Some people start a new week much like some people drive cars. When I was in high school, I would leave the our house for the evening. I would tell my mom that I was going to "drive around". What was "driving around"? It meant that I would be driving with no destination in mind. I would drive down Buckner Blvd. looking for friends or looking for the blue Camaro with the liscense plate "Lady Z". I would drive and drive and at the end of the evening never be more five miles from home.
That describes some people’s lives. They are alive but they just "drive around" all week. Their lives are really going nowhere.
Why not start the week ready for what God wishes to do in your life this week?
1. Start with a commitment to read the Bible every day. One very ancient and yet useful practice is called lectio divina. (Don’t go away yet! I promise this is practical).
I like the way Chris Altrock describes this process:
It is a four-fold process by which and individual ingests and internalizes some portion of Scripture. It begins with reflective and slow paced reading of the text. It moves to meditation upon the text: Why is this a word for me? What is it about my life that needs this word? How is God catching my attention here? This is followed by prayer–the direct cry of our hearts to God based upon what we have heard in his word. The cycle ends with a kind of silent prayer in which we rest quietly in the presence of God.
2. Pray that God will lead you, nudge you, and guide you. Pray for your appointments, for your lunch meetings, and for your business trips. Pray that you will be faithful to God’s divine appointments. (People who he has deliberatlely put you with).
Some people live just like they drive. They are going nowhere. Better to start a week depending on God. You may not know your earthly destination, but you can trust the one who is guiding you.
I have not tried that lecto thing yet, but I have recently been educated on it … and look forward to setting aside some time to develop the practice. I think a lot of people are starting to catch on that a “prayer life” isn’t just giving God the grocery list and wondering why we don’t feel close to Abba. That kind of prayer life is more like ordering a hamburger in the speaker at the fast food place. Who knows if they heard you or not … and the order is never right. Wake us up, Jim!