The Highest Priority
Jim Ladd
I hope you joined me on September 19th in establishing the highest priority of your life: a fresh and ongoing walk with Jesus.
Truly this is the greatest thing you can do for the world, for your Oikos, and for yourself. It is the birthplace of everything great about you:
Ongoing mental, emotional, and spiritual health
A calibrated sense of self that kills selfishness and awakens new life
Peace that passes understanding
An ever-present Guide for wisdom, discernment, and relational genius
A participation in the divine nature that produces every resource you need personally and in your contribution to others and the world
And so, so, so much more
I want to offer a little guidance as you focus on deepening your walk with God and developing a daily, fresh, invigorating relationship with Jesus. To be clear, we all experience God in different ways, with different personalities and temperaments, but the essential ingredient for everyone is TIME.
It is best if we just start with the truth - if you will not give blocks of time, like more time than you’ve ever given before, you are naive to believe your relationship with God will change very much. Not only do we need to give time, but it is best if we give consistent time and even better if we give it in consistent ways:
A regular time of the day or evening (or both!)
A regular place that can become your sacred space
A time and place without interruption and the ability to put away your phone, watch, and all other distractions
Just start with that, and I can assure you that winning in this way is the biggest win moving forward.
Now, some tips and tools…
I say to throw away the clock, but one way to do this well is to set a timer or alarm for the time you must be done due to schedules or commitments. Then let the timer trigger you and you just forget about the clock. You will find that if you can eliminate time awareness, you can make much better progress.
Journal. Have a journal, a log, or a digital notebook where you record insights from the Word, prayers, impulses from the Spirit, and your own thoughts or desires. This is not for public consumption and need not be verbose. Just write something, every single time.
The Word. There are two approaches to this. One is that you want to read the entire Bible over a year, if you have never done so. There are reading plans on the Bible App (YouVersion) to help with this. Robert Roberts is my favorite. This is for a season of gaining a view of the entire Word of God as a whole. The second approach, and perhaps better for the deep dive into relational connection with God, is to do smaller doses of Scripture with deeper reflection times. Less Word, more deeply engaged. There is no wrong answer here, so experiment and see how it goes.
Reflective Practices: I have two to recommend.
a. The Prayer of Examen. This is about a 10-minute process of reflecting on your previous day (if you do it early in the morning) or the day you just had (if you did it in the evening). The Benedictine monks did it at noon and evening. You will run through your day a few times, noticing a few focused ideas each time. You can watch a description of it here. You can listen to a guided meditation for this here.
b. Lectio Divina. Lectio Divina means “Divine Reading” and refers specifically to an approach to prayer and scripture reading practiced by monastics since the early Church.
I. Lectio (reading): An attentive, slow, repetitious recitation of a short passage of scripture. Best to be about 10 verses or less, or one story/scene.
“looking on Holy Scripture with all one’s will and wit”
II. Meditatio (meditation): An effort to understand the passage and apply it to my own life. Reflecting on what it says, what it means, and how it applies to my life. Putting myself into the passage.
“a studious searching with the mind to know what was before concealed”
III. Oratio (prayer): Engaging or talking with God about the passage. What do I need to talk to God about on this matter? What does God want me to hear on this matter?
“a devout desiring of the heart to get what is good and avoid what is evil”
IV. Contemplatio (contemplation): Contemplating Jesus. Allowing oneself to be absorbed in the words of God as the Holy Spirit draws us into His presence through scripture. Sometimes nothing happens here. But making time for it every time provides space where God will surprise you.
“the lifting up of the heart to God tasting somewhat of the heavenly sweetness”
V. Action: I believe… and With God’s help, I will….: A statement about a deep belief that Word is drilling into your heart that you choose to believe and confess. Then, writing an “I will” statement where you declare your decision to practice this Truth in specific ways moving forward.
If you are not a contemplative person by nature, this will feel a bit slow and awkward at times. That’s ok. Don’t give up. Keep offering God consistent blocks of uninterrupted time and expect Him to meet with you.
Let the adventures begin!!! And let me know how I can help and what God is doing in your life.