Training for...


Six months shy of turning 30 I made the decision to prepare to run a marathon.  I was getting older, but I was determined to be in the best shape of my life.  I researched various training programs and schedules until I found one I felt was compatible with my goals.  I searched the internet for running trails and settled for running along the Trinity River in Fort Worth for my long runs and laps around the Seminary for my short runs.  I scoured the internet looking for reviews on running shoes.  I looked up shorter races in my area that I would be able to use to gauge my progress.  Slowly but surely, I began to train my body to run a marathon.  Several months in I was running 17 or 18 miles on my long runs and my body was both reaping the benefits and paying the price.  I was 6 foot even and under 165 pounds but my knees were begging me to stop the madness.  

Earlier this year I read 1 Timothy 4:7-8: Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

I must shamefully admit that I put a lot more thought, planning, and time into training my body to run a marathon than I ever had in training myself for godliness.    So back in September I began to make plans of how I would train myself for godliness in 2013.  Honestly, with so many glaring weaknesses it was hard to choose what my focus would be for next year.  

For several years in a row now I have read the Bible through.  This year I must admit to a bit of a dissatisfaction with my daily quiet times.  I was reading the Bible, but I really didn’t feel like it was having the impact that it should.  I don’t know how to describe it other than saying that seemed to be a “disconnect”.  As I began to pray, I felt God guiding me to focus on prayer in 2013.  With my focus in place, I began to research and make plans.

I sent a friend and former Seminary professor an email asking for suggestions on books to read on prayer.  I asked for suggestions from friends on Facebook and looked for quite a while on Amazon for books on prayer.  In the end (or should I say beginning) this is what my training plan for 2013 looks like:

  1. The One Year Praying Through the Bible by Cheri Fuller- This will be my daily devotional guide and a catalyst for prayer. 
  2. Then reading the following books during the coming year:
  1. Complete Works of E.M.. Bounds on Prayer
  2. Pray Big for Your Marriage
  3. Prayer- Finding the Heart’s True Home
  4. Letters to Malcom- Chiefly on Prayer by C.S. Lewis
  5. With Christ in the School of Prayer- By Andrew Murray

Over the past few years I have become quite an avid reader, but I desperately want 2013 to be more than just gaining a better understanding of prayer.  I want 2013 to be a time of deepening in my prayer life.  I want to not just say, “I will pray for you...” but to really, truly do it on more than just a “bless so and so” level.  

With that being said, feel free to send me an email or FB Messsage letting me how can I pray for you! 

-dp 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Life together- True Community for believers

Image
I’m running a little behind in both my blog posts and my reading list for this year so I thought I would address one by using the other.   I just finished the book Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer in which he gives practical advice on what life together looks like in families and groups of Christians.  I would highly recommend reading the book if you are interested in some deep thinking of what true community for the believer should look like.   Perhaps the following quotes will spurn you on to reading the book, or perhaps just might give you a little something to think about.   The following quotes were from some of the highlights I made in the books as I read it.  They were insightful and challenging to me and I hope that at least one of them will speak to you!  Blessings on the journey!  -dp Regarding the blessing of living in community he says: It is easily forgotten that the fellowship of Christian brethren is a fight of grace, ...
Read more

Sharing my Secrets...

Image
Can I be honest and let you in on a personal secret?  Promise not to judge?  OK, here it is, prayer lists are challenging for me.  I know, how unspiritual is that?  Line after line of the teen who is going to be taking his driving test next Tuesday, the parent who wants her precious, sensitive daughter to land the lead role in the school play or the hip surgery for Grandma Jane.  (Grandma, Grammy, Grandmother or whatever you call her is probably ready to come and kick my shins for vocalizing it… and she probably will once she gets full use of her legs again.)  There are also those prayer requests with a more “spiritual” side like praying for the missionaries who are living in pray-for-them-again-astan.  Am I the only one that struggles with prayer lists?   Can I be honest and let you in on a personal secret?  Promise not to judge?  (yes, I started two paragraphs in a row with the same two sentences)  OK, here it is, I als...
Read more

Reading List for 2017

I have decided to read 52 books in 2017.  I'm still lacking 8 books to complete the year, but as I read I invariably find other books referenced that I add to my list.  So, there is a little flexibility built in for that.  Feel free to suggest other books in the comment section below.  So, without further ado, here is my list for 2017: (√ beside book once completed) Extreme Ownership- Jocko Willink, Leif Babin √ Life together- Dietrich Bonhoeffer √ Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible- Dietrich Bonhoeffer √ Praying the Bible- Donald S. Whitney √ Culture of Honor- Danny Silk Loving our Kids on Purpose- Danny Silk Shantarum- Gregory David Roberts It Happened on the Way to War- Rye Barcott Those Who Save Us- Jenna Blum What's so Amazing about Grace- Yancy √ Operation Thunderbolt- Saul David Unbroken- Lauren Hillenbrand  √ Under Our Skin- Benjamin Watson  √ Long way Gone- Charles Martin √ Preaching That Connects- Mark Galli, Haddon W....
Read more