“Most of us live unexamined lives.” – Gordon McDonald

I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works. (Psalm 145:5)

What daily habit can I start to guarantee I will slow down and hear God?

To me, “busy” is a bad four letter word. Yesterday, I shared how the Holy Spirit led me to Track #11 of CD #2 of Bill Hybel’s book “Too Busy Not to Pray” and how I applied the 3 steps to reduce my rpm’s the next morning. The following in an excerpt from Track #11:

To have an authentic walk with Jesus Christ, time is required. Something good is going to have to give way. Some practical vehicle will have to be employed to get the rpm’s down from 10,000 to 5,000 to 500, where you can be at peace with God and be in a condition to hear what the Lord is saying. Nobody ever said the Christian walk is easy.

I want to offer you a practical, tested, guaranteed rpm-reduction approach that will help you slow your life down so that you can stop playing games and begin living an authentic Christian life. It’s a shree step program that really works… You can begin to learn to “be still and know” that God is God (Psalm 46:10)

STEP #1: The first step toward rpm reduction is called journaling. Journaling means keeping a journal, in this case a spiritual journal. It involves writing down your experiences, observations, and reflections looking behind the events of the day for their hidden meanings, recording ideas as they come to you.

In his book “Ordering Your Private World,” Gordon McDonald suggests journaling, but with a different twist. Go to a drugstore, he said, and buy a spiral notebook. Plan to write in this notebook every day, but restrict yourself to one page. Every day when you open to the next blank sheet of paper, write the same first word: Yesterday. Follow this with a paragragh or two recounting yesterday’s events, sort of a postgame analysis… According to McDonald, this exercise causes a tremendous step forward in spiritual development.

Most of us, the author said, live unexamined lives. We repeat the same errors day after day. We don’t learn much from the decisions we make, whether they are good or bad. We don’t know why we’re here or where we’re going. One benefit of journaling is to force us to examine our lives.

STEP #2: Write out your prayers. Some people tell me they don’t need to schedule regular time for prayer; they pray on the run. These people are kidding themselves. Just try building a marriage on the run… As with the journal, I limit my writing to one page… Once I write out the prayer, I put the notebook on the credenze and kneel down … I find I pray much more effectively on my knees. I read the prayer aloud, adding other comments or concerns as I go through it.

STEP #3: Listen to God. This step is so important … These moments in God’s presence are the ones that really matter… You can’t become an authentic Christian on a diet of constant activity, even if the activity is all church related… The archenemy of spiritual authenticity is busyness. It’s time to slow down, reflect, and listen.

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, You are a God who usually speaks in quiet whispers. I love being in Your Holy of holies to hear You and to speak softly to You. Help me to daily apply the three steps above to reduce my rpm’s even further and may many others follow this example. Thank You Jesus for Your peace that passes all understanding. You are my Rock and my salvation. I praise You and Your holy name. Amen and Hallelujah!

Link of the Day
Ordering Your Private World – by Gordon McDonald

Blessings to apply these 3 simple steps each morning to slow your rpm’s way down!