This may be a strange quirk of mine … or it may be more common than I’d think. I’ll share and you tell me if you can relate:
For years, I would sit during sermons and Bible studies and even parenting classes and feel a little skittish — hoping that the ideas shared would be ones that, when I heard them, I could sigh and say to myself, “phew, I do that” — rather than feeling the dreaded “oh man, what’s wrong with me that I haven’t yet integrated that suggestion into my life?!”
I can name this now, but for a long time I only slightly noticed that I left a sermon or a class feeling either confident and carrying relief or with my shoulders slumped, feeling shame. (And this had little to do with the person teaching.)
No wonder I had long stretches feeling stuck — I couldn’t integrate new ideas or ways of growing in God or approaching His Word without feeling like a report card was attached.
(Can anyone else relate? Share in the comments if so, as I’d love to hear more.)
This (longer) precursor to a video Nate and I filmed for you is intended to give permission to those currently assessing your report cards and soaring or sinking related to your GPA not to watch this video … at least not right now.
Nate and I share a “rapid fire” list of ideas for ways to engage with God in prayer to wrap up our month on prayer here. But this list isn’t intended to be a subject list for the report card — it is merely ideas for those needing a fresh approach. It could feel like a whiplash from last Monday’s email if the timing isn’t right for your heart. (Perhaps a gentle step here would be to take a minute or two to examine your current state and assess if it’s a good time to consider a list objectively without measuring yourself against it .)
The local small group I lead often laughs at all my caveats — I can’t seem to shed them. Maybe because I wish other leaders had given them to me in my younger years when I was wide-eyed and willing to imbibe any suggestion from someone further down the road than me.
So without further caveat, here in the video above is a conversation Nate and I filmed about prayer — different approaches to it that have impacted us.
{video} a conversation about prayer and fresh ways to approach it