A lot of people don’t believe me.
Can’t say I blame them...but it’s true.
There actually does come a point in time when a person learns how to focus on God in a way that transcends everything else…and I mean everything.
In other words, they’ve discovered the secret to the spiritual life.
As you know, prayer is the foundation of our relationship with God. And the goal of our life of prayer is to attain what St. Paul calls “constant” prayer. (1 Thess. 5:17)
And this “constant” prayer is really the key to perpetual focus on God.
But there’s a problem.
While God is always present, every one of us struggles to maintain contact with Him.
And when you get down to it, this contact can really only be maintained in a couple different ways – either by thought or by love.
That said, only one of them actually works.
Think about it. We can barely make it through an Our Father without being distracted by the most ridiculous things. Trying to think only about God is basically impossible.
But it’s not just that we’re ADD.
There are also legitimate duties of life that demand our attention. You’ve got to focus on work. You’ve got to focus on kids. You’ve got to focus on football.
There’s a lot going on! And it’s downright impossible for us to pay full attention to two things at the same time.
But while constant focus of the mind doesn’t work, constant movement of the heart does.
You see, once the heart falls in love, that love continues even when your mind is occupied with something else. You don’t stop loving your spouse just because you’re focused on fixing the car or doing laundry.
That love is always present. (Unless your wife had to pick up your socks yet again.)
It’s the same in our relationship with God. It’s love that creates constant contact with Him.
The secret to permanent focus on God is to fall more deeply in love with him.
How?
It goes back once again to prayer. The more time you spend with someone as perfect and loving as Our Father, the faster (and more deeply) in love with Him you’ll fall.
But you’ve got to want it. You’ve got to make an act of the will and choose to grow that relationship.
“Prayer is nothing but a desire of the heart,” says St. Augustine. “If your desire is continuous, your prayer is continuous. Do you wish never to cease praying? Then never cease desiring.”
So take a moment and tell God that you want Him above everything else. Tell Him you love Him and that you want Him to help you increase that love…and don’t stop.
God bless you!
Matthew
Want to Join Me On a Gorgeous Retreat?
On my most recent podcast episode, my friend Betsy Orr shares the incredible backstory of the gorgeous new retreat oasis she has created. (Watch it here, if you missed it!) If you like what you hear, then be sure to sign up for the retreat titled "The Divine Whisper: Deeper Prayer & the Silent Embrace of God" I'll be giving there on September 13-15, 2024!
