Editor's note: Enjoy today's devotion from the NIV Spiritual Habits Bible.
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Introduction
Throughout church history, Lent has long stood as a 40-day season of preparation that precedes the Easter season. Just as the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before they could enter the Promised Land, likewise, Christians around the world intentionally set aside 40 days to prepare their hearts to celebrate the triumph of Christ’s power over sin and death during Easter. And while we often associate this season of Lent with giving something up, it has historically been anchored in the spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
This particular devotion focuses on the spiritual habit of prayer. In our noise-filled world, finding time to pray can feel daunting and overwhelming. But as we seek to draw closer to Jesus, we must look to his example. Even amidst the demands of crowds and ministry, He intentionally sought solitude. This devotional is taken from the NIV Spiritual Habits Bible and explores the essential ‘equipment’ needed to cultivate a vibrant prayer life: a quiet place, a quiet time, and a quiet heart. The NIV Spiritual Habits Bible includes 365 biblically based articles scattered throughout the biblical text that seek to develop 30 spiritual habits that will develop a gospel-centered life that is both attainable and sustainable. ~ Joel Lawrence, Zondervan Bibles
* Read the excerpt below.
READ: Matthew 14:22–24
HABIT: Prayer
Jesus was rarely alone. He traveled with an entourage that included (at a minimum) 12 men. But more often than not, He had crowds of followers — sometimes thousands — surrounding Him, wanting to touch Him or hear Him speak. Yet in Matthew 14:22–24, we find Jesus once again making time for solitude and silence to pray. The Scottish minister David M’Intyre said the “equipment for the inner life of prayer is simple, if not always easily secured.” His suggested “equipment”: a quiet place, a quiet time and a quiet heart.
- A quiet place. “With regard to many of us the first of these, a quiet place, is well within our reach,” said M’Intyre.
“But there are tens of thousands of our fellow-believers who find it generally impossible to withdraw into the desired seclusion of the secret place.” For many of us, the trouble with finding a quiet place is less about seclusion from other people and more a problem of finding a location free from distractions. We grow uncomfortable when we are out of reach — by email, text or social media — for more than a few minutes. About the only time we’re willing to set aside such distractions is when we’re in a meeting with someone who requires or demands our full attention, such as our spouse or a boss. What we do for the important people in our lives, we ought to do for God. He is more than deserving of a few minutes of our full distraction-free attention. Make a habit of turning your “secret place” of prayer into a place of quiet by turning off electronic devices and secluding yourself from interruptions.
- A quiet time. In her book The Writing Life, Annie Dillard says, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing. A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days.”
- A quiet heart. Do you find yourself distracted when you try to pray? You’re not the only one. Bryan Chapell tells a story about a monk who wagered with a fellow monk whether either could recite the Lord’s Prayer without being distracted: “The second monk offered a horse to the first if he could recite the Lord’s Prayer even once without his thoughts straying. The first monk took the bet and began to recite. Within two sentences he stopped and said, ‘You win. Even as I was praying, I began to wonder if the horse came with a saddle.”
- One of the most helpful tips for improving our concentration in prayer is simply, Don’t focus on being distracted.’”
This might seem counterintuitive because it sounds logical that focusing on our distractions could help us overcome our lack of attention. But when we’re in prayer, shifting our focus to our distractedness is itself a distraction because it leads us away from our focus on God. God isn’t surprised when we get distracted. He doesn’t require that we spend half our prayer time asking for forgiveness for our inability to keep our minds on Him. Instead, we can turn our heart back to Him by taking a moment to reflect on the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. As M’Intyre wrote, “Our first act in prayer ought to be the yielding of our souls to the power of the blood of Christ. It was in the power of the ritual sacrifice that the high priest in Israel passed through the veil on the Day of Atonement. It is in the power of the accepted offering of the Lamb of Divine appointment that we are privileged to come into the presence of God.”
PRACTICAL TAKEAWAY:
The main equipment you need for prayer is a quiet place, a quiet time and a quiet heart.
Excerpted with permission from the NIV Spiritual Habits Bible, copyright Zondervan.
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Your Turn
If you get distracted in prayer, know that you’re not alone. Instead of feeling guilty about it, remember the Lord already knows, understands, and isn’t scandalized by your wandering mind. Just find a quiet place, quiet time, and a quiet heart, and pray! ~ Devotionals Daily