Aug 22 2007
My Low-Tech Spirituality…
I admit to being a gadget geek. Ever since I was a young kid I had all of the new electronic toys from Mattel’s Electronic Football to a calculator that had a clock. That is so low-tech today but not when I was a kid.
Today I have a killer Dell desktop @ work and a laptop for when I’m out of the office. I have a Sprint Palm Treo 700 and use my Franklin-Covey software religiously. I even have a NIV Study Bible on my Treo.
But I’m low-tech when it comes to my prayer life. I read Bill Hybel’s Book Too Busy Not to Pray back in 1995 and something really hit me over the head as I read his words. I’m a very driven, goal oriented person. I also run off a lot of adrenaline. I guess that is why I love Starbucks and Diet Mt. Dew. It is hard for me to stop and just be still. But Hybels suggested writing out your prayers. Why? Because it forces you to slow down and think about what you are saying.
Above is my current prayer notebook. It goes all the way back to 2004. I’m almost ready to start a new notebook. (One of our church members gave me new notebooks for Christmas last year. That was cool!) I literally write out my prayers using the ACTS method.
A- Adoration=I praise God during this portion of my prayer.
C- Confession=I confess my sins during this time. If there is a confession I don’t want someone to see I cross it out afterwards because that is what God does.
T-Thanksgiving= I thank God for what he has done in my life and those around me. I thank Him for just being God.
S- Supplication= This is the time in my prayers that I ask God to meet the needs of our National leaders (President, Government officials and Military), my family, my friends, missionaries and my church. I ask God to send me a opportunities to serve Him and to share my faith. I also ask for wisdom every day.
Then I ask 4 questions that Hybels suggests. This is a time to listen to God.
 What is the next step in:
1. My relationship w/God
2. Family
3. Adjustsments
4. Ministry
This time of prayer is different than my Quiet Time or Devotion time. I journal when I go and hang out before work at Starbucks. There are coffee stains all over this notebook and it has given me several chances to share Jesus with people who want to know what I’m doing. I hate to disappoint those who thought I was totally electronic. 
What do you do to stay close to God?
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8 responses so far
Hearing Praise & Worship Songs and Singing together is my Low-Tech way of staying close with God
Kevin,
thanks for sharing….it has inspired me to start a “prayer notebook.”
I think I’ll go find that book and give it a try. Thanks!
It’s interesting that you journal Kevin. I have been journaling for twenty to twenty five years. Interestingly enough I got the idea from Charles Stanley. I used to listen to him when I lived in Kansas. He had a sermon one day that spoke of writing letters to God concerning whatever things we were going through, including joys. He said that he had been journaling for years and he always read back to remind himself how far God had brought him and how God answered his prayers. I began to do the same thing. I have stacks of them that I read and I still keep one. It gives me pause to see where I was at the beginning of my salvation and where I am now. My love for God grows with the reading and reminders of what He has done in me.
Glad to hear one of the pros uses the A-C-T-S model as well. I use that quite a bit to stay focused. I have done a little journaling but haven not been disciplined about it. Maybe I’ll give it another try.
Debbie - I think I heart that same Charles Stanley sermon! It was a terrific overview of prayer and the values of journaling.
Kevin, My mother has journaled for as long as I can remember. It’s interesting that you are willing to share yours. Hers are her personal thoughts and she doesn’t want anyone reading them. We’ve always honored that request and have even volunteered to destroy them without reading them after she’s gone. She often shares things she’s written in her journal with us as God shows her new things or answers a direct prayer.
One other system she uses is decidedly low-tech. She started about two years ago using index cards to keep her prayer life further organized. She usually has eight cards at a time. One for each day of the week and one for urgent requests. One day is dedicated to family, one day to friends, one day for her church and its leaders, missionaries, etc, one day for the school where she teaches, one day for political leaders and I’m drawing a blank on the others. She keeps the cards and makes notes as the prayers are answered.
I have to admit that I am nowhere near her level of organization or dedication when it comes to my own prayer life. But, her methods are beneficial and I use her techniques successfully when I’m dedicated enough to do so.
If you use Franklin-Covey religiously, does that mean you are part mormon?? Ha Ha! Just kidding!