05.10
How do you best connect with God? For me, it’s through His Creation. I loved the prayer time at our church last Thursday because the organizers gave us two options… 1) pray in the worship center; or 2) take a prayer walk through the woods. It didn’t take me two seconds to decide which option was for me. Praying while I walk through nature energizes me. Sunrises inspire me. Ocean waves calm me. Yet, when I pray while I’m sitting inside a room, I’m easily distracted (sorry God!).
We each have one or two primary ways of connecting with God, sensing His presence and experiencing spiritual growth. Sometimes we think that we are inferior to others because we don’t have their pathway. Other times, we feel superior, wondering why more people don’t connect with God the way we do.
John Ortberg – one of my absolute favorite writers – gives a great list of Spiritual Pathways. Here they are:
1. Intellectual Pathway: “… draw closer to God as they learn more about Him.”
2. Relational Pathway: “… have a deep sense of God’s presence when they’re involved in significant relationships.”
3. Serving Pathway: “… God’s presence seems most tangible when they’re involved in helping others.”
4. Worship Pathway: “… have a natural gift for expression and celebration.”
5. Activist Pathway: “You have a passion to act.”
6. Contemplative Pathway: “God is most present to you when distractions and noises are removed.”
7. Creation Pathway: “… have a passionate ability to connect with God when they are experiencing the world He made.”
What’s your pathway? When it’s left unchecked, do you feel it’s inferior or superior to others? Can you share a recent time when God made His presence very real to you through your pathway? I’d enjoy hearing your thoughts, so join the discussion and comment on this post.
I don’t see the ‘Driving’ pathway, but that seems to work best in my life. The act of driving seems to occupy the ‘busy’ part of my mind and frees up the part that’s better at listening.
Fear of the unknown is a phrase that will surface when I find myself being unsure or “shying” away from things. Unfortunatly for a long time this included not turning completely toward God. So the Intelectual pathway has definitly played a major roll in my walk or my “re-education” of Christ as I like to call it. (My name and Intellectual in the same sentence doesn’t belong together, LOL.) The words in the Bible no longer read like a chemistry book they now tell me the most amazing story ever!!
I thought I was the only one that at one time that the Bible was in a different language…I am getting better at understanding it…
I also have the “driving” pathway, or “cement” pathway. I guess it could be considered the creation pathway because God created the things that are needed to make cement, or asphalt. It is just not the prettiest path to take.
It’s one of the lesser known pathways, but there are quite a few followers in Atlanta…one right after the other.
All of the above! Activist though providing help to those in need, Relational & Serving & Creation when I was holding the filthy homeless infant last Thursday night and was awestruck by the big brown eyes looking up at me, Intellectual when I was realizing how God brought us all together in a parking lot on the same night, worship through my tears, and contemplative in the quiet of the car as I drove home at just how big my God is. The baby cries were silent. Not to God. He heard, El Roi saw and Jevhovah Jireh was there.
While I live to worship, love to serve and am a very relational person, I would have to say that mine is a Creational pathway as well. It is unbelievable the clarity of thought and vision that I experience while I am in the woods, on a beach or on my porch staring at the stars. God feels so close I could reach out and touch Him. One of my favorite personal experiences, while probably very corny for most, was looking up at the night sky while laying on my friend´s boat on the bay in New York. I said, “God, it would be so cool to see a shooting star right now.” Sure enough, there it was! I thought that was cool, but then I said, “God, that was neat, but it would be even better if I saw another one!” Believe it or not, there it was! I wanted to scream and shout! God is so good, and His creation is truly inspiring to me!
I want to name a few, but I must say that I am being drawn in to all of the pathways. I am new to learning the Bible and have gotten a deep hunger for His word. I LOVE to serve, but at the same time, I feel as if I am in the intellectual pathway. My pathway just varies with whatever my situation is at the time. I have recently downloaded the first four books of the bible in audio and am listening to it while I drive, work and sit at home.
I have two really bizzare pathways…..(one not so much, but the other one is strange) God speaks to me daily in a little book called Jesus Calling. It is unbelievable the way God uses this little book to speak truth into my life. The other way is through music, but usually not Christian music. He seems to speak to me through Country Music. I run to you……..thanks God for showin’ the love!
Shawna,
I’m with you on “God speaking to me through Country Music! And, that particular song, “I Run To You” is especially great. As a matter of fact, I used it recently in our class when we had everyone bring a song that was very meaningful to them and we played the songs and asked everyone to relate “why” the song meant so much and “what” the song meant to them. I had the pleasure a couple of times in the past to see an awesome Christian harpist named Greg Buchanan and one of his favorite things to say during his performance is, “There WILL be County Music in heaven!”
I’ve seen Greg, too! He’s amazing…
Mine is the iPod pathway–I put in the earphones with some modern worship and problems disappear. God uses lyrics, harmony, and rhythms to get my attention and speak truth to my heart. And what better way to put his word in your heart than to have a song of worship playing in your mind all day.
I commented on my “Music Pathway” (Country in particular) above. But, my other Pathway is the Creation Path. I get so excited everytime I’m driving down the road or anywhere and see even the tiniest bit of a rainbow. It instantly turns my thoughts to God and how amazing He is. I notice Him in the wind, the waves, the sunshine and the rain. I am amazed by the creation of my amazing God and it definitely draws me into closer time with Him.
My odd pathway is called the velopathway – or Bicycle Pathway. I can get really close to God when riding a bicycle. I’ll often listen to music and when I get to a long climb, when I know I’ll be going a little slower (ok… a lot slower) I have conversations w/God. It’s really hard to talk when riding hard, but oddly, I never have a problem.
I can relate to the music a lot… I hear so much in music and hear other peoples struggles, joys and understanding explained in the lyrics. It helps me to say “I’m not the only one.”
The freedom I feel on a bicycle combined with the open air, the closeness to nature, the wind in my hair…er..um… on my bald region – it’s a perfect place to talk to God.
Love the comments. Keep them rollin’…
It looks like we rolled to a stop. If you’re on the ‘Driving’ pathway and you live in Atlanta, you get pretty used to it. That’s when you have to switch to the ‘Patience’ pathway…perhaps the hardest pathway of all. There might be two people on the planet trying to get close to God through Patience. Personally, I don’t have time for either one of them.
Hilarious…