An Inkling
Over the years I’ve taken up
various disciplines during Lent: fasting
a day a week, or giving up news, or sweets, or caffeine. The rationale is that when you give up
something good in order to focus on something better you make space for God to
bless in ways you can’t predict or prompt.
And I could not have
predicted or prompted the blessings coming with this year’s discipline. This year I’m fasting from using every spare
moment to read news and editorials on my iPhone, and instead using those
moments to pray the Psalms. I have a
Bible on my phone, so it’s just as handy as the latest on the internet.
Here’s what I’ve given up – a
habit developed over time and without design.
I enjoy keeping up with the news and stimulating the ol’ gray matter
with diverse perspectives. My phone has
provided a means of doing so whenever a spare moment pops up. And I have.
And it has become a habit. That’s
the habit I’ve given up for Lent.
And here’s the practice I’ve
taken up – praying the Psalms in those same spare moments, in a waiting room, on
an airplane, or waiting to meet a friend.
I pull out the ol’ phone and commence praying where I left off. Now in the fifth week of Lent, I’ve prayed
through the Psalms once, and am making my way through again.
It has meant that I’m not as
well informed moment to moment, but somehow that has not totally wrecked my
life! And it has meant that I am better
attuned moment to moment to the One who makes the news that matters most, and
whose opinion pieces aren’t just opinion.
That has proven to be a very happy trade.
I’ll have to find some other ways
to keep up with the latest, for I think this Lenten plan will last beyond
Easter. I’ve just begun to discover the
blessings of praying the prayers that were dear to Jesus in a more constant way.
How about you? How is God blessing you in ways beyond your
own planning and prompting? And might
you find a way to make the Psalms part of your own prayers?
Blessings,
Keith
