Have you ever tried repeating the same prayer a number of times over a period of a few weeks? I've been reading a book on prayer that encourages us to do this. To take a short verse of scripture such as "God is Love" or "The Lord's my Shepherd" and repeat it in your mind or out loud for a few minutes, then use the phrase during that day and the following week. I've been doing this recently with the prayer "Come Holy Spirit", which has become very meaningful in a short period of time.
In the first instance it helps when i come to spend time with God, by stilling my mind around a theme. Its always hard to start praying with so many thoughts going on in your head, but a short repetitive prayer focuses your mind around God. Our minds are a real battle ground in life, often full of stuff that is far from the mind of Christ. Repetitive prayer conditions the mind to think on the word of God and from that base to bring everyday life into the prayer. As I've been praying "Come Holy Spirit", I've found myself in situations these last couple of weeks where the prayer has become very powerful. Difficult situations have been transformed because I was bringing God into the context by calling out for him to "Come".
Over time the phrase will become second nature to you and God will begin to speak to you through the phrase and bring out deeper meanings. Why not give it a go right now! Stop reading this blog and spend the next 5 mins repeating some scripture in your mind?
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3 comments:
Thanks Roger, this is useful and practical advice and when I thought about it after reading your article so simple and in a way obvious.
As you say maybe all the things going on in our minds restrict us from thinking and seeing the obvious.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts in this way and enabling others to benefit.
Trevor Thirsk
Great to see your blog up & running Roger! Something open and transparent when you can access the thinking of a leader. Also,makes it easier for me to throw stones at you should you ever disagree with me in future. Ha!
(Tom Cork Ireland)
I tried this with Romans 8:38. For I am convinced that neither death nor life....etc.
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