How much time do you make for Christian reflection in your day? For mindful moments spent connecting with your God?
As a Christian, spending time reflecting and contemplating is incredibly important. But, somehow, it can end up at the bottom of our to-do lists.
Busy jobs, young families and all sorts of other responsibilities can get in the way of Christian reflection. And then thereâs the elephant in the room: do you even know how to spend a quiet time with God? Are your daily Christian reflections inspired and full of emotion and breakthrough? Or do you find yourself daydreaming and wondering how other people do it?
Here we explore how you can invest in Christian reflection to transform your relationship with God. Not only that but your wellness and your whole life too.
Filling our thought life with scripture and faith-filled encouragements is at the heart of growing a strong relationship with God.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Philippians 4:8
The Bible encourages us to play an active role in our thought life. We are taught to guard and direct our thoughts, rather than just letting our brains dwell on whatever crops up.
In 2 Corinthians 10: 3-6 Paul writes that we have to âtake captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.â
âFor though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.â
We are reminded here that we are not to be of this world and so neither should our thoughts be. That doesnât mean we have to remove ourselves from culture and society, but rather that we guard our thought life. We are empowered, though our faith, to submit every thought to Jesus.
Imagine the impact filling our brains with only that which is noble, right, pure and lovely would have on our well-being.
âAs someone thinks within himself, so he is.â is a famous part of scripture found in Proverbs 23:7.
The more we think about God, the more we mindfully focus on His beauty and goodness the more we are made new.
Itâs one thing knowing that investing in Christians reflection can have a transformative impact. Itâs quite another finding the time in your day.
There are plenty of flexible, easy ways to fuel your quiet time with God. The Glorify App is filled with inspiring content designed to make reflecting with God effortless and easy.
The key, though, is to make your time set aside for Christian contemplation into a habit. Consistency and commitment are the key to turning something into a habit. Why not try committing to a ten minute burst of quiet time with God every morning for a couple of weeks? Whether that means setting your alarm a little earlier or lining up a podcast to listen to on your commute.
Biblical characters model a variety of different ways to strengthen your relationship with God. But, one thing we see done over and over again is the person withdrawing to spend time alone with God.
Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Luke 5: 15-16
There are lots of examples of Jesus withdrawing from the crowds, and from his companions, to be alone and pray. It was in these wilderness moments, with just Him and God, that we see Jesus strengthening His resolve and His relationship with His Father.
In Mark we find another description of Jesus withdrawing to connect with God:
âVery early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed.â Mark 1:35
Jesusâ habit of finding somewhere quiet and alone to pray teaches us that for our relationship with God to be strengthened we must prioritize spending quality time with Him. Just us and God. Like any other loving relationship, we must foster intimacy between us and God by investing in precious time together.
If youâre not sure how to go about getting started with Christian reflection here are two easy techniques to get you going.
Try journalling. Writing down your prayers and thoughts for God in a journal can be a brilliant tool to aid in your contemplation. Try writing along different themes, one day you could write a list of things you want to thank God for and the next you could write down your hopes for the month ahead. As you write, dedicate each line in your head to God and invite Him to respond in your life.
Use music. If you find you get distracted easily when trying to have quiet time with God then try using music to hold your focus. Find a Christian playlist, Glorify has lots to choose from, pick a song at random and, as you listen, try and focus on the words. If you find one lyric or chorus really stands out then turn that into your prayer for the day.
Filling our brains with reflections of Godâs goodness and things that are lovely, pure and admirable can transform us. Weâve also learned that investing in Christian reflection will strengthen your relationship with God. Jesus is our inspiring example of how retreating to spend time alone with God can become a habit for us.
Whether it takes a great playlist or an early morning walk to get you there, the only part of Christian reflection that really matters is that you connect with your loving Father God.
Remember, He longs to connect with you too.
Photo by Joe Eitzen on Unsplash
