I am often reminded that my “view” on reality can be hard to deal with as this world can be very depressing to look at currently. But the job / calling of a ‘watchman’ is not for the faint of heart. (Ezekiel 33) Standing on the “wall’ and looking out over the situations happening in the world can be very frightening for the uninitiated and unprotected. So I have to work on my own mental and spiritual state daily. And I have to be careful with who I personally share the Watchman perspective.
So today I want to share what my disciplines are to keep my mind and spirit in the ‘right’ direction. This has become a daily discipline as I start my day… usually on my morning walk with Him.
I have an order — and I begin with…
1. Worship of God
This is the act of saying out loud the very aspects of God of who HE is. Like….
Father you are my Creator.
Father you are the Healer.
Father you are full of mercy every morning.
Father you are the Source of my heartbeat.
Father you are the Source of my joy.
Father you are my Source of ALL my provision.
Father you are…
And I keep going as the Holy Spirit inspires me… He helps remind me WHO He is. This act sets Him in the proper place in my heart and mind.
2. Praise of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.
This is the act of praising and thanking Him for what They have done. Like….
I praise you Jesus for giving me my wife Kathy, and all that she is. She is a great blessing Lord, thank you.
I praise you Father for my son, and his wife, and my daughter, they are the world to me.
I praise you Father for Jesus who really is my best Friend. Thank you Father for Your sacrifice of Jesus, and the pain you endured.
I praise you Father for sending me the Holy Spirit, and having Jesus baptize me with Him.
I praise you Father for my health, and this day you have given me to serve You. Help to use it wisely for your service.
Thank you Holy Spirit for speaking the Truth to me everyday. Thank you for your correction in my life. Thank you for showing me the way.
Thank you Jesus for all of my friends who are attempting to live their best lives for You. Thank you for what they are in my life.
This can continue as long as items are brought to your mind.
3. Confession.
This is the act of confessing your faults, shortcomings, sins, character flaws, and anything else the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. Like….
Forgive me Father for my bad reaction yesterday with my ‘road rage’, I wasn’t listening to the Holy Spirit like I should of in that situation. ( this is REAL for me )
Forgive me Father for not doing what You asked me to do yesterday, I let my fear dictate instead of allowing Your courage you wanted to give me.
Forgive me Father for the thoughts I entertained too long rather that casting them out like I know I should have.
Forgive me Father for having a bad reaction to something my wife said to me, please help me!
This should go on as long as you are reminded of things. Get it ALL out. Put it ALL before Him.
4. Gratefulness
This is the act of listing all the things you are grateful for that He has or is giving you. Like…
Thank you Lord for my wife and family.
Thank you Lord for the abundance of food and water.
Thank you Lord for my house.
Thank you Lord for my car.
Thank you Lord for all of the many things I have.
Thank you Lord for my lungs that work well.
Thank you Lord for forgiving me.
Thank you Lord for giving me inspiration with Your Word. (Rhema and Logos)
Again — allow the Holy Spirit to remind you of ALL He has provided you with …. And keep going. I know that this is like the “praise” section, but in my heart I KNOW I have to work on my gratefulness to understand His Kindness and Goodness in my life. So I kind of double up on this one.
5. Supplication
This is the act of asking / praying for people and issues and things. I try to allow Him to guide me here in this section, as I want Him to tell me what’s actually on His heart and what He wants me to pray for. Like…
Father please be with my wife today.
Father please surround my son and his wife ( I use their names ) today with your Presence, and please protect them.
Father please surround ****** ( this is where I begin praying for the people the Holy Spirit brings to mind) with your Presence.
Father help me to know the right path with the situation concerning… *****
Holy Spirit please stay LOUD in my mind today, I so want to be obedient to Your instructions to me today.
Of course this section can go on for quite awhile … again pouring your entire contents of our heart out before Him. Keep going until your done.
6. Listening
This is the act of being quiet before Him and waiting for Him to speak to me what He would like me to do, or scripture He wants me to dig deeper on. It’s putting myself into a time where He has ‘free reign’ to teach, say, do, anything He wants to with me. Often times this is where I ‘receive’ what I am to share here, as well as certain tasks He wants me to accomplish during the day.
7. Asking Him questions
This is the time I ask Him some pretty gnarly questions. Sometimes big universal questions. Sometimes tiny little seemingly insignificant questions… but because I’m curious .. I ask Him.
This usually begins a fairly lively discussion with the Holy Spirit — IF I can get to this section and my time hasn’t be spent on an area that He feels I really need to deal with immediately.
Obviously like any discipline these take ‘practice’ and repetition and consistency to get better at them. Communication is hard enough with ANYONE for me, so I’ve had to really learn how to LISTEN to Him. It’s been something I NEED to do daily to maintain the ‘walk’ I want with Him.
These disciplines help me ‘right’ my “ship” for the day. By putting Him first and in the right place in my life before I do ANYTHING else.
As this world continues to decline and the pressures increase the need for these daily disciplines are vital for my mental state. I have to continually remind myself where my actual “Home” is and that “place” is my goal and heartfelt desire.
These are my mental disciplines I’m working on …what are yours?
Please answer that question in the comments.