The Spiritual Life
The internet is awash in many things good and bad, sites worthwhile and destructive. There are ways to waste time, ways to waste oneself, and ways to occupy time doing that which seems valuable but is not so much. I realized this recently as I spent increasing amounts of time in the blogosphere, reading the political and social opinions of a number of often very good writers.
Then I considered how much time I spend reading my Bible, or praying or seeking God in the midst of my day. What we do affects our souls, how we spend our time shapes our hearts. If we are not bathing in the restorative waters of the Spirit we become soiled and distant from the one who calls us to be His own.
Long ago wise men and women set forth habits of prayer and reading, shaping their day through a consistent pattern of Spiritual discipline, taking a moment several times a day to stop and consider the Divine, filling their hearts with praise and thanksgiving.
In the middle of a work day it is often difficult to refocus, to retune one's heart. It is awkward to bring the various books and almost impossible to tune one's heart without assistance.
So, I thought it would be good to place the classic habits and words in a format which is as easy as opening a news site, or reading yet another blog. Rather than being words of human ills, these are words of Divine inspiration and holy restoration.
God asks us all to use our time well in our lives. This is a path towards pursuing that task.
The goal of the Spiritual life is not to do heroic acts of faith in crucial moments. The goal is to become the kind of person who lives in the fluid waters of the Spirit, so that when an occasion rises in which faith is needed, it is natural to us to respond in a way which manifests Christ in our lives.
So, we pray and follow Spiritual patterns, in the same way that someone who wants to lose weight or become more fit will exercise and choose healthy habits.
The prayers and readings on this page will help foster those healthy habits of mind, body and soul. The ideal would be to read each of the sections at their time throughout the day, but this is difficult for many. Rather than having an all or nothing approach to the Spiritual life it is very helpful to always consider doing what you can when you can without guilt of not doing more. The enemy stalls us by attacking our sense of devotion. We cannot seem to do great things, he says, so we should not even do the littlest thing.
So, pray each section, or when you get a spare moment in a busy schedule take the time you can to pray the appropriate section. It is best to do it all, it is good to do what you can.
- The Morning Prayer - Use this first thing in the morning, when you wake up, or when you first arrive at work. Begin your day with a focus on God and his thoughts will fill your mind as you press onwards.
- The Readings - Consider these at any point in the day. The time around lunch is especially good, and makes for encouraging focus during a natural break.
- The Afternoon Prayer - Pray this prayer and read these Psalms towards the end of the work day, whether it be the afternoon or evening. This is good to consider as the last part of a work schedule or as one of the first things to do when arriving home. It helps us to restore our hearts and cleanse our minds, encouraging us to consider both God and our own souls as we made our way through the day.
- The Evening Prayer - Before you go to sleep pray these words so as to end the day with God. Let your dreams be sanctified, and let your heart be calmed so as to enjoy the rest that God gives.
- The Daily Bible - Considering the Bible as a whole is one of the most life changing pursuits possible. We are told what the Bible says by those who study it, but whenever we engage the text for ourselves we find insights beyond what others can say, insights which stir our hearts by the power of the Spirit.
Whether through the paths this page offers, or through other avenues which are best suited towards how the Spirit is working in and through you, it is vital we learn to cast off that which binds and seek Christ throughout the day.
Arriving safely through the storms and doldrums is worth every effort for I hear the Land of our Calling is most beautiful indeed. May God give you strength and courage as you navigate the often turbulent waters of the Spiritual Life.
