Thursday, November 19, 2009 3:08 PM CST
Clergy Views: Spiritual discipline in a digital age
By Casey Scott, Outreach Minister, Broadway Christian Church
Sometimes you hear an idea that’s so good, even if it’s not yours; you need to pass it on. That’s what I’m doing today.
The idea I want to share today has been a real blessing for me. I got it from my friend, Kyle Idleman. Kyle is on staff at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky. He has a Web site called www.notafan.com.
This idea comes from a blog entry he wrote last week. I wanted to pass it along to you in my own words, because like me, you might find it helpful in practicing the spiritual disciplines in a digital age.
I have some friends whose spiritual vitality I really admire. They are regular in prayer and Bible study, and they even keep a handwritten journal of their prayers to track what God is doing and how He’s answering their prayers.
I’ve tried that several times, and I’ve never been able to stay at it long enough for it to become a habit. I had given up on ever being able to practice the discipline of journaling, that is, until I saw Kyle’s blog.
If you spend a good deal of your day near a computer, Kyle suggests creating an e-mail account for God, and making that the first e-mail you send of the day. So I gave God his own e-mail address. And no, you can’t have it. I will tell you that it’s a free Gmail account. That seemed fitting, don’t you think?
Here’s one reason I think this is working for me: I type WAY faster than I write by hand, and it’s much easier for me to express my thoughts as they come, rather than editing my own prayers.
This may strike you as weird, but I almost never have my quiet time in the same place or at the same time every day; however I almost always have my laptop. So wherever I am, I can keep a daily record of my prayers just by e-mailing God.
Here’s another reason: I like that writing (OK, typing) out my prayers slows me down a little, but not so much that I get frustrated and quit practicing the habit. Be honest: don’t we all need to slow down a little and spend more time with God? This is a great way to do that.
Even though my quiet time moves around, I try to make sure that God gets the first e-mail each day — He gets priority. You can even mark your e-mail as “high priority!”
Here’s what I’ve noticed: my prayers are going deeper and I’m breaking out of the rut of familiar language because I can see it on the screen. If you’re “stuck” in your prayer life (and kind of a computer geek), then this may be just the idea you need to revive your prayers.
Plus, as Kyle shares, on days you pray for your spouse or kids (or whomever), you can forward the text of the e-mail to them so they can know you prayed for them! This idea has been a real blessing to me, and I thought it might help you practice the spiritual disciplines in a digital age.
If you want to read Kyle’s post, you can find it here: http://www.notafan.com/2009/11/god-has-email/.
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