From Auto-Pilot to Intentional Rhythms

In my previous writing, I reflected on the fears and joys of an ordinary life. The reality of God's Kingdom invites us into daily joy, presence, and participation with the work of God in the world. What a gift it is to partner with God as He extends His healing love into every space of the world through His Spirit and through us!

Okay, ready for the gut punch? Of course you are! Otherwise you wouldn't still be reading this. Daily participation in God's Kingdom doesn't just happen to us. Listening to the voice of God isn't a skill that gets instantly downloaded into us. Being present to God's presence isn't typically forced upon us. Giving God access to the deepest parts of us in order to form us into people of love in Christ won't happen by endlessly scrolling through the bright lights of social media.

As John Mark Comer says, "there is no such thing as an accidental saint".

We want our entire lives to be as fast as a TikTok video or the process of ordering our drink from the Starbucks app. The change we want to see, however, will not come about as fast as a TikTok video. The joy and practice of being present to God's presence becoming second-nature to us may take much MUCH longer than the process of ordering our favorite cold brew from the Starbucks app.

We must learn to turn off auto-pilot in our lives and intentionally create rhythms to build our life upon as God slowly transforms us into people of love in Christ.

There are far too many words to share in regard to this topic, and my desire is to keep this writing simple and sweet. I will leave you with two helpful resources that I pray become helpful to you as you move away from auto-pilot and toward intentional rhythms:

1. My prayer rhythms each day

2. Some books that may help you unlearn some things, learn some new things, provide helpful language and frameworks, and bring clarity to this topic

Before I share my daily prayer rhythms, I want you to hear my heart with this. Since 2020, I have been experiencing a sort of "rebirth" in my faith journey. I was made very aware of my auto-pilot life and through the painful process of refinement, began to follow Jesus anew. I've created rhythms that worked and some that didn't. I had times of consistency and times of great inconsistency. There were times I convinced myself that in order to talk with others about intentional rhythms that I needed to be an expert with the topic. There were times where I was becoming less loving instead of more loving and I needed to reinvite God to:

"Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my thoughts.

See if there is any wicked way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23-24)

Through it all, God was gently loving me as I was clumsily figuring out how to be with Jesus and enjoy His presence in intentional ways.

Below is a look at how I spend my time with Jesus in the mornings:

7AM- My alarm goes off and I sit up to help myself wake up and become aware of the day, God's presence, and my beautiful wife still sleeping next to me (and if she's lucky, our cat will be snuggled up on top of her)

7:10AM- I make a pot of coffee

7:20AM- I make my way to my backyard with a mug of coffee in hand

From 7:20-8:00AM, I participate in 5 "movements" of prayer.

Movement #1: I slowly walk three circles in my backyard praying a Psalm or a couple Psalms. I let the words of the Psalm actually become my prayer and I focus my attention on every word. (Consider using Psalm 23, Psalm 139, Psalm 51, Psalm 8, Psalm 42 or another Psalm you find your soul clinging to). I've also found that doing this barefoot has been a weird gift! It has helped me be present to the moment, to feel, and be reminded that I'm an embodied being.

Movement #2: I stand on a big rock in my backyard and start by acknowledging what I'm bringing into my time of prayer with God. This is where I'll usually name what I'm feeling (either in the moment and/or feelings from the previous day or anticipated feelings for what is to come) and share any other burdens/anxious thoughts. I will then reflect on the previous day giving thanks to God for all the gifts I experienced and where I saw God at work.

Movement #3: I walk a few circles around my fire pit (there's just something about walking in a circle that is engaging to me) and pray for God's power and healing in the life of another. This could range anywhere from healing of sickness for someone in my life or someone I love to come to know the saving love of Jesus.

Movement #4: I sit in a comfortable chair around the firepit and set a timer for 10-15 minutes and enter into a time of silent prayer. My goal during this time is to quiet my anxious mind and focus my attention on God's loving presence with me. That's it. No talking. No conversation. Just quieting my mind from the noise and distraction of life to set all that I am in the loving embrace of God.

Movement #5: I use my last 10 minutes or so to read Scripture (I'm currently reading through all 4 Gospels). I don't bring any pens, highlighters, or notepads with me. The goal isn't an in-depth study, but to simply let the Spirit speak and teach through the written Word. There is often a small portion that lingers with me and I'll silently contemplate it for a few minutes before I go into the rest of my day.

10:30PM- I go to bed, put away my phone, and resist the scrolling game (I'm slowly getting better at this)

After Crystal (my wife) and I say our final words to one another for the day (that sounds kind of morbid), we play an 8 minute evening guided prayer from Lectio365 (it's an app that has a morning and evening prayer saturated in Scripture).

A few notes on my daily prayer rhythm:

1. Decide what you will do with your devices BEFORE you commit to a new prayer rhythm.
   

   1. Up until a month ago, I was using my phone as a timer for silent prayer. I was often tempted to check a notification, take a picture to remember a sweet moment, or scroll on Instagram as soon as my time of prayer was done. I would also use my phone to "help me wake up" (that's called addiction friends...)

   2. A month ago, I decided that I wouldn't touch my phone until after my time of prayer and I would leave it far away from me. This has been LIFE CHANGING.

2. If you want to engage with silent prayer, a timer is helpful. I would suggest buying a timer that is a single use device. It's a game changer!

3. Looking at my time of prayer as different "movements" has been SO helpful and exciting for me. Creating movements with different goals and ways to pray rather than a "we'll just see what I'm feelin' attitude" has made all the difference.

4. Incorporating your body into the different movements is a wonderful way to bring your full self to God and be reminded that you're an embodied being (and it honestly just keeps you awake and engaged!). Being barefoot, walking in circles, standing on a rock, holding a warm mug of coffee, etc. are all valuable parts of my prayer rhythm! Give it a try!

5. I remember John Mark Comer talking in a podcast about how little control we have over the chaos of the day and encouraging listeners that perhaps the moment we wake and the moment we lay down are the best times to intentionally turn our attention to God. How can you create space to be present to God's presence in the morning and evening before you sleep? Start there.

6. For those of you who live in a place with 4 seasons, make sure you choose TWO places that you enjoy praying if you like to be outside when it's nice. We are slowly creating a prayer room inside our house for when the outdoor elements are against me.

It feels quite vulnerable sharing this because odds are, I will experience MANY days when I wake up and begin to scroll on Instagram. I will choose to escape the stresses of the day by numbing myself with one more episode on Netflix even though it pushes my bedtime back an hour. Heck, I may even disagree with something I said in this blog 4 months from now!

I am broken, will continue to be broken, and will often do what I don't want to do. I can only wake up each day with a posture of utter dependance on God as the desires of my heart are transformed more and more. I can only choose to create space for the Spirit's work in my life and trust that over time, I will become more and more like Jesus.

If prayer is the practice of simply being with God, then we're practicing eternity in time. On the other side of the return of Jesus to make all things new, guess what'll be doing? We'll be in a constant state of prayer where we are fully attentive to God's presence with us. So why not start to practice today? Why not learn to be with Jesus on this side of eternity? Why not let God's presence have access to us every single day that we may go into the chaos of the day more loving , more at rest, and more attentive to God's presence with others?

Being intentional about creating a prayer rhythm is a wonderful place to start if you desire to turn off auto-pilot in your life and begin to see your ordinary days as a beautiful invitation to encounter God, experience joy, and treat all human interactions as holy moments.

As promised, here is a list of books that I'm confident will be helpful to you on the journey:

1. The Deeply Formed Life by Rich Villodas

2. Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer

3. Sanctuary of the Soul by Richard Foster

4. The Intentional Year by Glenn Packiam

5. The Emotionally Healthy Leader by Pete Scazzero

6. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Pete Scazzero

May you all choose to take your first step away from an auto-pilot life and move toward a life of rhythm, intentionality, and presence with God and others.

Peace,

Ryan