Monday, February 7, 2011

How Much Time Is a Long Time?

I was driving northwest, heading to church which is an hour from my home. I flipped on some soaking music from the iPod. My spirit was excited about Jesus! I started to pray, first in English, and then who knows what happened, but my spirit sort of went on auto-pilot. Not long after, I realized that not only was my heart full, but 30 minutes had passed. As I rolled off the exit ramp, I felt a wonderful communion with Jesus; I pressed on for the pressed of the ride.

This week your faithful Kingdom Bloggers are going to write about creative ways to spend time with God. Or possibly a better topic title would be, fitting God into an already busy life.

I work in Boston, and rush hour borders on the absurd. I've been teaching a class (for the first time) which has taken hours and hours of preparation, writing a 30 page book, and creating 250 Powerpoint screens. Not to mention that it takes about 2 hours to get there and over an hour to get home. Some days I wonder how I am going to fit sleep into my day, forget trying to squish God into the cracks between breathing and exhaling.

Here is what David does to be with he beloved Savior.
- I am often up between 4 and 5 am. I pray until I fall back to sleep, if I actually do. I have a list of friends who are ill and of course my family is on the list. I pray for the folks in my class, for the class, and sometimes other stuff - more often I just enjoy the presence of God.
- I can't concentrate on Jesus while I am navigating the Zipper Ride between home and work, so that is out. As soon as I get to my desk, I flip on some soaking music and use the time to pray or read the Bible online. Some days it's 30 minutes, some days I am a few minutes late and there isn't' time.
- I write many of my blogs at lunch - if I get one, and that is a form of study and meditation for me.
- I listen to all types of Christian music for 8+ hours a day. In between meetings and phone calls, it helps me focus on my Saviour. I can pray while I write programming code, so I often do.
- I play my guitar about 20-30 minutes a day, and that is a time when I sometimes commune with my God. Other days I just rock out!

Here is what I don't do - I don't have a specific reading and prayer time. I pray on-and-off all day, and some times it is for hours. I read the Bible on-and-off all day as things come to me in prayer. I have a relationship with Jesus, so I just don't get all religious about quiet times and stuff like that. I read two books that helped me live this lifestyle of constant communion with God: The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, and The Release of the Spirit by Watchman Nee.

I have heard so many teachings on how to start by spending 5 minutes praying, or reading the Bible through in a year. I have done that, but what works for me is being honest with the Lord, and dedicating as much time as I possibly can to setting my life up in such a way that God will be at every corner, and every crossroad in it. A long time ago, I had an experience with the Holy Spirit, and his presence has been with me in a way in which I can't easily describe. If I simply take even one thought, and turn it to Him, his presence is instantaneous.

And don't tell anyone, if the sermon is boring, I read the bible for an hour on Sunday morning.

2 comments:

Tracy said...

It's a beautiful thing to read about your constant communication with the Lord. "The Practice of the Presence of Christ" has long been one of my favorites too. That book was one of the first things that my now-husband and I connected regarding when we were dating; he was the first person I'd met that had read it and with whom I could speak of such things. David, know that your faithfulness encourages me in my relationship with God.

David-FireAndGrace said...

@Tracy - be sure to read Watchman Nee that is a WONDERFUL book too. It describes the dilemma of thinking that God is sort of at church, or at least the deepest well is.

Thanks for sharing!