Practice: Growing Closer to God

The Practice for this week is to be intentional about practicing intimacy with God at various points throughout your Sabbath. Below we’ve provided some ideas of what this could look like. This is neither an exhaustive list nor is it a checklist. There is no formula to intimacy—these are merely suggestions for entering that space well:

– Start your Sabbath by reading a Psalm and praying when you wake up.

– Set aside a good chunk of time in the morning to read Scripture, to pray, to practice listening to God, and to just be with God.

– Set aside some time during the day to read the Bible and pray with those closest to you (whether your family, friends, or roommates). This could look like reading a Bible story with the kids or some kind of prayer walk with your roommate, or a time of worship by singing with your friends.

– Practice gratitude by making a list of things for which you are grateful.

– Go on a short, slow prayer walk: without a timeline and perhaps without even a set course, just walking and praying. Ask yourself what might Jesus be saying to you if he was physically walking next to you.

– Spend some time journalling through your last week in the form of a letter to God. Thank God for showing up, process through the various emotions that were stirred in you and experiences that happened this week. Perhaps start with the question: Where did I see God this week?

– Try the Daily Office. Also called Fixed Hour Prayer, the Daily Office is an ancient Christian practice in which the observer intentionally sets aside three times during the day to focus on God. Usually, these times are in the morning, at noon, and at night. These times can be short—anywhere from five to ten minutes. The goal is to focus on God and practice tuning your soul to his presence, so that the awareness of God stays with you all day long.

– If you want to try the Daily Office, here are a few creative ways in which you could practice it:

– Go on a prayer walk

– Read a Psalm

– Read a liturgy

– Put on a worship song

– Practice gratitude

– Pray

– Speak in tongues

– Practice just sitting in God’s presence

– Go somewhere beautiful in nature—a park, vista, etc.—and praise God

– Read a poem

– Think about how you connect with God best and do that!

In the end, what we want you to remember is that while intimacy is not a formula, there is wisdom in setting time aside and creating space in which you and God meet. And just like with a friend or family member, there is no one way to accomplish this. The goal is to simply practice creating the space in which intimacy grows, learning what works for you and God.

Discussion questions either for yourself, or for your group

1. How can you maintain intimacy with God throughout the Sabbath?

2. What spiritual disciplines/Practices help you connect with God? (Scripture reading, prayer, silence and solitude, celebration, etc.)

3. How might you incorporate the Daily Office or a similar practice into your Sabbath rhythm?

4. For Parents: How can you lead your family into intimacy with God on the Sabbath?