Ten Practices for the New Year
Practice #2 & Practice #3
8 for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.1 Timothy 4:8
PRACTICE #2 – Talk to God Before You Talk About God
Rhythm 1# — “Prayer Is Staying Close To God or Learning to Lean on God”
“6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. 7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” Matthew 6:6–13
Rhythm 2# — Prayer Softens Hearts Before Truth Hits Ears
9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; 11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9–11
Rhythm 3 – Prayer Works from the Inside Out, Philippians 1:9–11
PRACTICE #3 – God Grows Us in Circles, Not in Isolation
Rhythm 1# — Growth Requires Shared Life
9 Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. 10 For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. 11 Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? 12 And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart. Ecclesiastes 4:9–12
Rhythm 2# — Accountability Sharpens the Soul
Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. – Proverbs 27:17
Rhythm 3# — Restoration Happens in Safe Relationships
6 Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:1–2