The following 3 ancient Christian practices absolutely transformed my life. Below I describe them in more detail.
#1 | Daily Office
In the Old Testament and New Testament, many people prayed multiple times per day; often people prayed at fixed hours throughout the day. This tradition, which began among Jews, continued among Christians. Both Orthodox and Catholic Christians have their own versions of fixed hour prayer.
Among Protestants, Lutherans and Anglicans continued in some modified versions of fixed hour prayer. Modern Evangelical Christians from charismatic, Baptist, some Wesleyan, and non-denominational traditions often emphasize the importance of a daily devotional time (or quiet time). This time often includes Bible reading and prayer, and it is typically once per day.
I was stunned when I discovered that many Christians throughout church history had prayed and read the Scriptures multiple times per day. So, I began to research it. Some refer to it as the Daily Office, or Divine Office, while others refer to it as the Liturgy of the Hours. They often include: an opening Scripture, silence, confession, assurance of forgiveness, Psalms, Bible reading, reciting the Apostles' Creed or Nicene Creed, praying the Lord's Prayer, written prayers, and a benediction prayer/Scripture verse.
There is not necessarily one right way to read the Bible and pray each day, but like me, you may find the strategy that Christians have used throughout the past 2,000 years to be helpful for you too. (Sometimes we do these as a family also, and it's been a helpful way to have family devotional times.) Here are a few links to the resources I use:
For a free online version produced by the Anglican Church in North America click here. There is an app as well!
For a print version from a perspective of those who subscribe to believer's baptism (i.e., credobaptist) then click here.
#2 | Silence & Solitude
We live in a noisy world. Technological improvements are great, but they've also led to the ability to constantly have a light on and constantly have noise surrounding us. Jesus lived in a time when this wasn't possible. He lived within natural boundaries. When the sun went down, it wasn't easy to get artificial light. He was less accessible (no phones, Internet, email, social media, etc.). When he went out at night to pray alone, he didn't have a flash light and worship music on an iPhone!
Again, technological improvements can be great, but one thing that we can easily miss out on is silence and solitude. Integrating silence and solitude into my devotional life has helped me to slow down my pace, my mind, enjoy God, and prepare me when it's time to be active (i.e., go to work, spend time with family, church activities, etc.). It doesn't have to be long. I still feel like I'm not great at it, but I'm often amazed at how big of a difference one to three minutes of silence can make.
#3 | Sabbath
As a disclaimer, I don't think that Christians are required to Sabbath (Col. 2:16), but it is undoubtedly true that a day of rest was created by God for us to enjoy (Gen. 1-2; Exod. 20; Mk. 2:27). At some point a few years ago, I realized that I was not very intentional about a day of rest. A day off was often just as active as other days - just with different types of work and activities. So, I sought to be more intentional about it. I realized that I had a difficult time resting. I can easily get excited about various things and live on pace for a burnout.
Then I began to ask: Why can't I rest? Unexpectedly, I began to realize that I had a worship problem. I was worshiping success and approval. "If I take a day off, I'll fall behind," I would think. "I need to always be productive," I would think. So, I repented of these idols. Then I realized that, in Scripture, Pharaoh was the harsh leader who wouldn't let God's people rest. God, on the other hand, delivered his people and made a day of rest one of his Ten Commandments. God isn't harshly demanding that you work yourself into the ground. I don't need to work every day. I'm not God. He is. He has created us with limitations. Our bodies need sleep and rest as well as work and play.
In Emotionally Healthy Discipleship, Pete Scazzero gives these 4 pointers for how to be intentional with your day of rest (27). These have changed my life.
Stop - what will you stop doing today? (chores, paid and unpaid work, etc.)
Rest - what will you do today that you find restful? (sleep more, watch a movie, read a book, take a walk, talk to a spouse, etc.)
Delight - what will you do today that makes you happy? (date night/spend time with spouse, play with kids, exercise, watch sports, read a book, drink a cup of coffee on the porch, etc.)
Contemplate - what will you do today to contemplate God? (read the Bible, pray, take a walk and marvel at creation, listen to preaching, read a book, etc.)
Application
Here are some important take aways:
How are you reading the Bible and praying on a regular basis?
How are you balancing work, rest, prayer, church, relationships, and play?
How are you balancing your outer life (i.e., action; doing things for Jesus) with your inner life (i.e., contemplation; being with Jesus)?
Where can I learn more?
Bibliography
-Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Discipleship: Moving from Shallow Christianity to Deep Transformation. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2021.