Week One - Day One: Morning Exercise
Day 1: Introduction
Psalm 119:147-149
(147) I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word.
(148) My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises.
(149) Hear my voice in accordance with your love; preserve my life, O LORD, according to your laws.
Let’s face it. Not only do we like to eat; we need to eat. Our bodies need the fuel. Without food, we run out of energy and eventually we die.
The same is true spiritually. If we do not nourish ourselves, we run out of energy and eventually … well, it’s not good. No wonder so many of us live in a kind of spiritual haze and emotional malaise. We simply do not nourish ourselves spiritually; we don’t “eat” with much (or with any) regularity. This project is designed to address that need in our lives. Together, I hope we can have balanced, nourishing, daily spiritual meals over the next nine months. And I hope we can arrange those meals in such a way that it not only nourishes us, but it really does fit with our lives.
Honestly, I have wondered for years how to do this. How do you insert serious spiritual nourishment into seriously busy American lives? I mean, do we even have time to nourish ourselves spiritually? We certainly don’t think we do. In fact, we barely have time to eat physical food, and physical food demands our attention in a way that spiritual food very rarely does. (This, of course, explains the rise of fast food – which many would claim is not really nourishing at all, but I digress...) And minus that internal demand, it doesn’t seem to happen for us spiritually. When we’re honest with ourselves, we’re forced to admit that our spiritual diet is sorely lacking. It does not supply our need. We may go to church some Sundays. We may toss up an occasional prayer on the way to work or school. But it’s hardly what any of us could call a rich, well-balanced diet.
So How Do We Get It Done?
So how do we get it done? My life is so full of important demands on my time – at least it seems to me like my life is so full of important demands that I do not seem to be able to consistently choose to “eat” well with my spirit. Am I consigned to a life of spiritual malnourishment combined with occasional pangs of guilt over my painfully obvious condition?
Believe it or not, an actual answer to this dilemma has been bubbling up in my mind and heart for several years. The more I’ve considered this answer, the more excited I’ve become. Don’t get me wrong. Over the years, I have read many books and listened to many compelling talks on the topic. And the information has been excellent. The problem was not with any particular talk or book. The problem, of course, has been with me. I’ve discovered that through all of it I’ve been looking for something new – some new key or some new approach that would make it all work. But what has driven me through the writing of this project is the realization that I don’t need something new. In fact, I’ve come to believe that I need something very, very old.
Three Critical Prongs for This Devotional Project
This devotional project is based on three critical prongs, all of which are ancient and proven, and all of which are necessary if we are going to be successful in developing real spiritual health. I’m convinced that what has been lacking for me is the right map, the right procedure and a company of co-conspirators. In other words, I need a meaningful spiritual structure, meaningful ritual, and the encouragement of community.
Take a moment and look again at the Scripture reference at the beginning. This comes from a collection of old Jewish hymns which we call Psalms. The Psalmist is making the point that he is so profoundly dependent on God that he tries to connect with Him day and night. The phrase “through the watches of the night” is particularly interesting don’t you think? It suggests ... what? A habit ... a ritual?
In fact, the habit of crying out to God at preordained times of the day was well-known among Jews for centuries. Early Christians followed the practice as well. For example, the Didache, a manual written in 60 A.D. to provide instruction in Christian worship, recommended that Christ followers should pray the Lord's Prayer three times a day.(1) And many of the early church leaders advocated similar practices.(2)
Developing and Working The Habit
So we’re going to spend the next nine months together developing and working the habit of crying out to God at preordained times. We’re going to start our day reflecting on some specific spiritual truth. At noon we will receive a text on our phones. It will be fairly short; perhaps some verse of Scripture or a short, inspiring quotation that follows the same theme as the morning. The text is intentional. It is meant to intrude on our day! I think we need the interruption. This should create a moment for us in which we allow God to insert Himself into the middle of our day. The same thing will happen at 5 PM. Then we will end our day with a shorter meditation, again on the same theme. Throughout the project, we will be introduced to various rituals and habits. I have prayed that these rituals will be means of grace for us.
So are you ready to get started? I will provide a little more historical backdrop tonight. For now take a moment and do the “before you start your day” exercise. We will end each morning with a similar call to reflect and act. After that, wait for the texts and use them as listening aids. He may very well be speaking!
BEFORE YOU START YOUR DAY
- Look again at verse 148 in the Psalm above. Let’s use this to launch us on our day.
- Try to rehearse that verse several times in your mind. When the Psalmist says “watches” he’s referring to the practice of passing/looking over an area at certain times through the night to guard the city or the camp. Think about your day today as a series of “watches” and allow yourself to be reminded of your pursuit of spiritual nourishment through them. In fact, as you rehearse verse 148 substitute “day” for “night” and think about your day to come.
- As you rehearse the verse, think about what it might mean for you to “keep your eyes open” today.
- Ask God to bless our efforts as we move through this project! When I talk about praying or talking to God through this project, just do your best. Offer up whatever comes to your mind. This is an exercise where you offer as much as you know of yourself to as much as you know of God. No one is looking and it will not be graded. (If you have trouble with the whole concept of God, go as far as you can. I hope we can move you further over the next couple of weeks.)
(1) Pliny the Younger (63 – c. 113), a Roman historian who was not a Christian himself, mentions fixed times of prayer by Christian believers. Interestingly, he admired their practice.
(2) By the second and third centuries, such Church Fathers as Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Tertullian wrote of the practice of Morning and Evening Prayer, and of the prayers at terce, sext, and none. The prayers could be prayed individually or in groups. By the third century, the Desert Fathers (the earliest monks), began to live out St. Paul's command to "pray without ceasing" (I_Thessalonians 5:17) by having one group of monks pray one fixed-hour prayer while having another group pray the next prayer.
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