The Spiritual Discipline You Need When You’re Distracted

From Your Nightly Prayer: Evening Prayers for Christians · 5:16

Show by Your Nightly Prayer

The dog in the movie Up makes us laugh because we know ourselves. It is easy to get distracted. And while a dog chasing a squirrel is funny, the things that pull our attention are often very serious. A wrong we have suffered. A demanding season at work. Even the work of ministry, which can quietly steal time from the intimacy with God it was meant to flow from. Our spiritual enemy knows this. He rarely needs to tempt us with something obviously bad. A good thing, a pressing thing, a worthy thing will do, as long as it separates us from God. Colossians 3:1 offers the remedy: set your hearts on things above, where Christ is. Paul writes to a church that was drifting toward worldly rules and routines, as though there were power in what is touched and tasted. Those things cannot restrain the sinful nature. If anything, they feed it. The solution is a heavenly focus. And that focus rests on something already finished. We have died to sin in Christ. We have been raised with Him. Our life is already held at the right hand of God. The work is done. What remains is our effort to turn attention, desire, love, and longing toward what is unseen but more real than anything in front of us, things that will never die or fade. Being heavenly minded is not a retreat from earthly usefulness. It is the source of it. When our eyes stay fixed on Jesus, we live differently, in hope, love, faith, and truth, a bit like walking on water. Tonight, notice what has been pulling your attention, and turn your heart upward again. Ponder Tonight Distraction is rarely dramatic. It often arrives as good things, busy seasons, or even ministry work that gradually crowds out time with God. The unseen is more real than the seen. Setting our hearts on God and His benefits is a deliberate act of trust in what we cannot touch. Our life is already secure in Christ, which means our effort is not to earn a place but to direct our attention toward where we already belong. Heavenly-mindedness produces earthly good. Those who fix their eyes on Jesus live with more hope, love, and obedience, not less. Tonight’s Scripture “Since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” — Colossians 3:1, NIV Your Evening Prayer Heavenly Father, Fix our hearts on Jesus and protect us from every distraction that pulls us away from You. Teach us to seek the things above and treasure what is eternal over what is temporary and dying. Remind us that Christ has finished the work and our life is secure in Him alone. Show us Your truth, fill our hearts with hope, and infuse our actions with obedience so that Your light shines through us every day. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Want More? Sign up for our free newsletter, The Good Word, for weekly biblical wisdom and encouragement delivered right to your inbox. Join our community today: https://www.lifeaudio.com/thegoodword/ Click to Listen to Signs of Life: UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org Join us this Fall for Season One of "Signs of Life," an original podcast from UM News. The journey begins in Atlanta, hearing how a book from an icon of the Civil Rights movement is bringing relationship and understanding to two congregations seeking to bridge divides. Then to Belfast, learning about the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Methodist connection that was—and is—an essential part of healing and peacemaking. Finally, at the Global Young Peoples Convocation in Dublin, explore the world of translation and interpretation through diversity, language and culture. UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

More episodes of Your Nightly Prayer: Evening Prayers for Christians

More episodes

PodSearch is a free, independent podcast search engine. Read about PodSearch, the privacy policy or contact us.