Just Twenty Minutes

Maybe during this Lenten season you have made a commitment or an effort to work on your spiritual life. Here is a practical suggestion. There are 144 ten-minute segments every day. Let me suggest that if you aren’t  eeping a regular devotional time that you consider giving two of the daily 144 segments over to your  relationship with God. That is just twenty minutes each day. They can either be together or maybe one in the morning and the other in the evening, just before turning in for the night. You could use them for praying,  reading the Bible, or reflecting on God’s presence in the day’s (or previous day’s) experience. If you could cultivate that habit, those ten-minute reflections will most likely fill you with a growing sense of a peaceful gratitude and confidence and enable you to praise God in the joys and kindle your awareness of God in the difficult places in your life.


Here is a suggested way to enter into a meditative practice as you set aside these times.

1.     Make the decision-- write it down, tell someone else if necessary -- that you will set aside a daily period for reflection. It is good if you can aim at the same time every day.

2.     Find a quiet place, where you probably will not be interrupted.

3.     Get comfortable, but sit erect. There really is a connection between posture and our ability to focus and pray.

4.    Take some time to settle down and get focused. Breathe in deeply twice, then exhale. Repeat.

5.     Read the passage of Scripture that you have chosen or that has been chosen for you in a devotional guide. It shouldn’t be a long passage. Read slowly, there is no rush. In some cases you might want to read it a second time. If you don’t know where to start or what to read, check with your pastor or a Christian friend or someone you know can point you in the right direction. While reflecting on scripture is critical for growing in our relationship with God and for keeping us on track, you can use these times simply to reflect on how God has or is revealing himself in your day or to bring your day into the presence of God.

6.     If you have chosen a Bible passage, as you read, focus on a word or a phrase or an image or a thought that speaks to you. If nothing speaks to you at this time, fine. But as you make this time an intentional meeting with God, you will find that God will be speaking to you through the text and your reflections on it or will
bring things to your mind that you can reflect on in God’s presence.

7.   What from yesterday or this day’s experiences can you bring into God’s presence and into your prayers?

8.     As you go throughout the day, try to occasionally recall a word or phrase or image from the Bible  passage, allow it to help de-stress your day.

Since today is St. Patrick’s day, let me share with you a prayer by David Adams written in the Celtic tradition. I have often found it helpful as I pray. 

 

Awaken me, Lord

To your light,

Open my eyes

To your presence.

Awaken me, Lord

To your love,
Open my heart
To your indwelling.

Awaken me, Lord

To your life,
Open my mind
To your abiding.

Awaken me, Lord

To your purpose,
Open my will
To your guiding.