I have had the privilege of getting a sneak peak preview of John Burke's newest book due out this fall and I would definitely recommend giving it a read. The book is smartly titled Soul Revolution: How Imperfect People Become All God Intended. I have only been able to read the intro, Chapter One and Chapter Three (that's all I am allowed to read) but the application of what I have read has made an impact on me. Isn't that what life is all about anyway... living out what we learn?So here it is. Live life with God in 60 minute intervals for 60 days, known as the 60-60 experiment. I decided a week ago to give this a shot. After all, it seemed to line up with my own convictions of an active prayer life. It started kinda small, ya' know? Every hour on the hour I would pray a small prayer about something relevant to me at that moment. Most of those first prayers only lasted 30 seconds at best. I chose a handful of topics ahead of time too so that as I prayed I would have certain areas of my life starting to get infused with constant prayer.
One of those very specific areas is purity. I listened to a podcast recently from Mosaic about Pornography addiction (listen here) and that got me thinking. Could I ever become that guy? I have known guys that have struggled with this. I have driven by countless strip clubs in my travels. So what can I do to prevent this type of thing from happening to me? Jesus said that the pure in heart will see God and I thought that would be the best way to start this little experiment. Seek purity in thought, word and action. Now, purity is more than just Porn or lust, even though I think this is probably associated with purity the most. For example, if I decide to swear at someone in my mind but do not verbalize it, is my thought life pure? If I have not forgiven someone, is my heart pure? If I decide to sarcastically joke with someone, are my intentions pure? See, purity is more than sexual and that is why I am praying for purity.
So here is where I am today. After a week into this deal, I have become very aware of time and its like I say to myself, "Hey, it's time to pray." This is the first change that I have witnessed. I now have an awareness of talking to God consistently throughout the day. If I don't have something pressing at the moment, I pray for purity. I do not have a canned prayer that I use. I start a conversation with God that tells him what I have on my heart at that moment. Heck, there have been times that I have said stuff like, "God, I really don't like so & so, please help me love them like you do" or "God, I am really struggling right now with making a decision, please help me" or "God, thank you for time alone with you." You get the picture. I do not need to wax eloquently; just tell God what's on my heart at that moment.
Will you join me in the 60-60 experiment?
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composed by
dave
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