For the last year, my wife has been going through various practices in the Way of Jesus. From Sabbath to prayer to fasting to community and more, we are re-learning about the way of Jesus. As we enter in this last month before our trip to Honduras, I’d like to share a few thoughts in light of the Practices of the Way.
John Mark Comer is the author of the book called Practicing the Way, but these practices go back to Jesus–and some even before He stepped on earth. The subtitle of the book stems from the message of the gospel*1: Be with Jesus. Become Like Jesus. Do what Jesus Did. Once we give up our lives and choose to live for Jesus, one of the best ways to grow is simply to be with Him. This takes form in many ways. Whether it’s sitting in nature talking with him, reading the Bible to understand Him, sit in solitude to let Him speak to you, or simply being with other Christ-like friends in a community, there are many ways to be with Jesus.
Jesus even modeled being with His Father alone in each of the recorded Gospels:
- And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed (Mark 1:35).
- In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples … (Lk. 6.12-13a, cf Mk. 3.13).
- Now when Jesus heard [his cousin John the Baptist was beheaded], he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns (Mt. 4:13)
The gospel of John contains a very long prayer Jesus prayed in chapter 17 that we will look at later.
This week, take at least 5 minutes each day just to sit with Jesus in quiet. Put your phone in a different room on silent. Take off your smartwatch. Turn off your computer/tablet. Don’t dive into prayer right away. Just sit and Be. It’ll be hard and awkward the first thirty seconds.
When your mind goes astray, simply whisper the name of Jesus, calling His life and His gospel to your mind. You can use other names for the Lord, too, like Messiah, Bread of Life, Lion and Lamb, etc. Allow your focus to be upon Him. Silence. Solitude. With. Jesus.
If you want to pray out loud, in the quietness of your heart or in a journal after these 5 minutes (or more), feel free! Let your focus first be on the Lord and being with Him.
- There are many descriptions of what the Gospel is, but overall it’s the story of God: HIS story. History. With love, God created the world from nothing, including humankind–us–after His image. Disobedience broke humanity’s direct relationship to/with God (Gen. 3:6 and beyond). As a result, salvation was needed to have relationship with Him, and it was done so through intermediaries with offerings/sacrifices to the LORD. Ultimately, God came to earth in the form of a human, Jesus, His Son, and enabled us to have direct relationship with Him through His life, death, resurrection, ascension, and He’s coming again to make all things new. He gave us the third person of the Trinity to live in us just as Jesus was with His people on earth. Those who have given their trust and lives to Jesus live with the gift of the Holy Spirit, enabling them to live with and for God all their days. ↩︎