Dearly Beloved
Jesus had a good habit of spending time with the Father God in the early hours of the morning and also many nights of all-night prayers with God in the mountains (Matthew 14:23; Mark 1:35; 6:46; Luke 6:12; John 6:15; Hebrews 5:7). His was a life of prayer. Devout people develop habits of prayers which pleases God and brings great blessings. Even those who have not fully known God yet, like Cornelius brought forth blessings upon himself and his very large family (Acts 10:1-4, 44-45). It is a promise of God that those who seek Him must believe that He exists and that He IS A REWARDER of those who seek Him DILIGENTLY (Hebrews 11:6). Physical habits of prayers come from mental habits of thought. A discipline life comes from a discipline mind. The place to create good habits start with examining habits of thoughts.
The true battle field everyday as we live as heavenly people in a sinful earthly world, is to keep our mind and thoughts pure in the sight of God. Paul acknowledges this mental place of warfare between God and the devil (2 Corinthians 10:3-6). We are to daily bring ALL our thoughts to the obedience of Christ! Physical habits flow naturally when we have a good mental habit of thought. Good habitually habits of thoughts become the mental fortress which guards our hearts and minds every day through God’s Word flowing in our hearts and minds (Hebrews 8:10; 10:16). It is not just pure mental energy but it is yielding to the mind of Christ within us. We do have the mind of Christ given to us when we were born again (1 Corinthians 2:16). Be renewed by the spirit of your mind; and that you put on the new man, which is according to God’s nature, having been created in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:22, 23 NKJV translation). The spiritual mind within us can dominate the soul mind every morning when we get up. There are good habits which we can develop. But first develop good mental habits every day when you get up.
There are three daily mental habits which we must develop in order to live heavenly lives while on earth. They are simple: look upwards, look inwards then look outwards. Most people when they get up in the morning or before they sleep late at night, consider the things of this life immediately. That is completely wrong and a bad mental habit that must be broken. The first thing to do every morning when you wake up is to mentally begin to look into the heavens and see our Lord Jesus seated on the Throne at the Right Hand of God. Visualise if you can’t see this. It is important to start the day seated together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-6). It is in the heavenly places that all the spiritual blessings have been given in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). We all know that every day when God is our Shepherd, we will see the goodness and mercy of our Lord (Psalm 23:6). The goodness and mercy of God that follows us every day in our lives are conditioned upon us seeing and knowing the Lord as our Shepherd, where His rod and His staff comfort us. King David speaks of seeing the Lord always before his face (Acts 2:25; Psalm 16:8). Humans have lost the ability to see God every day due to sin and in restoring us, our Lord Jesus enables us to see God every day in the eyes of our heart (2 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Corinthians 4:6). Let the eyes of your heart and the eyes of your mind look up and see God every morning, as the first mental habit when you wake up (and when you sleep). It is a command and admonishment for us to every day set our mind on things above and not on things of the earth (Colossians 3:1-2).
As clearly as you can, see our Lord Jesus at the Right Hand of God, form that image in your heart and mind strongly in your imagination and hold it as long as you can as your first conscious thought every morning (and every night). After much training, this will be your default conscious thought when you wake up in the morning or when you sleep at night. All things in this life are to be directed from heaven. We are not to DO the works of God but to WALK in the works that God has prepared for us (Ephesians 2:10). The things that you are to do every day, were created and prepared by God for you to fulfil them by flowing into them. They have been created, nor shall be created. This natural earthly life is to bring forth that which is created in the spiritual by God. Thus, you must tap upon the Source of all creative power, and that is our Lord Jesus Christ, Almighty God and Creator of all life, the Word by which all things which are made, were made (John 1:1-3). Enjoy this experience of looking upwards to where Christ is seated on the Throne. Bask in that divine light and presence, let it filled you, envelope you, surround you, embrace you. It is greater than the morning sun that shines outside your window. Let this consciousness of Jesus seated on the Throne fill your heart and mind. Let Him be the focus of all your thoughts and worship and singing. After much practice, this vision will be very easy to recall 24 hours any time any day.
Secondly, after you have enjoyed being at the Throne Room for minutes or for hours, with the light still shining upon you, begin to look within you. Can you see the same light reflected upon your inside? Can you see that same image formed on your inside, in your spirit and in your soul? Let the fullness of that image WITHIN you also begin to shine out through you (2 Corinthians 3:18). Christ is being formed within us every day until we are exactly like Him, that is our predestination (Romans 8:29-30). Christ is living within us (Ephesians 3:17). Now begin to feel all of that energy of Christ within you flowing through every single part of your body. Like a wave within you, like a whirlwind within you, like a flowing fountain of life within you, this energy of Christ within you pumps into your blood vessels and every cell within your body. Christ within you, the hope of glory shines brighter than the sun within you (Colossians 1:27). Your spirit is alive with the Holy Spirit and with Christ within you. You are more powerful than a nuclear power station for all the energy of the Creator, the Logos, is within you. Meditate on this as you look inside you, inside your spirit, where Christ dwells within you, the temple of God. After you have spent minutes or hours in this, you will be tapping on not just natural energy for your daily life but upon the Spirit of Life who now flows within your physical body. The Holy Spirit gives God’s eternal life into your physical body (Romans 8:11).
Thirdly, after enjoying the spiritual electrical flow of God’s divine life flowing into your spirit, soul and body, you begin to look outwards at all that God wants you to do for the day, or all that has been planned or scheduled for you. You will feel like your spirit is at rest, your soul is alert and your body is like moving in motion like being controlled by a higher energy or force. And all of the things you need to do in this life, is just a little bit more of what you add daily to your quota of things to do by the power of the Holy Spirit. Do not worry about tomorrow but just go about and do what you need to do today, knowing that day by day, the mountain that stands before you being chipped away and being moved by the invisible power of God. Just do what is sufficient for that day, leave the things of tomorrow for tomorrow (Matthew 6:34). Whatever things you need to schedule for the future do so without any worry. Life is to live one day at a time. Don’t forget to enjoy the journey while being focussed on your goals. Each day is a day to be enjoyed to the fullest. And learn to pull always from the things of this life, knowing that a lot of things will not be finish in one day. Take time to enjoy the day, enjoy the love you can give to all around you, the blessings and presence of God you can bring to the atmosphere of the place you live in. Whatever you do, do it all in the name of our Lord Jesus to the glory of God (Colossians 3:17).
These three mental habits must be practiced everyday until they become your default mode: look upwards, look inwards and then only look outwards. Christ seated on the Throne, Christ within you, then living the Christ life. Everything begins and ends with Christ. We live, we breathe, we think, we feel, we enjoy, we pleasure only through Christ and Christ alone. When these three simple mental habits become yours, you will enjoy what Paul says, it is no longer I who lives but Christ who lives in me (Galatians 2:20). And without much effort or natural force, you are being transformed daily by this Christ consciousness in your daily life. Moreover, these mental habits will begin to produce physical habits. There will be times when you are so conscious of Christ at the Throne room that you want to find a place to be alone with Him and just worship Him. Thus, begins your devotional habit without even trying to make it a habit. Instead of feeling the effort, you feel the pleasure and the drawing of Christ within you. There is no effort when you enjoy what you are doing. And true Christianity is to be lived by the energy of grace within us and not by the outward energy of the flesh. Enjoy the presence of Christ in your daily lives as you practice this three mental habits.