Letters to My Students

  Wasted Breath? Last time we looked at the spiritual discipline of reading God’s Word as inhaling. This week we will briefly look at prayer as exhaling what we read in God’s word. Prayer has been the hardest spiritual discipline to cultivate in my life. In fact, one of the fastest ways for someone to know how I am doing spiritually is to ask about the frequency and depth of my prayers.  I also know that I am not alone in this. The majority of Jesus followers that I engage with struggle more with regular prayer than with regular Bible study. Why is this? Why does it seem so common for people to struggle to pray? There are many valid answers, but these are the ones that rise to the top in my mind and the minds of those I asked before writing this— getting distracted depending on self questioning if it really works questioning if it is really necessary not truly understanding how relationship with God works In this brief discussion on prayer within the Christian life we will lo...

  A common struggle… The spiritual disciplines of Scripture reading and prayer are a common struggle amongst Christians. Many are dissatisfied and discouraged in how the Word and prayer fit into their daily and weekly routines. Basic as they seem, a lack of time spent with God in these ways is at the root of why many Christians feel spiritually dry.  These rhythms of the Christian life go hand-in-hand and are often described as breathing 1 . One inhales Scripture as God speaking to them, and then exhales in prayer in response.  There are many spiritual disciplines that are important and many areas of the Christian life that deserve attention, but mastery of any subject or practice with poor breathing technique will lead to exhaustion and weariness, and to not breathe at all leads to suffocation and spiritual expiration. In the first of two short meditations on spiritual breathing, I hope to share some helpful reflections and techniques on inhaling Scripture. 1-Knowing the...

In elementary school I was given a paperback collection of all the Chronicles of Narnia books as a gift. In middle school I read The Silmarillion and every other Tolkien book I could get my hands on.  Having grown up in Europe where castles exist in real life, open fields and forests abounded, and many streets were made of stone, these stories came to life and filled my imagination long past their first reading. They sparked an interest in all things from the Middle Ages, especially knights, siege towers, and the Crusades. They also opened a world to me filled with adventure, myth, and legend.  I’ve never quite gotten over my obsession with this sort of thing. My favorite video games have swords and spells, not guns and grenades. My favorite history books predate Colonial America and the Industrial Revolution. And my favorite Christmas movies are still the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the extended edition being a must.  I’ll leave it up to the Inklings to explain to us w...