(This is from a recent seminary assignment in which we were asked to develop a system of personal worship which helps us incorporate the attributes of God into our daily lives.  It was well received, so I am sharing it here to admonish others in their walk with God).

There is a huge difference between knowing God and knowing about God and the purpose of this post to encourage fellow believers to set aside time for a deeper, richer communion with our Lord.  Our entire existence is summed up for us by Jesus in Matthew 22:37-39, to love God and love others.  Verse 39 is not possible without verse 37 being the primary pursuit of our lives, because loving all people in a sustainable way is not possible without cultivating a relationship with God in a discipline way.  In order to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, we need to see who God is and that means knowing His attributes.  The practical application of theology to life has been a large part of my conversation with God over the last few years.  With a series of life events that had transpired in my life, God, through His Word and Spirit, helped me navigate through all of the advice I was receiving.  It is not uncommon for our Sunday theology to get lost in conventional wisdom when life happens, but God sustained me, and it was biblical theology, not psychology, that brought me through the darkness.

During my journey, I found that the process to love God and know Him more deeply was in remembering the attributes of God through spiritual disciplines. I read a book by Donald Whitney called Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life and it was helpful in developing framework in my devotion to God so that I could learn to walk with God closely and stay close to Him when the storms of life appeared. Through this process, I developed the  following habits which have been very helpful in going deeper in my relationship with God.

1. In knowing God, I created a list of the attributes of God and the promises of God.  Each attribute has multiple promises that were both direct promises and promises contingent on our response to God.  Writing out bible verses that support each attribute and promise will be helpful in internalizing these scriptures.

2. Making God priority One daily, in a conscious way, became a goal.  I made a commitment to read the Bible first thing every morning before looking at my cell phone or anything else.  This was a challenge because I would typically wake up and have voicemails, emails and text messages from the other side of the country where folks start the workday two or three hours before me.  I prayed for peace that God would help me focus on Him and not worry about work. What I discovered was that starting my day with the Peace of Christ (Colossians 3:15-16) drastically removed anxiety that comes from employee issues, customer service issues, contract negotiations and other people related issues.  I would also write the attributes or promises of God in the columns of my bible which is always helpful when flipping through the bible and my eye catching something that I may have forgotten.  So just write Holy, Sovereign, All knowing, All powerful, mercy, goodness, kindness, just, discipline, providence, etc

3. Next, my prayer life would change from a rushed time of giving God my wish list, to a time of giving thanks and praising Him for who He is and for His gospel.  Doing #2 above continues to be helpful in my prayer life and I am often led by His Spirit to pray scripture.  I would also pray for wisdom and understanding, as well as praying for things of eternal value for me and those on my heart to pray for.  For example, I will ask God for a hunger and thirst for His word, to learn to walk in a manner worthy of His calling, for discernment, to grow in holiness, for wisdom, to walk by faith not by feelings, for forgiveness, for an opportunity to share the gospel and to be a good steward.  These are all things that I will either pray for myself or others.  Spiritual warfare prayer is also part of my system for about that last year and God usually puts it on my heart for specific people as well as for myself.  Memorizing Ephesians 6:10-20 is a great benefit in this type of praying.

4. Keeping a journal of what God is teaching you has been a great help.  What I learned is that the attribute of God are always present in lessons God is teaching me.  Writing bible verses out in my journal has also been helpful in learning more scripture.  I would also encourage you to write something even if there is nothing profound or even feel like God is distant.  For me, this is helpful in learning to wait on God’s timing, revealing sin in me or just being quiet in His presence.  Many of us document our lives in many ways whether it be a photo album, a weight loss journal, maybe a photo website of your travels or life events, it could be anything.  I would contest that documenting your walk with God and spiritual growth is the most important part of your life you can document.  You will often be led by the spirit as you write, you can look back and see God’s faithfulness, perhaps look back at a time that seemed “cloudy” and now have clarity on that period of your life.  I think this is an essential part of your Christian life.

5. Be in constant communion with God.  We all have our time of devotions, but God had convicted me to always be mindful of His presence.  As a discipline, this has been profound in my decision making, the words I choose, deciding to share the gospel when I don’t feel like it.  I often talk to God about the smallest details of life throughout the day and He speaks to me quite often regarding the details of life.  This has also taught me to be thankful for things I normally take for granted.  Clean water, a bed to sleep in, my job, my clothes, food, my bible(s), my car, and so much more.  When I look at the conditions of the world, I also need to thank God for being born in this country where we often take for granted, even waste, things that others hope for. We don’t have to pray for daily bread, if anything, we probably eat too much.  God’s grace and mercy is woven throughout our lives and sometimes we are too busy to realize all that He has done and is doing.

6. I am including this because it has been helpful for me in knowing God deeper.  It became apparent through scripture that if the Bereans were bold enough to check everything that the Apostle Paul said, against the scriptures, then I should have no problem checking the words of the many folks in my life who are much less qualified than Paul.  I wanted to do better at taking every thought captive, but I was given the conviction that it starts with decluttering my mind. Sometimes we believe false things because they are popular, they make us feel better or they came from trusted sources, but we are commanded to test all things by scripture and cling to what is good.  So I decided to take control of the things I was putting in my mind by challenging conventional wisdom especially in the church,  limiting my exposure to all kinds of fruitless content.  I started by removing some Apps from my phone which led to closing my Facebook account. Later on I would cancel my TV service in my home.  I also turned off talk radio because I was a political news junkie.  The result of these things was a more simplified, less anxious life in which I had more time to read and have extended time alone with God.  Sharing that feels weird because I have never thought of myself as anxious, but in the most subtle ways, it was being revealed during what I would call some extreme, once in a life time events.  This has been a tremendous value in seeing the Holiness of God in a new way and helpful in my personal pursuit of holiness.  It was also helpful in reflecting back and seeing the Hand of Providence as it was a period of time when the storms of life were backing up and overlapping.

7. The next item was to try and give away money in an uncomfortable way. God is gracious and He loves a cheerful giver.  God had convicted me to scrutinize my finances.  While I was deleting apps from my phone, I had to include Starbucks.  I would put $50 a month on that card and use it all. One day God asked me if I really needed to spend $600 a year of His money on coffee.  It was not a hard choice and I was able to reallocate that money to sponsor a child with WorldVision. I also saved $120 a month from TV service and was able reallocate those funds.  For me, it was a call to trust God who richly provides everything to us.  I had found that I was only giving in a comfortable way being held captive by some distant fear that God won’t meet my needs tomorrow. The truth is that I still enjoy Starbucks now and then and I can watch TV at the gym or a restaurant, but the truth is that I have no desire to and God has changed my heart towards it.

Through all of these disciplines, God has continued to reveal Himself to me.  I have a better understanding of who He is through more time with Him and His word.  Knowing the attributes of God is paramount in living life day to day, making choices, responding to tragedy, giving advice, taking advice, having discernment, growing in wisdom, learning to trust Him, being in constant communion with Him, praying, listening, discerning His will and overall walking in a manner worthy of His calling.  It is my prayer that these words will bless the reader and further your communion with God