I’ve heard it said pray until you pray. There’s no time requirement, no special number of minutes or verbiage that must be used. But, there is something to praying until you find yourself really praying, not just stringing words together but actually communing with God. You can apply the same principle to studying God’s word—study until you learn something.
Here’s the thing.
I’m so bad at that.
I do. I’m much better at doing than being, at list making than peace making. So, this summer, I asked some peeps for some help.
Help. Please hold me accountable. I’m on summer vacation but I don’t want a vacation from God. And, making me feel way less isolated and unable, they wanted help too.
Every Wednesday morning at 6:30am, 7 ladies meet for coffee (and maybe sometimes donuts). We sit in the corner of a Dunkin Donuts and share.
Did you read this week what you told us you were reading?
Share one thing you actually absorbed from it, one thing that stuck with you, one thing that you remembered after you stood up from where you sat reading.
And, it’s working. Knowing that we are gathering midweek and reporting to our sisters is enough to hold us accountable and keep us on that path of walking with Him and not on our own which we silly ewes tend to do. There’s no preaching to each other—our lessons shared are sometimes deep theological truths that are hard to explain or very simple Sunday School ones like Jesus period. It doesn’t matter what they are as much as the fact that they stuck, that we didn’t get up from our comfy spot to fix cereal for our kids and then forget all about the time we spent with our Maker. And, there’s no judgment at all when someone says, “I didn’t open my Bible at all this week” or “I just can’t believe in prayer.” No one gasps or shakes their head. Instead, we listen and then we say in one way or another: We accept you where you are because He accepts you where you are. But, we aren’t going to leave you there because He doesn’t want to leave you there. Where do you want to be next week?
I just finished reading Micah. Today, I started Philippians—the church that started with one brilliant woman whose life changed by a stream when she met two men who loved the Lord. I am not using a guide or a commentary. I don’t have a daily reading plan I’m following. I just want to read it little by little, a little everyday until I feel like I’ve got something I can cling to that day. And, when I get that, I want to stop and dwell on it, sit with it and let it soak in.
Today, I only got through 5 verses.
As I start this new book, I decided I’m going to try to share my little kernel of truth everyday on my blog Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram—the places that serve as my corner in Dunkin Donuts with my faraway friends and blogosphere peeps. Would love for you to look for the images and hold me accountable if you don’t see one that day—a little “looking forward to seeing your pic today!” may be just what I need. And, feel free to join me. I’d love to see your pictures of what you’re reading too.
Warning: If it becomes another item on my to-do list, something that is feeding my Type A craziness rather than working within my personality to keep me walking with Him, you may stop seeing any images at all. We’ll see how this goes.