Allow your Relationship with Christ to Grow by Spending Time with Him
Meeting Jesus in the Gospels is a great way to spend time with him. Relationships develop when people spend time together. Shared experiences are the core of any friendship. Spending time with Christ ought to be the essence of prayer; yet, prayer is usually seen as a one-way conversation, with us doing all the talking. It should not surprise us that the result of this is a superficial relationship.
This spiritual growth exercise, courtesy of David Benner, will encourage growth in your relationship with Christ by means of Spirit-guided meditations. Allow this process to be more an exercise of your imagination than of the intellect. Allow the Spirit of God to help you imaginatively enter an event in the life of Christ, enabling you to personally meet him. God gave us Jesus so that we could gaze upon him and thereby come to know God.
Here is an idea of how to do a Gospel meditation:
1. Take a moment to quiet yourself in God's presence. Close your eyes and ask God to take the words of Scripture and by the power of his Spirit, make them God's Word to you.
2. Slowly read a short passage from one of the gospels. Choose an event in the life of Jesus. (Examples: Mark 10:17-22, Mark 3:1-6, Mark 4:35-41, Mark 9:33-37)
3. Meditate/daydream on the situation presented. Observe the events as they unfold.
4. Watch, listen & stay attentive to Christ; don't be distracted by the other people in the story (Just be present with Jesus.)
5. Don’t try to analyze the story or learn its lessons. Just be present to Jesus and open to your own reactions.
6. Allow the Spirit to enrich the picture of your imagination by adding other sensory details.
Often our relationship with Jesus is based more on what we believe than on what we experience. We have lots of information about God, but long to deepen our personal knowing of him. Meeting Jesus in the Gospels will help you to spend more time with him and can begin to put flesh on the God you desire to know. As Jesus becomes more human and real to you, he will also become more accessible.
