SUMMER – A GREAT TIME TO GROW IN FAITH
By the time this issue of Triune comes out, you will be vacationing with your family in India or at your favorite beach or theme park or hiking your best-loved trails. I pray that you will have a safe time with your families. I think vacation can also be a time to grow deep in your faith with some simple, day to day spiritual disciplines. I am not going to suggest serious fasting (but if that is something that you’re considering doing, go for it) or long dedicated time praying but there are other things that you can do to grow spiritually. Here is my #1 favorite thing to do while on vacation, to do prayer walks. This is assuming that you are keeping up with your regular exercise regimen even while on vacation.
Prayer walks simply stated is walking and praying. It is often intercessory in nature, meaning that you pray for the people living in the communities where you walk or praying in general for the needs of the world that God brings to your remembrance. Prayer walk can be interesting and rewarding if you choose a friend to walk with you. Remember, there is no need to carry a Bible if you’re doing a prayer walk in the neighborhood. The C.S. Lewis Institute website (you may read it here) offers some interesting insights as to the things you can do when you do a prayer walk.1 The idea is simple and doable, and it can enrich your prayer life as well as see God at work in the neighborhoods that you often walk. I hope you get to do this over the summer vacation.
The second-best thing that you can do over your vacation time is to commit certain portions of scriptures to your memory. This is one sure way to grow in the faith. The Psalmist says it better than anyone else about the benefits of committing scripture to memory. Your word I have treasured and stored in my heart, That I may not sin against You – Psalm 119:11. I like the reason the Psalmist gives for us to hide God’s word in our heart, and it is simple but often necessary – that we may not sin against God. The Guidepost has a nice article on the 10 Bible Verses to Commit to Memory. 2
I have mentioned this several times over the course of my preaching at the church about how my father will find a church to worship on Sunday even while vacationing. The Apostle Paul would often encourage the believers to not disregard the gathering of God’s people. This is my challenge to you to make every effort to attend public worship. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near (Hebrews 10:25). There is a nice article by the Ligonier Ministries on the importance of public worship. 3 Apart from hearing the Word preached to us, public worship builds community with other believers in the faith. I would encourage you, as much as you are able, to find a place to worship while vacationing.
We are called to grow in the faith both in and out of season. I believe simple disciplines kept and embraced can help us grow in our walk with God. Remember this one truth that God is interested in your walk of faith more than you are. God’s promise is to nurture and grow us so that we may reflect the image of the One who created us for His glory. I pray that even as you enjoy vacation with the family, you may also find time for God and His kingdom.
Blessings on your vacation and as you grow in the faith,
