Scripture

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 NIV

These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Consider

God wants to imprint his very nature on our minds and hearts, on our thoughts and our motivations. God wants to be so real and present for us that when trouble strikes, our first instinct is to pray. When relationships hurt and confuse us, God wants his ageless words to be so familiar to us that they automatically break into our minds to affirm what we know to be true and direct us into right actions.

Worldly wisdom often leads us deeper into conflict and suffering. Mindfulness of God and his good laws, on the other hand, redirects us toward healthy and loving choices. The Deuteronomy passage above suggests that we can increase our awareness of God and recommit our ways to him through little daily habits—posting a Bible verse on the refrigerator, sitting quietly with God at the beginning or close of the day, playing Christian music in the car, giving thanks before a meal, reading Bible stories to our children. Such small but deliberate reminders heighten our sensitivity to God’s faithful presence in our lives moment by moment. This constant awareness of God deepens our desire to know all his ways and to follow them when life presents us with complex problems and difficult decisions.

Pray

FATHER, grow in me a deeper awareness of your faithful presence in my life. When relationship conflicts press and challenge me, please touch my shoulder and remind me that I belong to You. Write your laws of love and wisdom on my heart and mind so that your counsel will be always available to guide me through difficult, painful, and confusing situations.

Reflect

Psalm 46:1; Isaiah 42:5-7

Ponder

What daily habits remind me of God’s faithful presence in my life?