Week 2 - Day 2
THE RELATIONSHIP
Daily Directions
DAILY DIRECTIONS
In our last reading, we consider this quote from Dallas Willard.
A biblical Christian is not just someone who holds certain beliefs about the Bible. He or she is also someone who leads the kind of life demonstrated in the Bible: a life of personal, intelligent interaction with God. (Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God, p. 104).
This is the kind of relationship that Jesus calls us to. That’s because in following Jesus we are to follow the kind of relationship that He had with His Father. So what does that relationship look like? How can we develop such a relationship? That’s what the Daily Directions are all about.
Here they are:
UP - Lift Up Your Praise
DOWN - Bow Down In Repentance
IN - Take In God’s Word
OUT - Pray Out Your Requests
STOP - Stop, Look and Listen
GO - Go Through Your Day
The idea is that as we regularly practice these Daily Directions we will intentionally develop a personal, intelligent and interactive relationship with God.
We’ll take a day to explain what each Daily Direction means. However, we’ll start practicing all six Daily Directions even though we haven’t explained them all yet. We’ll just jump in—sort of sink or swim. But don’t worry. They’re simple, and over the course of these next two weeks we’ll unpack the meaning of each Direction.
You have already been recording your responses to the various questions being asked, especially the final question:
In light of what you have discovered through the Bible readings and your personal reflections, how will you respond? Finish this sentence: I will …
From now on this question is going to be divided into these two unfinished sentences.
Lord, I hear You saying to me …
Now, with Your help I will …
Once again, please record your responses so you can share them at your Weekly Huddle along with the other questions that arise from our Bible readings.
In addition, you will be given prayer prompts in the Daily Directions. You could record your responses to these prayer prompts either using full sentences or just bullet points. Some have found writing out their prayers either using pen and paper or some electronic device to be very helpful. But you could just pray them mentally in your head or even orally out loud and not record your responses. Either way, do fully participate in the prayer prompts. You will find them a great way to deepen your relationship with Jesus.
So here we go!
DAILY DIRECTIONS
Use a sentence or bullet points to finish these statements.
UP - Lift Up Your Praise
Lord, I praise You for …
DOWN - Bow Down In Repentance
Lord, I repent of …
IN - Take In God’s Word
UP - Lift Up Your Praise
Connecting with Jesus on a daily basis is so important to following Jesus.
When you pray, what do you normally pray about?
What does your prayer normally begin with?
Psalm 100 (NIV)
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.Psalm 40:1-3 (NLT)
I waited patiently for the LORD to help me,
and he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground
and steadied me as I walked along.
He has given me a new song to sing,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be amazed.
They will put their trust in the LORD.1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Most prayer is sort of like a grocery list of needs and requests. That is important and we’ll get to that in a couple of days under OUT - Pray Out Your Requests.
What do the above passages say about the appropriateness of starting an interaction with Jesus with praise and thanksgiving?
How would starting with praise and thanksgiving help you develop a personal, intelligent and interactive relationship with Jesus?
Lord, I hear You saying to me …
Now, with Your help I will …
OUT - Pray Out Your Requests
Lord, I pray for …
STOP - Stop, Look and Listen
Lord, what do You want to show me or say to me?
GO - Go Through Your Day
Lord, I pray for Your help as I anticipate these events today …
Congratulations! You just worked through the Daily Directions. Once again, we’ll explain each Daily Direction in greater detail over the next two weeks.