8-52 Voices February 24, 2014

The C3 Leaders devotion is a peer weekly reflection from business leaders related to their journey with Christ. Each weekly devotion will be written by a different author from among the C3 Leaders community, 52 unique authors to be exact.

As we go through this next year together, we pray that these words and reflections will encourage you in your relationship with Jesus Christ.

Ron Worman is the founder and managing director of The Sage Group

1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Dear Lord: How do you pray always or unceasingly? Is it possible? And why is it important?

Whenever I ask questions of the Lord, I am always reminded of one of C.S. Lewis’ sermons where he admitted that he avoided certain questions from time to time, because the answers might be difficult.

Therefore, “making time for prayer” seems like a problem. Until you see it as another way we compartmentalize.What if you knew, really knew, that the Spirit was always with you. In fact, what if you really believed the Spirit was living inside you?And what if the mechanics of living, breathing, seeing, hearing, and touching, were the very instruments of prayer as well as the intentionally specific requests we make during more formal times?

We also know, according to Jesus, we are part of a vine with a pretty substantial root system. And we know that the distance between us and the kingdom is nothing more than accepting our “true self” as Richard Rohr says.

Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

Genesis 28–Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it^c stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”

So Jacob ends up recognizing how close the Lord and his host are. Rohr says it best: “What was first only there (in Bethel) – is soon everywhere.” Jacob will take the Lord’s presence wherever he goes because he carries it within him.

As we go forward, I was given this simple notion that has helped me lately. Try saying “Way”. Note the exhalation. Now let’s try a simple inhalation: “Yah”.

Now complete the exercise by saying (inhale) “Yah”; (exhale) “Weh”. Many Jews have used this as a breathing exercise that also symbolizes the breath of God that is in us.

I now find myself performing this exercise when I get tense or mad or irritable or simply stuck. It somehow restores me and reminds me I can pray unceasingly and that this life is not simply my own.

Ron

If you would like to contact Ron you can email him at: ron@the-sage-group.com