Proclaimer Blog
Preacher, walk closely with Christ!
I taught two seminars last week on the importance of maintaining a close communion with our living God through his Son and in the power of his Spirit. It was based on a rather enigmatic sentence in 1 Timothy:
Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this [literally, them, not sure why ESV has singularised this word] for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
So, two seminars on personal devotions or (and I hate the term) quiet times. For if a pastor is not cultivating a close walk with Christ with prayer and study of the word, then how on earth can he save himself and his hearers.
We honestly identified all the problems we have with maintaining close walk – laziness, distractions, blandness, boredom, small children, computers, tiredness, busyness – it was a useful exercise to be honest about the dry seasons we find ourselves in.
Ultimately of course there is only one answer to this. Our only hope is for a deep hunger and thirst for righteousness, which means a deep hunger and thirst for Christ and a desire to be close to him and, as the hymn says, lost in wonder, love and praise. If you don't have it, you need to (a) know that you need it and (b) cry out to God for it. No other solution.
But grace comes in ordinary things too. Just as the porn addict needs a filter on his computer as he prays for a changed heart, so a preacher can do some practical things as he cries out to God for a deep hunger and thirst. Here are 10 things that work for me. Perhaps there is some godly wisdom there?
- Read the Bible for your own soul first. Even it eats into prep time don't think that studying to preach is enough to feed your own soul.
- Read and pray with a pen in your hand – both to capture thoughts and jot down distractions to be dealt with later. I write myself a prayer every day based on what I have read.
- Use Bible helps judiciously. You're a pastor for goodness sake – don't get caught into the "I can only read the Bible with a commentary" trap
- Nothing beats an early morning. I learnt this reading chapter 20 of Book 3 of the Institutes which is some of the warmest stuff I have ever read on prayer. Google it.
- Pray for your people deliberately and by name. Better to pray for one or two well than 5 in a bland way. Don't focus on felt needs, pray in what you are reading for your people. Pray that what you are learning they will learn and tell them about it next time you see them.
- Tear up your prayer diary every few months. I find routine is a life-killer, so I have to tear up my routine and refresh it regularly.
- Singing to yourself is not a sign of madness. I sit in the morning with an open hymn book and take one a day (which, by the way, opens my eyes to some beautiful and lovely words from the past)
- Develop prayer as an attitude not a diary slot. We all know it. Practice it. A few minutes here and there. A cry when you reach a really knotty part of Scripture you're struggling to prepare.
- Don't be afraid to use helps in dry times. I find Valley of Vision a real help when I struggle to pray (I use the leather version, not much more, nicely laid out and it doens't fall apart with use)
- Cry out with honesty for your lack of thirst. Admit your sin. Repent of it. Use the psalms to align yourself with Christ once again.
More like this: