My friend called me in a panic. “Are you okay?” she blurted as soon as I answered. “Why didn’t you answer my text? We have to take care of this now.”
I scrolled through my texts. Sure enough, there was the message, and it really was important. But my phone had been going off all day, people had stopped in with questions, and somehow the message got lost in everything else I was hearing.
All too often, I fear, the same thing happens in my relationship with God. I can get so busy serving Him, listening to all the voices clamoring, that I can’t really hear Him.
That’s why contemplative prayer has been so important in my life. Contemplative prayer for us as Christians is not like eastern religions or New Age, requiring us to empty our minds. Instead, it involves filling our minds with God, and only with Him. It’s meditating on Him and His Word in ways that can provide a conduit for us to think in tune with His thoughts.
Scientists say that the more we think about something, the deeper certain grooves become in our brain. This then causes our thoughts to quickly follow the “rut” that developed those grooves. Negative thoughts deepen negative grooves. Positive thoughts deepen (or develop) positive grooves. According to one author, just twelve minutes of contemplative prayer a day will produce, within eight weeks, groove changes that are visible in brain scans.
While human science is just now discovering these physical evidences, our Creator has known all along what is needed to transform our thinking. We are called to fix our eyes on Jesus. If that isn’t something you are currently doing, may I challenge you for the next two months to set an alarm for twelve minutes of thinking about God and who He is. This is not a time to ask, but to receive what He wants you to know. Start with key verses that help you focus on who He is.
At the end of the two months, assess the value of this practice. You never know how your mind will be renewed! ~ Written By Viki Rife, from womenofgraceusa.wordpress.com