This week I was talking with my 14-year-old son about his devotional life. The usual–bible reading and prayer kinds of stuff. This is not a new conversation we’re having, but it does continue to evolve as his understanding of his relationship with Jesus grows. Thankfully, he’s not opposed to reading, studying, memorizing, praying, etc… as part of his own development, but like so many he has lacked real handles on the how-to. That is, his desire for more of God has been hindered by the how. My suspicion is that for many Christ followers their lack of devotional depth is not primarily a lack of desire, but a lack of tools.
While much of Christian theology is shrouded in mystery—the Trinity, the incarnation, and end time eschatology, the simple devotional life of the follower of Jesus should be pretty straight forward. Now for clarity, every person who follows Jesus is coming with their own temperament, giftings, desires, and capacity (intellectual & emotional). Because diversity in the body of Christ is a constant, means and methods for drawing near to Christ can and will change. But for the sake of simplicity for my son (and I believe for many others) here are the three things I encouraged him to do in his devotional time:
1. Read the bible. And I’m not talking about just flipping it open lackadaisically letting his finger land on the perfect verse of the day. I know you’ve done it. I’ve done it. “God, you know what I need to hear. Give me a verse straight from your heart!” And while the “kamikaze” method can bear fruit, we usually find ourselves out of context with no real application. Heaven forbid we land on Matthew 27:5, “Then Judas went away and hanged himself.” What do we do with that one? Or Leviticus 15:19, “When a woman has a discharge, if her discharge in her body is blood, she shall continue in her menstrual impurity for seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening.” Ummm, just leave that one alone. Here’s the thing– verses need to be read in context. There is a storyline and a theme all the way though the scriptures that all point to finding our comfort, hope and direction through the person of Jesus. So read the bible, but do it systematically. I suggest downloading a bible-reading plan like these. Start small. Read a few verses. Read them again and wait for God to speak. He always does.
2. Write. I encouraged my son to pull out a notebook and jot down some thoughts every morning. I refrained from calling it a diary or a journal cause he’s fourteen and it needs to sound, I don’t know, cooler. If I could call it an AR-17 Interactive Laser book it would be easy. But it is a journal. So write. Chronicle about what God is saying through the scriptures. Process in writing the commands, promises, and grace of God. Maybe draw a picture that expresses your heart. There are no rules here. If it’s been a while since you picked up a pencil, grab your laptop (turn off your wifi) and type away. Writing has a therapeutic nature to it. What we try hard to suppress in public will often come flowing out in private. It’s in those moments that God can bring healing through our own words.
3. Pray. My son attends a Christian school. What that means is they pray a lot. Before class, during class, chapel, and even during the announcements prayer happens. I really do appreciate the culture of petition the school has cultivated. Yet interestingly, some things that are often mandatory in one setting, even holy and healthy things, will be rebuffed in non-regulated settings. Prayer can be one of those items. All the public prayer happening has not actually helped his private prayer. Nonetheless, I encouraged my son to find ways to privately pray that give him life. The same is true for us. We’ve got to give ourselves the gift of prayer margin. No one will give it to us–it has to be a gift we create. Take a few minutes and just be quite. If you have young children, it may have to be in a locked bathroom for 3-4 minutes. If you’re a night owl, finish the day with 15 minutes of uninterrupted praise and adoration for what God has done for you that day. Maybe you have a long commute. Don’t waste the drive. Pray. There is nothing more important in our relationship with Jesus than communion with him, learning to abide in his grace and submitted to his will.
Time spent with our Heavenly Father is the greatest, most valuable thing we can do today. Be on mission, love the poor, share the gospel…YES! But the heart of the gospel is that we would learn to love God with all of our hearts and souls and minds and strength and let the the mission flow from that.
