is the simple practice of engaging the imagination, otherwise known as the eyes of our hearts, in encountering God.

For much of my life I had a hard time praying, meditating on God, and hearing from God. What would happen was basically this, I would try to talk to God in words. Meanwhile, my mind would be flooded with images, daydreams, feelings, and distractions. It was like I was trying to talk at God through a radio script while the television was blasting right in front of my face. And I didn’t know how to turn the dumb thing off. As far as listening to God in such a state, well…just forget it.

Then I finally learned the secret. While you can’t turn off that inner television set, you can change the channel. You can use that inner imaging system to focus on God. You can picture meeting with him. Looking into his face. You can tune your thoughts to a favorite image of God from the Bible. The shepherd. The king on his throne. The loving father. Jesus the carpenter. The dove. Or something in nature that speaks to you of God’s divinity. The ocean. The mountains. A sunset. A campfire. You name it. Perhaps you can even meet with God on that mountaintop or beach and have a conversation, or hug, right there.

Somehow I had never thought of that. It seemed too simple. Almost like make-believe. But it is the way to engage all of ourselves in the process of prayer. To focus our whole minds on God’s presence. And here I thought a vision would have to be all super-natural and block out my normal eyesight. Not that it couldn’t happen, I suppose. But don’t you find that God often moves in much gentler, simpler, harder to pin down ways that require a bit of faith.

The ancient Hebrews knew about this. They understood dreams and visions. They understood that we had spiritual eyes that needed to look into the face of God. Imagine is one definition for the Hebrew word for meditate. The medieval Christians understood this as well. They called it Visio Divina. Who knows, maybe every Christian in the world besides me somehow understood this. “Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow vaguely dim in the light of his glory and grace.” Seems like this idea has been around for a long time. Maybe I just missed it. But since I did, I want to make sure no one else misses it like me.

In fact, while reading the Bible you can use this same inner imaging system. You can picture yourself living Bible stories. Imagine what it would have been like to walk with Paul, to listen to Jesus on the Mount of Olives, to go to battle beside King David. More importantly, you can engage your faith by picturing what it would look like if scripture were truer than your circumstances. How that would change your life.

I first stumbled upon this concept when my kids were small. I would worry when I left them with the babysitter. Picturing all sorts of horrible things happening to them. Prayer didn’t seem to help. Quoting scriptures just felt like some fear-ridden attempt at Christian magic spells. Finally it hit me. I could pray, maybe quote those scriptures, then I would picture the kids safe at home playing happily with their babysitter and surrounded by the angels. What a difference that made. My fear would melt away, and I could enjoy my outing.

As I’ve mentioned before. Maybe this isn’t the thing for you. Or maybe you aren’t as dense as I am, and you figured this out long ago. But for others of you, this simple technique might hold the key to deepening your awareness of the spiritual kingdom, relating to God, and hearing his voice. I hope for someone today, this is just the thing you’ve been searching for.

How do you picture God? Where is your favorite place to meet with him? If you could take a three day vacation, just you and God, where would you like to spend it?

Divine Reading

As many of you know, I’ve recently become a part-time acquisitions editor for WhiteFire Publishing. Probably the coolest unexpected perk has been the opportunity to peek at amazing books long before the general public will see them. I found one that especially ministered to me on a very personal level and helped me to grow in my faith.

This book is a narrative style non-fiction. The writing is lovely and the stories of women poignant. But more than that, the writer herself knew how to tap into God for healing and strength. I can't promise that WhiteFire will publish it. All I can say is I hope they do. Even if they don't, I'm incredibly grateful that God brought this blessing into my life.

A few weeks ago in my post titled “With Unveiled Faces” I passed along this premise: we are all spiritually wired, but we are also spiritually challenged. We have spiritual eyes, and ears, and feelings, but we don’t know how to use them. We don’t trust them. They often get crowded out by our physical senses. And this is probably most true in the Western culture. Think about it. Why are there more miracles in third world countries? Is it simply because they need them more? Or might it be that without our Western logic and education, they are more open to mystery and wonder?

I find it helpful to go back before our current culture to traditions used by ancient Hebrews and medieval Christians to learn how to tap into our spiritual wiring. To use our spiritual senses. To discover the divine.

The unpublished book I had the pleasure of reading focused on one specific technique called lectio divina. According to Wikipedia, “Lectio Divina is Latin for divine reading, spiritual reading, or 'holy reading,' and represents a traditional Catholic practice of prayer and scriptural reading intended to promote communion with God and to increase in the knowledge of God's Word. It is a way of praying with Scripture that calls one to study, ponder, listen and, finally, pray and even sing and rejoice from God's Word, within the soul.”

In lectio divina, you don’t rush through scripture trying to meet your quota of chapters for the day. You relish it. You dwell on it. You read until you find that one word that really sparks something in you. That word that lights up, full of life. Then you pray about that word throughout the day. Meditate on it. Mull it over. Ask God to speak to you his truth about how this simple word or phrase should impact your life. In Hebrew the term is a rhema word.

Which means, really it’s just another method for finding intimacy with Christ. For awakening those inner senses and hearing from God. Because what good are lifeless words on a page without the Holy Spirit to help us rightly understand and divide the word of God. Without God’s direction and inspiration, we all know, people can read nothing more than their own prejudices and presuppositions into the Bible.

Lectio divina is only one of many techniques for tapping into God’s kingdom that dwells within you. In the coming weeks I hope to cover many more. But maybe, just maybe, this will be the one to spark you and bring your spiritual senses alive in a new way. If you’ve struggled with your quiet time, why not give it a try. Read just a few verses, and allow God to speak his rhema word to your heart.

Let me end with a quick little poem I wrote years ago on this topic.

 I am giddy with the words of God

 that flow like amber wine.

They are honey sweet, delicately spiced,

each one a world to itself,

alive and teeming, sparks flying,

glimmering in multi-faceted rays,

a rainbow of truth to touch each heart

with the idyllic shade of light.

Otherwise, too bright, white hot,

like gazing into the sun.

What scripture or specific word has stood out to you recently? What techniques have you found that enrich your quiet times with God? How do you tap into your spiritual senses?

With Unveiled Faces

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. ~ II Cor. 3:18

I started to write this post yesterday and intended to call it “Through a Glass Darkly” or even “Dark Glass Ponderings.” You see, these words have been rolling through my head for over a month now. I’ve been ruminating on their definitions and their impact on my life. What does it mean to see through a glass darkly? To look into a dim glass and ponder? What do we detect? Over time do we begin to distinguish shadows and shapes? Do our eyes attune to something very real on the other side?

Perhaps this all started when I picked up a book called Mystically Wired by Ken Wilson. Don’t worry, I’m not about to go all New Age on you. Simply substitute the word “spiritual” for “mystical” and relax. Wilson’s basic premise is this: we are all spiritually wired, but we are also spiritually challenged. Our minds have actually been created by God to fellowship with him and to discern the spiritual kingdom in and around us. Scientists have proven that prayer stimulates a unique area of the brain and that spiritual interest is at least in part based on genetics. As the Bible describes, we have spiritual senses, spiritual eyes and spiritual ears, perhaps even more. However, we are also mystically challenged, meaning we do not typically know how to use them.

Our normal five senses for detecting the physical world are so much stronger and clearer than our spiritual senses that we tend to dismiss them. I like to say that God is always speaking if only we’ll be quiet enough to listen. Our physical senses tend to crowd out our spiritual senses. They clamor for our attention. In order to regularly and efficiently commune with God, we must go to that still quiet place and learn to engage our spiritual senses. We must attune that inner ear and that inner eye. Take time to stare into that glass until the shapes and patterns become familiar enough that they begin to make sense. Until we trust ourselves to detect and understand them.

Wilson takes this analogy even farther by talking about something called “blindsight.” This occurs when a person’s eyes work, but the processing center for sight in the brain is somehow inhibited. Although individuals experiencing this condition cannot “see” in the traditional sense, they show a remarkable ability to dodge unfamiliar obstacles. While their brain is not giving them the visual messages in a logical manner, they are in fact able to see on some sort of intuitive level, and can even learn to better use and trust their “blindsight.”

Faith is like “blindsight.” Although we can’t quite grasp it with our minds, some part of us “knows,” and we must learn to trust in that knowledge and harness it to change our lives. Prayer can feel like “blindsight.” We can’t prove that God is speaking to us and giving us visions, and yet we “know” that he is, and that awareness of God will transform us into his image.

I had planned to leave the post there. Looking into darkness. Then this morning, I was having devotional time with my sons and came across II Corinthians 3:18. It seems that when we were dead to sin our spiritual eyes were completely veiled, but that as we are transformed into the image of Christ we begin to see his glory more and more clearly. Perhaps that glass begins to shine and glow as we stare into it and are changed by it. Perhaps our spiritual eyes can be unveiled as we are transformed into the image of Christ. Perhaps things don’t have to stay so dark on this side of eternity.

Something new for you and me to ruminate about over the next few months.

I encourage you to pray about this scripture and ask God to reveal a new depth of meaning to you. Which word stands out? What might God want to show you about this word? So many good ones to choose from “unveiled,” “contemplate,” “transformed,” “ever-increasing,” “image,” “glory” just to name a few. Consider journaling about one of these words. Trust your inner senses and allow God to speak to you. And if you don’t mind, share with us as well.