Focus and Prayer - Pt 1

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4 ESV).

Before you jump to the comment section and begin a lecture to me about the incredible benefits of technology, let me say that technology is not bad. After all, you are reading this devotional because of technology. With that in mind, however, let me also say that our technology makes praying harder than ever before. Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, or Facebook habits do pose a problem for us in our prayer life. However, before I look at the stats, let’s take a moment to appreciate the magic of conscious life, the capacity to focus on one thing, like this article and this unfolding sentence, following it along until it ends with a little dot. No doubt, as a reader, you’re fighting the chronic digital urge to skim. I can’t tell you how many times I give in to “speed read.” That might work well with the current news feed on Facebook; but, it works poorly when we are reading and praying our way through the Scripture. We give our attention because we have attention to give. With our attention we can attend to one thing and avert from another thing. The power to fixate is part of God’s miracle in creation. Without attention, faith would be impossible. God not only created us to live and breathe and walk, like his other creatures; he wants us also to believe in him and to trust his word, to listen. The full scope of our relational life becomes precious when we see it as our capacity to actually be present. Setting our minds clearly to what is before us is the basis of our devotion to Christ, and it gives rise to every love and longing in our heart. What our eyes linger on, our hearts will learn to love. What our hearts love, our eyes will linger on. When by supernatural grace Christ becomes the highest prize in our life, then he becomes the supreme focus of our attention. Thus, Paul challenges us in our reading today to “set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (v. 2). In the digital age, our attention faces multiple tensions. Each day we give our eyes to movies and new music and books and online articles and viral GIFs and hot Facebook trends. We have only so many waking hours, only so many caffeinated hours, only so many ways to listen, watch, and read even a small fraction of the content that endlessly pours in from our feeds and our friends. God has always been concerned with our focus. Gospel faithfulness is about attention. Unplug a bit and explore the wonder of God’s word to you.