The secret to long life is found in two simple words: just breathe!
Nearly everyone has a goal of being physically fit. When we are physically fit, we look good, we feel good and we perform at our best each day in every task we undertake. The challenge is in how to become physically fit, because there is no universal solution for physical fitness. What works for one person might not work for another person with different body chemistry and a different body type. In addition, the measure of physical fitness can differ greatly from person to person when physical fitness for one body does not necessarily measure as physical fitness for another. (How to Become Physically Fit by Sara Melone,www.ehow.com)
Change one word and change the meaning . . .
Nearly everyone has a goal of being spiritually fit. When we are spiritually fit, we look good, we feel good and we perform at our best each day in every task we undertake. The challenge is in how to become spiritually fit, because there is no universal solution for spiritual fitness. What works for one person might not work for another person . . . In addition, the measure of spiritual fitness can differ greatly from person to person . . .
While there is no universal solution there are some things that we should be doing in order to increase our spiritual fitness. I would even go as far as to say as there are some things that are absolute must dos. Let’s think of them as the “Just Breathe” things of our spiritual fitness.
MATTHEW 6:5 begins with Jesus saying, “When you pray”. This is not a commandment, but rather there is an assumption that this is something we will do. Prayer is to be part of our lives as much as breathing as to be a part of our living.
Extended further, our very lives, our prayer is to be continually – I think that is what Paul meant when he wrote to the church in Thessalonica and said, “Pray Continually” (I Thes 5:17). For me, that means that our conversations on a daily basis are a prayer to God. In other words. “may what I do this day be pleasing to God” is our prayer every day as we act and go through our day’s activities.
Prayer is at the core of the spiritual activities that we need in order to be spiritually fit. Prayer weaves its way through all our activities. Why? Because at the basic level prayer is simply the means by which we communicate with God and the actions that we take are simply a means to deepen our relationship with God.
Pray is a task that Jesus assumed we would already be engaged in daily. But, remember prayer is not a specific form or a specific set of words. Prayer is unique to each of us. I believe the activity of prayer calls us to a deeper understanding of faith in our lives. The problem for many of us as it relates to prayer is similar to the problem we have when faced with the activity of becoming physically fit - we just don’t have the time, nor have we been willing to make the time. That is why prayer must become a discipline in our lives.
So how do we make prayer a discipline in our lives?
Make an Appointment – set a time
Select A Quiet Place
Have A Contrite Heart
Pray with specifics and mean what you say
Be able to Reflect on your prayers by committing them to paper
Beware! As we seek to build an effective life of prayer, we must be cautious to not make prayer into:
A wish list for personal fulfillment or gain
A one-way conversation
A magic formula or “get of jail free card”
A tool for negotiating with God
An act of self interest with no personal responsibility
I believe an effective and active prayer life within the church congregation will spur us on to more prayer in our personal lives. So, I bring you a personal challenge for your prayer life this morning:
I want to challenge you to spend 5 minutes each day for the next 90 days. I want you to prayer specifically. Not to pray for others; not to pray for yourself; but pray in a conversation with God of thanksgiving, adoration, and confession, asking of God but one thing: to reveal to you a measure of His love in a new way.
As you look at prayer in your life, Can you do this? I believe the answer is yes!
Perhaps a paraphrase of I Thessalonians 5:17 could be borrowed from today’s pop culture - Just Do it!
Scripture cries out to us to pray continually; to just do it!
Jeremiah 33:3 Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. JUST DO IT!
Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. JUST DO IT!
Luke 18:1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. JUST DO IT!
Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. JUST DO IT!
Luke 6:12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. JUST DO IT!
Ephesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. JUST DO IT!
I Thessalonians 5:17 Pray continually JUST DO IT!
Finally, as we examine all these vital signs for life . . . worship, study, service, giving, prayer . . .
All of these activities are simple exercises that have far greater implications than we give them credit. The great basketball coach John Wooden told this story that relates:
In our first team meeting two weeks before UCLA’s actual practices began, I would ask players to start toughening up their feet. Waiting until practices began would guarantee blisters. I advised them against scrimmaging. Instead I urged them to start with plenty of sliding side to side, starting and stopping, making quick changes of direction, and sprinting short distances rather than long. This would gradually toughen up their feet. Players understood the need for this. They knew they couldn’t hide blisters. What I didn’t tell them was that by getting their feet ready, they would also get their lungs ready. If they did the drills I recommended, their wind would be in good shape when practices got underway. Players were less inclined to pay attention to their wind. They may have felt it was less detectable. On the first day of practice I wanted UCLA to be able to literally hit the floor running, at full speed for two hours without getting blisters or becoming winded. When we addressed one issue, the other came as sort of a hidden reward.
(Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court)
I think though that’s how God works as well - God gives us simple things to do – worship, study, serve, give, pray . . . these simple directions to act have far greater consequence in our lives. The end result of this simple actions are that we grow to become more spiritually fit.
I ran across these comments by personal trainer, Ajay Middha, this week. He was asked, “What does ‘being fit ‘ mean?” He replied,
Physical fitness is defined as "a set of attributes that people have or achieve that relates to the ability to perform physical activity" In simpler words it is more than being able to run a long distance or lift a lot of weight at the gym. Given that criterion, I would say that a person who can rip telephone books in half but can't jog a mile without wanting to throw up, is not fit. He's strong, but unfit. Being fit is not defined only by what kind of activity you do, how long you do it, or at what level of intensity as they only address single areas. It is my opinion that you need to work on all aspects of fitness. How you do it is your choice
I hope that you have been praying about the commitment- the choices you are willing to make - to becoming more spiritually fit in this coming year. Those commitments are yours to make and keep in the coming weeks and months.
What are you willing to do to become more spiritually fit this year?
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